issue 21, july 2011 ssuccess in ... · the back page interview - dr ross lewin 15 universitas 21...

In This Issue

So much can happen in a year. Well, 14 months to be exact. I went on maternity leave just as preparations for the Delhi AGM were reaching their peak and returned as the Sydney AGM was beginning. Sitting in the offi ce on my own while the rest of the Secretariat team were running the AGM I started to catch up on what has happened over the last year. It’s been a busy time!

What is most refreshing to see are the new initiatives that have sprung up and with them the enthusiasm of those new to the network in one way or another. It’s all too easy for those of us

who have been involved in U21 for a while to sit back, safe in the knowledge that the Summer Schools and URCs run every year, the DDoGS, Deans of Education, Student Mobility Co-ordinators and other established groups continue to meet regularly to push their projects and agendas along, and the Presidents all meet once a year at ever-increasingly successful AGMs. It could almost become run-of-the-mill.

But, stepping aside for a few days, weeks or, in my case, months, you can start to see that there is more than the ‘same old thing’ happening again and again (even if those same old things are

important ones). We have two new members, over 300 undergraduate and graduate students who have participated in a U21 event for the fi rst time, new projects being planned, new awards being made, a new strategy, a new focus. For even the longest-standing member of the network, that must sound exciting and reinvigorating...

So it is with renewed enthusiasm that I take up my U21 post again and hope that everyone, however old or new to the network, is able to share my excitement about the new challenges, ventures and projects ahead!

Clare NoakesAdministratorU21 Secretariat

The NewsletterThe Newsletter

Have you seen our new website?!

2

Gilbert Medal & U21 Award 4

U21 Events 4-6

Collaborative Groups 7-10

On the move 11

Movers and Shakers 12

The university’s role in reconstruction

13

Calendar 14

The Back Page interview - Dr Ross Lewin

15

Universitas 21c/o Strathcona 109

University of BirminghamEdgbaston

BirminghamB15 2TT

UK

T: +44 121 415 8870F: +44 121 415 8873

[email protected] www.universitas21.com

Issue 21, July 2011 www.universitas21.com

From the Secretariat...

Success in SydneySuccess in Sydney

Sydney, home to the University of New South Wales and host of our 2011 Annual General Meeting, is quite rightly known as the Harbour City. Whether from the conference hotel, venues for dinner or the UNSW campus, we caught enticing glimpses of the water which reminded us not only

of the superb location, but also of the oceans of opportunities which arise when 24 of the world’s great universities come together. Our hosts did us proud with superb organisation, excellent locations and amazing weather: to a visitor from the UK it seemed like high summer and the sight of shivering

Sydneysiders complaining about the cold made me feel right at home. If the locals were feeling the cold, that was dispelled as soon as the meetings began.

The annual meetings spread over three days and for delegates there

(Continued on page 2)

U21@UNSW delegates

Network News Network News Network News

were numerous diff erent combinations of who should attend which meeting at what time. Events started with a meeting of U21 Managers which was joined, for the fi rst time, by David Wheeler, International Editor-At-Large for The Chronicle of Higher Education who shared his wisdom on the uses of social media in both a personal and an institutional context. If there was one tip to take away it was not to let the medium

become the message, so a collective sigh of relief at not having to write social media strategies was heard around the room.

Day two was formed of two parts: a Presidential Round Table and then a Masterclass in the afternoon, bringing in speakers from the US and Australia with particular insights into working in networks. Having looked at common issues in the morning, it gave an interesting balance to learn about Qantas’s experience as part of the Oneworld Alliance and realise that many of the challenges were similar,

even though the contexts might be diff erent. There was much food for thought from Thursday and having mulled over this overnight, lessons learned were refl ected in discussions on our fi nal day.

The fi nal day also allowed participants to concentrate on our own network – where we are and where we should be going. The principal item for discussion was our strategy for the medium term and how we might

add value to the student experience, to our faculty and staff (in particular those at the beginning of their careers) to our institutions, and to the world away from our campuses. It was agreed that we should continue with those things at which we had been successful and consolidate them further, as well as dynamically embrace a host of new initiatives. For example, it was decided to inaugurate two new awards: the Gilbert Medal, to recognise an outstanding and signifi cant contribution to the internationalisation of higher education; and a U21 Award for staff within our institutions who have made a contribution, either with a one-off project or through sustained eff ort, to internationalise our own universities. It is anticipated that these will fi rst be awarded at the 2012 AGM.

