Internationalising Higher Education

Higher education is recognised as one of the key contributors to ensuring the development of a globally competitive, skilled, productive and flexible work force. Furthermore, it is the role of the research university that is believed to hold the key for the successful development of our knowledge economies.

But how do you build such an HE system comprised of these so-called 'world class' research universities – is this the domain of the middle income and technologically advanced countries only – or is this an achievable and necessary aspiration for all?

During this session we hear from the widely acknowledged global expert in the field, Dr Philip Altbach co-editor of 'The Road to Academic Excellence: The Making of World-Class Research Universities' about the different approaches to building the ‘world-class university’, he will deconstruct the elements to this potentially elitist label.

Prof. Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, a highly regarded academic, offers a perspective from Pakistan and the challenges Pakistani universities face as they collaborate and compete with other international research universities and take their place on the international stage for higher education.

Dr Francisco Marmolejo provides a first hand view on interpreting the concept of 'world-class' and how this terminology can assist in providing a framework for advancement.