With a renewed strategic focus, a redesigned website, new awards to be conferred, the network seems in fi ne fettle to sail forward from the Harbour City. Our annual meetings next year will be hosted by Lund University, in the land of the Nobel prizes. How fi tting that our fi rst Gilbert Medal should be awarded there.

Jane UsherwoodSecretary GeneralUniversitas 21

Success in Sydney Success in Sydney (Continued from page 1)

Following months of planning, designing and editing, the new U21 website was launched at the end of June. Have you seen it yet? We’ve kept much of the content from the old site, but made it clearer, more uniform and hopefully easier to navigate. All our collaborative groups, projects and activities can be found under Collaborations; everything to do with students, whether undergraduate, graduate or doctoral are located under Students; and all our news, annual reviews and ebulletins now neatly fall under the News subheading. We’ve asked all our members to check the information on their university is up to date and the result is an attractive, eff ective and informative website with which to take forward our new and improved set of aims and focus of activity. Do take a moment to have a look!

Have you seen our new website yet?Have you seen our new website yet?

The U21@UNSW team enjoying a well-deserved glass of wine at the end of the meetings


The University of New South Wales was delighted to host ‘U21@UNSW’, the 2011 Annual Presidents’ Meetings and Professional Workshops in Sydney. The aim of U21@UNSW was to focus U21 Presidents, Senior Administrators, Managers and collaborative groups on aspects of our global network that make us distinctive and that enable U21 partner universities to make advancements by working collectively that could not be achieved individually.

On Thursday 19 May, the inaugural Presidents’ Global Ideas Round Table was held, where eight Presidents of U21 universities shared best practice around university funding, research, internationalisation and capital development. Professor Stuart McCutcheon, President of the University of Auckland gave us some important insights into funding models and revenue generation initiatives (which will appear in our next newsletter) while Professor Byoung-Chul Kim, President of Korea University and Professor Lap Chee Tsui, President of Hong Kong University shared information about successfully delivering ambitious campus infrastructure projects within budget.

The Global Ideas Round Table was followed by an exciting Masterclass for U21 Presidents and Senior Administrators, moderated by Peter Hartcher, Political and International Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, that explored the strategic advantage of eff ective global networks through the

eyes of three very interesting experts: Ben Wildavsky, Kauff man Institute Fellow and author of The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities Are Reshaping the World; Jayne Hrdlicka, Group Executive Strategy and Technology, Qantas Airways; and Merdad Baghai, author of As One: Individual Action, Collective Power and The Alchemy of Growth.

During the UNSW programme workshops were arranged for 40 Early Career Researchers from diff erent disciplines focusing on sustainability, and 30 marketing and communications

professionals who grappled with the challenges and opportunities associated with social media and networking – David Wheeler, Editor-at-Large from The Chronicle of Higher Education discussed a number of case studies in the Social Networking Workshop.

Over 80 students from U21 partner universities, currently enrolled at UNSW on Student Exchange and Study Abroad programmes, joined the Gala Dinner, which included an Aboriginal art exhibition, Aboriginal dance and welcome to country, and the unveiling of a spectacular brass compass at the entry to the John Niland Scientia Building which includes the names of the U21 member universities, and is a permanent record on campus that UNSW welcomed the U21 network to our community in 2011. The keynote speaker at the Gala Dinner was the Hon Malcolm Turnbull, Australian Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband.

The 2011 U21 Annual Meetings provided insights into the enormous potential yet to be explored for the benefi t of staff and students across this exciting network. Professor Fred Hilmer, UNSW’s President and Vice-Chancellor, would like to thank all U21 partner universities for their contributions and involvement in the U21@UNSW programme which was both invigorating and inspiring.

Jennie Lang, Mai-Lynda Allen & George ShowellU21@UNSW TeamUniversity of New South Wales

Universitas 21 Presidents consider Global IdeasUniversitas 21 Presidents consider Global Ideas

UNSW’s AGSM Building ready for U21 delegates


We are delighted to announce a new award to be presented in recognition of outstanding achievement in the internationalisation of higher education. The Gilbert Medal, named in honour of the founder of Universitas 21 and major lifelong proponent of the benefi ts of internationalisation, both honours the vision of the late Professor Alan Gilbert, who died in July 2010, and celebrates some of the core objectives of the Universitas 21 network, namely to increase understanding, trust and partnership between international universities; enhance teaching, learning and research across physical boundaries; and strengthen collaboration between like-minded universities across the world.

The Gilbert Medal will be awarded annually to a person of international standing and all members of faculty, staff and the student body within the U21 network will be able to put inspirational fi gures

forward for nomination. Presidents and Vice Chancellors of U21 institutions will decide on the winner, who will be invited to receive his or her award at a ceremony at the Annual Presidential Meeting, the

inaugural presentation taking place at Lund University, Sweden in May 2012. Speaking at the announcement of the award, Professor Glyn Davis, current Chair of the U21 network, commented: “As the premier international network for higher education we are very excited about the opportunity

to recognise others working in this fi eld. Promoting internationalisation on a global scale is one of the most important roles we have, both as a network and as individual universities, and we are looking forward to identifying others around the world who share our vision.”

Alongside the Gilbert Medal, U21 members will have the opportunity to nominate colleagues within the network for one of two U21 Awards for Internationalisation, recognising individual eff orts towards particularly innovative or extraordinary projects which further internationalisation, or sustained and prolonged contribution to building relations between U21 members to support internationalisation.

Nominations for both the Gilbert Medal and U21 Awards are open and details should be publicised in each U21 university as well as on the U21 website. www.universitas21.com/event

Recognising Achievement in InternationalisationRecognising Achievement in Internationalisation

In May the University of New South Wales (UNSW) hosted the inaugural Universitas 21 workshop for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) on the theme of Energy and Environmental Sustainability. Forty ECRs from thirteen institutions representing nine nations arrived at UNSW to take part in a workshop designed to provide professional researcher development for ECRs and to

assist in expanding research networks.

The programme was produced and delivered by UNSW in collaboration with U21 members in the region – the universities of Auckland, Queensland and Melbourne – and consisted of a mixture of presentations by experienced researchers on their career trajectories and interactive

workshop sessions on topics such as research impact, industry collaboration, social media, ECR career needs and research creativity.

During one session, participants entered the 360 degree purpose-built cinematic environment of the iCinema Centre for

Interactive Cinema Research to experience diff erent digitally created scenes and scenarios. Stepping into the ancient city of Hampi, participants had the chance to experience this innovative and creative research outcome to stimulate their own original and inspired research ideas.

An engaging and creative keynote address was given by Professor Lutz Mädler from the University of Bremen, a chemist with a fl air for communication. Professor Mädler told stories from his many projects around the world, in research areas such as nanoparticle technology, air pollution and environmental health.

The U21 ECR Workshop Series is an initiative of the U21 Research Leaders group. It arose from the U21 Research and Knowledge Exchange Strategy 2010-2015 which the group authored. The strategy focuses on creating links for staff and students across the U21 network in order to facilitate collaborations and sharing of best practice, with a special focus on ECRs. The next workshop in the series will be held at University of Birmingham, from13 to15 December 2011, on the topic of Healthy Living.

Dr Gro FrølundUniversity of New South Wales

U21 Events U21 Events U21 EventsECRs Evaluate EnergyECRs Evaluate Energy

Professor Alan Gilbert

ECR Workshop delegates inspecting solar panels

U21 Events U21 Events U21 Events

The recent Graduate Research Conference on Food, hosted by the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, was a truly international and inter-disciplinary event with 35 participants in attendance, representing fourteen universities from ten countries across the U21 network.

Given the breadth and depth of the conference theme, papers were grouped under the headings of Health and Nutrition; Social and Cultural Contexts of Food and Food Security; Climate Change; Disease Resistance; and Genetic Modifi cation. The sessions were complemented by three keynote speeches, delivered by senior academics from the University of Nottingham’s UK and Malaysia Campuses. Professor Sayed Azam-Ali, VP Research and Internationalisation Malaysia Campus opened the event with a discussion on Food Security Research: breaking out of the subject silos; Professor Jerry Roberts, Head of School Biosciences UK Campus delivered a talk on Global Food Security: is there a role for the genetic manipulation of crops? and Professor Neville Wylie, Dean Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Malaysia Campus, closed the conference with a talk on the Social and Political Implications of Research on Food and Food Security.

The programme was split between the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and the Kuala Lumpur Teaching Centre to provide students with a variety of experiences and exposure to the climate and vegetation of Malaysia. The social programme included a welcome dinner, a cultural tour with a Malaysian dance

performance, a Putrajaya agricultural tour and a Gala Dinner on the fi nal evening, hosted in a rooftop venue with views of the KL Petronas Towers.

Over the course of the conference participants were encouraged to take part in an interdisciplinary research poster competition. Participants were divided into groups, which mixed institutions and disciplines in order to promote cross-subject interaction and development. The groups were then charged with producing a poster outlining a potential research project that drew upon the collective experience and diversity of their members. The posters were displayed during the Gala Dinner and judged by a panel of academics and non-specialists. In addition, there was also a peer award that the students themselves judged.

The conference was a resounding success with the participants fully engaging with the subject matter and discussing complex and relevant issues such as cultural approaches to food and how it can shape and defi ne a community; the necessity for scientifi c development to address, and be sensitive to, local and traditional knowledge; the ever-increasing pressures which population growth and climate change will place upon our ability to produce food in a sustainable and responsible manner; the entire supply

chain of food and the implications this has for food security; and the broader issue of how we problematise the concept of food security and, in turn, respond to it.

This conference demonstrated not just the importance of the subject of food and its many implications for our development and survival, but also the quality of graduate researchers within the U21 network. The debate was lively and informed and the willingness and ability of the participants to engage outside of

their immediate discipline areas represents a solid foundation for the future of international research and the potential solution to some of the highly relevant and critical questions raised during the conference.

Dr Christopher HillDirector of the Graduate SchoolUniversity of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

Food for ThoughtFood for Thought

Scintillating Scintillating Summer for Summer for StudentsStudentsAs we go to press, both the Undergraduate Research Conference and Summer School are under way at University College Dublin and Fudan University respectively.

Between them, these two annual undergraduate events will be bringing together over 200 students and faculty from across the U21 network to share ideas, work together, learn from one another and forge friendships which will bridge cultural diff erences and geographic distances.

Full reports from both events will be available on the U21 website and will appear in the next edition of The Newsletter.

GRC participants

GRC participants on a fi eld trip

We are delighted to announce the second Early Career Researcher Workshop to be held in December at the University of Birmingham, this time with the theme Healthy Living. This follows on from the very successful inaugural ECR workshop on Energy and Environmental Sustainability held in Sydney in May (see page 4). The theme is an interdisciplinary topic allowing diverse and complementary research specialisms to contribute to solving one of the most important questions currently facing us.

One of the key global challenges at the moment is how to improve human health and wellbeing. It is predicted that by 2020 approximately 1 in 5 of the European population will be aged 65 years or over and that by 2050 this could have risen to 2 in 5. Other countries throughout the world are also following a similar trend. This increase in life expectancy has not been accompanied by an increase in healthy life expectancy; thus, the ageing population is becoming a major health and economic issue, providing a considerable impetus to understanding and improving the health of humankind. Another key issue facing our society today is that of obesity. Obesity is also associated with severe morbidity and mortality from diabetes,

hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke and cancer and is therefore a key health issue requiring our attention. Some of the approaches to increasing our knowledge and understanding of these issues and how to combat them include focusing on stress, exercise, nutrition, and sleep as key health-related behavioural variables. Developing these areas of research and fi nding novel solutions to this global challenge is likely to

take a multidisciplinary approach.

A major objective of universities across the U21 network is to ensure that researchers appreciate the value of belonging to rich intellectual communities in which a multiplicity of research is being carried out. At this U21 ECR workshop, participants will meet global peers for networking and research communication, while gaining valuable skills and training in critical

aspects of research career development, such as media and communication skills, journal editing, licensing and spin-off s, grant writing and career progression. Training will be conducted by academics and industry professionals with experience in these skills and research career development training.

The keynote address will be given by Professor John C Mathers, Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Newcastle, UK, and further inspirational mid- and late-career speakers with a variety of research backgrounds from the Universities of Birmingham, Loughborough, Westminster and Surrey will also talk about their research and career paths and give participants tips and strategies for research career success. There will also be the opportunity for ECRs to network and share some of their own research outcomes and ideas in interactive group workshops and poster sessions.

The workshop is open to all early career researchers within eight years of completing their PhD whose research lies within one of the many fi elds of healthy living research, be it Life Sciences, Psychology, Sport & Exercise Sciences, Public Health and Epidemiology, Medicine, or the Allied Health professions.

For more information on this event and how to register, please visit the Events page on the U21 website or contact Dr Gemma Marakas in the U21 Secretariat ([email protected]).

www.universitas21.com/event

U21 Events U21 Events U21 EventsHealthy Minds Promoting Healthy Healthy Minds Promoting Healthy LivingLiving

An aging population become may become a health and economic issue

ECR Workshop participants at the May 2011 event

Collaborative Groups Collaborative Groups

Following on from the success of previous Learning Environment Design Workshops, the University of Birmingham is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the next event from 19 to 23 September 2011.

This will be the fi fth in a series of intensive, collaborative, multi-disciplinary and highly participatory workshops aimed at encouraging and supporting colleagues in contributing to the process of developing new and sustainable learning environments. As in previous years, the event will be led by Associate Professor Peter Jamieson from the University of Melbourne and participants will be drawn from a wide variety of disciplines and institutions to work in small teams on a series of learning space problems identifi ed by the host university.

An important aspect of the forum is its aim to promote inter-disciplinary approaches to the design and development of improved learning environments and, to this end, the event encourages the involvement of

those with a professional role in this fi eld, including property and estates leaders, audio-visual and information technology staff , educational and curriculum designers, professional/faculty developers, and academics. Many of the participants from the fourteen U21 universities that have been involved in the past four workshops are still in regular correspondence with each other, continuing the discussion about learning spaces and sharing experiences, design and lessons learned. The knowledge gained and skills developed are having a direct impact on their institutional

investment into physical learning environments, which in turn improves the student experience.

The current economic climate, together with concerns about climate change and sustainability, requires institutions to direct their limited resources even more eff ectively. This forum provides a platform for members to share ideas and develop signifi cant areas of good practice, which should be shared across the whole U21 network.

This event is designed to engage participants in small, inter-disciplinary teams in real-life design activity based on actual campus settings drawn from the Birmingham context. However, the intention is to build the participant’s knowledge and skills in ways that can be applied in their own professional role at their respective institution. Given the nature of the event (this is not a traditional conference) and the emphasis on hands-on design activity, there are only a limited number of places available

for participants.

At the end of the week, each team will prepare a report of their solutions to the tasks to be presented to the host institution, invited guests and other participants. These reports will focus on the ‘educational vision’ and will be of interest to both

participating institutions and the broader educational fi eld.

New members to the group are very welcome and expressions of interest should be emailed to Toni Kelly (details below). Applicants should identify their U21 institution and their professional role. It is expected that participants will meet their own travel and accommodation/living costs. There is no enrolment fee. The organisers will provide lunch and daily refreshments as well as host several complementary social events.

Toni KellyHead of Learning Space Development University of [email protected]

Learning SpacesLearning Spaces Research Research LeadersLeadersThis year’s very successful meeting of the U21 Pro-Vice Chancellors (Research), now known as the Research Leaders group to take account of the diff ering titles held by people in this group, was hosted by the University of Auckland and drew together the senior research administration leaders of thirteen U21 universities. Delegates were treated to a formal Maori welcome at the University of Auckland’s whare hui (or traditional meeting house) and enjoyed, among other activities, a visit to the university’s innovation campus.

The formal business meetings were described by Professor Jane Harding, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Auckland and the conference host, as “highly collaborative and rich in content”. Discussions focused on developing the next generation of researchers; measuring research impact; the interface between politics, industry and research; and cross-university interdisciplinary research initiatives. See the full report in the new Research Leaders page of the website.

Next year’s meeting will be held at Lund University from 7 to 8 May 2012.

www.universitas21.com/collaboration

2010 LEDF participants in discussion

Participants at the 2011 Research Leaders meeting


Despite ash clouds and broken planes threatening to aff ect attendance, 34 delegates representing 22 universities created the largest U21 student mobility gathering to date at the 2011 annual meeting of the U21 Student Mobility Network (SMN), which took place in May at the University of British Columbia.

This enthusiastic group meets on an annual basis to share ideas, learn from each other, and reinforce its commitment to enhancing the student mobility experience further. Several members are currently developing programmes which students may undertake to complement their study abroad period. Such programmes are designed to deepen the study abroad/student exchange experience, making students more aware of their global environment. These courses include pre-departure components, regular reporting while abroad including blogs and skype interviews, and debriefi ng/refl ective sessions upon return which often include career counselling.

Despite sharing common components and common goals, members have taken rather diff erent approaches in developing

their own versions of such extra-curricular courses for students who embark on an international mobility programme. One member university teamed with their Department of Education, while another sought collaboration with their Department of Anthropology. Some courses are delivered through an academic

co-ordinator whilst another member university utilises their returned students to design and deliver their course. Regardless of the approach, there is a growing shift of focus from quantity to quality; from simply sending as many students as possible to experience another country to ensuring students are getting as much as possible from their international experience and are truly worthy of the title ‘global citizen’. (If

anyone would like more information on these courses, please contact me!)Furthermore, U21 student mobility participation rates over the past fi ve years show that although the quantity of participants continues to increase, it is doing so at a decreasing rate. Some members are reporting they are unable to

send any more students as they are already at their maximum. There is, therefore, also a shift in focus from long-term (year or semester) programmes to short-term mobility programs. Across the network, member universities are generously opening many of their own short-term programmes to students from other U21 universities, with several members developing more short-term programmes, some of which are specifi cally for U21 students.

Having achieved set targets on the number of student mobility participants, U21 Student

Mobility is moving to the next phase with a focus on enhancing current student exchange programmes, developing more opportunities through short-term programmes and producing students who are best prepared to be U21 global citizens.

Louise Kinnaird U21 Student Mobility Co-ordinator [email protected]

Student Mobility NetworkStudent Mobility Network

The 14th meeting of the U21 Deans of The 14th meeting of the U21 Deans of Education group was held in New Orleans Education group was held in New Orleans on Friday 8 April 2011, immediately prior on Friday 8 April 2011, immediately prior to the annual conference of the American to the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Educational Research Association (AERA). Nine U21 Schools of Education were Nine U21 Schools of Education were represented (Auckland, Edinburgh, represented (Auckland, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Lund, Melbourne, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Lund, Melbourne, New South Wales, Virginia and UBC). New South Wales, Virginia and UBC). The meeting was also attended by two The meeting was also attended by two representatives of the U21 Forum for representatives of the U21 Forum for International Networking in Education International Networking in Education (FINE) research student group and by Dr (FINE) research student group and by Dr Gerald Sroufe of the AERA.Gerald Sroufe of the AERA.

Colleagues shared recent developments Colleagues shared recent developments in the changing profi les of their respective in the changing profi les of their respective institutions and, perhaps unsurprisingly institutions and, perhaps unsurprisingly in research intensive universities, what in research intensive universities, what emerged were similar patterns of emerged were similar patterns of

opportunity and challenge with the growth opportunity and challenge with the growth of international activity (student exchange of international activity (student exchange and recruitment and the development of and recruitment and the development of research partnerships), the rise of research research partnerships), the rise of research accountability and the measurement of accountability and the measurement of performance capability as key common performance capability as key common issues. Also high on the agenda was the issues. Also high on the agenda was the development of increasingly fl exible development of increasingly fl exible approaches to course development. Dr approaches to course development. Dr Sroufe observed that many of the issues Sroufe observed that many of the issues considered central to the concerns of considered central to the concerns of U21 colleagues bore strong similarities to U21 colleagues bore strong similarities to those emerging across Schools/Faculties those emerging across Schools/Faculties of Education in the United States more of Education in the United States more generally.generally.

Despite early setbacks, the Deans’ group Despite early setbacks, the Deans’ group considered the benefi ts associated with considered the benefi ts associated with student mobility within programmes, student mobility within programmes, though they recognised the obstacles that though they recognised the obstacles that

sometimes existed for some students due sometimes existed for some students due to personal or other concerns: members to personal or other concerns: members expressed their willingness to take the expressed their willingness to take the lead in pursuing mobility initiatives lead in pursuing mobility initiatives for education students, working with for education students, working with colleagues in Registry/Senate offi ces locally.colleagues in Registry/Senate offi ces locally.

Major discussion items included the impact Major discussion items included the impact of recent national research productivity of recent national research productivity assessment exercises in Australia and assessment exercises in Australia and elsewhere and the role of Education in the elsewhere and the role of Education in the realisation of the UN’s Millennium Goals realisation of the UN’s Millennium Goals (www.un.org/millenniumgoals) to end (www.un.org/millenniumgoals) to end poverty by 2015. The Deans’ group wished poverty by 2015. The Deans’ group wished to put to U21 that they might develop to put to U21 that they might develop a bid to the UN from a global group of a bid to the UN from a global group of research-intensive universities to support research-intensive universities to support indigenous teacher development. More indigenous teacher development. More details about this should become available details about this should become available in the coming months.in the coming months.

Professor David ClarkeProfessor David ClarkeDeans of Education Group ConvenorDeans of Education Group ConvenorUniversity of MelbourneUniversity of Melbourne

Deans of EducationDeans of Education

Dora Hast, Nigel Cossar and Raluca Nahorniac at the SMN meeting


At the 2011 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in New Orleans, FINE (the Forum for International Networking in Education) held four networking events for graduate students in education. These events allow attendees to gather and meet other U21 students who have similar research interests. The four events are held every year at AERA and many FINE members have expressed that they look forward to these occasions as part of their AERA experience.

The fi rst event was the FINE forum, which was held on Thursday 7 April. The forum is typically held a day prior to the fi rst day of AERA so that participants will not have scheduling confl icts with other conference events. The forum began with introductions and a brief history of FINE. Following that, three wonderful presentations took place. The speakers were Professor Jim Conroy from the University of Glasgow, University of Auckland student Ritesh Shaw, and AERA

student representative Whitney Wall. These presentations covered the “fi ne points” of educational research, transitioning into the profession of academia, and navigating AERA for newcomers. Student participants

also brainstormed ways in which FINE could grow and reach more individuals at U21 institutions.

Following the forum, FINE held a dinner event, during which students mingled and discussed their own research in a relaxed environment. After dinner, many students remarked on the enjoyable atmosphere of

the restaurant as well as the delightful and thought-provoking conversations that took place.

The two FINE breakfasts were held at 7am on 10 and 11 April. The breakfasts are held early in the morning to allow students to attend the fi rst sessions of the day, which typically begin after 8am. Attendees included U21 students, past and present FINE leadership team members and professors, as well as U21 Education Deans. Professor Lynn McAlpine from McGill University distributed helpful research information for students, and breakfast attendees also socialised and networked among themselves. During the second breakfast, an impromptu discussion arose about possible FINE events at other conferences, as well as increasing FINE participation.

Overall, the FINE events in New Orleans were seen as very successful, and FINE members are extremely optimistic about AERA 2012 in Vancouver, Canada.

Juliette Lyons-ThomasFINE Leadership Team MemberUniversity of British Columbia

Still having a FINE time!Still having a FINE time!

The newly-formed U21 Business School Deans group met at the EFMD Annual Deans and Directors conference held at EM Lyon in January 2011 to discuss ways that the business schools across U21 might co-operate with one another in a new joint initiative.

As a result of our discussions, we decided that the development of a global conference focusing on doctoral research in business would be an ideal way to initiate our new form of partnership. The purpose of activity is to reunite U21 member business, commerce and economic programmes with both a learning and research focus through the creation of an annual U21 Business Doctoral Research Consortium (BDRC) for business, commerce and management students. Our vision for the U21 BDRC is to create a global learning and research platform to prepare the next generation of intellectual leaders in the fi elds of business, commerce and economics.

The U21 BDRC will provide an opportunity for subgroups of U21 to meet and share interests and to stimulate future collaborations across a number of key topics. We envisage future collaborations

among both doctoral students and their research advisors across the U21 membership that will address global issues such as entrepreneurship and innovation, global technology and economic systems. While not every U21 member will embrace each and every topic, we believe that exposing these future academic leaders to a wide range of topics and interests will enhance their contributions to various literatures.

To this end we believe that the U21 BDRC will facilitate achieving the following goals:

To provide a collaborative forum for 1. the sharing and exchange of PhD dissertation topics in management education among U21 members.To enable individual students to obtain 2. additional expert feedback on their PhD dissertation topic.To facilitate and promote the 3. opportunity for student exchange in management education, especially targeted at research students.To build a network of young academics 4. and Deans of Research within business faculties.To identify suitable topics and meeting 5. formats to engage U21 members more

formally in management education.

Themed tracks for the conference will be chosen by the U21 consortium members to represent the diversity and breadth of key interests for each university and these tracks will provide a mechanism for grouping together students with common interests across the various members. As an indicative set of themes:

Challenges of globalisation

Innovation and entrepreneurship

Sustainability and business

Leadership, ethics and CSR

The Business School Deans and Directors from U21 are very enthusiastic about the opportunity to create a collaboration that will help globalise business education and research as well as provide a platform for subsequent exchanges amongst the U21 partners. More information about this project will be available in the coming months.

Professor Tim Brailsford, University of QueenslandDr Chris Earley, University of Connecticut

New Consortium for Business StudentsNew Consortium for Business Students

FINE participants at the FINE dinner event

The U21 Heads of Administration group recently held a workshop entitled Managing University Finance in Challenging Times, chaired by Linda Bird, Academic Registrar at the University of Queensland and attended by twelve heads of administration (or near equivalent) from eight U21 universities. As well as focusing on the workshop theme, the group’s general aims and objectives were discussed. We intend to continue meeting and would encourage attendance by colleagues from a broader cross-section of institutions in future. We come from diff erent universities, in diff erent jurisdictions, with very diff erent legal, political and economic environments, but we have much in common and much to learn from each other.

The challenges of attracting and retaining top staff and students, providing them with facilities necessary for high-quality teaching, learning and research, managing in an academic environment, growing our revenue and making our dollar (or euro, or crown) go further are universal. So too is the shared challenge of managing our Presidents. The Heads of Administration group is unlikely to generate operational collaborations in the way our teaching and research colleagues and students might. However, as a group of peers managing similar issues in institutions with much in common, we fi nd value in learning from each other’s experiences, using each other as sounding boards, and sharing success stories and instances of best practice. We also gain from sharing our mistakes. If the

sort of discussions that we have help us do things that have worked elsewhere, and deter us from repeating others’ failures, then we think participation is worthwhile. We can gain both confi dence and competence from understanding how our peers are managing similar issues.

Prior to the meeting each participant submitted a paper outlining practices or innovative strategies, and from the common themes identifi ed in those papers the agenda was constructed. Topics included organisational change; ‘big ticket’ costs such as staff , facilities and IT; benchmarking; procurement; fi nancial management; programme and other reviews, pricing, budget incentives, enrolment management, fundraising and borrowing. In addition, and arising out of the discussions on these topics, several areas where further sharing of information and experiences could be benefi cial were identifi ed. These included:

Sharing information on helpful public policy settings. Sometimes some of our governments get something right, and knowing when and where this happens might be helpful in our individual lobbying eff orts;

Measuring the benefi t gained from resources invested in areas such as fundraising, marketing and recruitment;

IT costs, drivers of growth in IT costs, and the relationship between cost growth and growth in demand for and consumption of IT services;

Methodologies for costing academic activities and outputs;

Establishing shared services functions across schools and faculties;

Graduate recruitment programmes, staff training and staff rotation;

Procurement;

Management information to support decision-making, planning and forecasting;

Measuring school- and programme- level performance;

Financing strategies.

Auckland, Melbourne, UNSW and some other universities are members of a successful university operations benchmarking forum. It is independently facilitated by a jointly-engaged consultancy, and brings an unusual degree of rigour to extracting benchmarking data, and also to looking at process, service quality and service delivery model issues that drive diff erences in cost from one university to another. While U21 is unlikely to be able to support the cost of a similar exercise among its membership, senior staff from the participating universities have become familiar with the approach and could apply similar techniques to focused benchmarking studies within the Heads of Administration group. We also discussed other, less formal, ways of sharing data and experiences. The group’s convenor, Linda Bird, will be facilitating an email discussion amongst attendees of priorities and approaches for future actions.

Jonathan BlakemanExecutive Director, Finance & OperationsUniversity of New South Wales


Heads of AdministrationHeads of Administration

The University of Nottingham is pleased to be hosting the second International Leadership Conference which will take place from 21 to 24 November 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This exclusive masterclass event is aimed at senior managers and leaders from higher education institutions from across the globe and during the four-day programme delegates will have the opportunity to explore challenges and opportunities

around the internationalisation of higher education.

Keynote speakers include:

Paul M. Marshall, 1994 Group Tan Sri Lodin, Boustead Holdings Patrick Freeland-Small, University

of Melbourne Professor Craig Mahoney, The

Higher Education Academy Professor David Greenaway,

University of Nottingham Professor Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Topics that will be covered over the four-day masterclass include:

international leadership developing university strategy diff erent approaches to internationalisationenterprise commercialising research developing international partnerships global governance marketing on a global stage

The majority of the conference will be delivered in Kuala Lumpur although delegates will also visit the University of Nottingham’s Malaysia Campus in Semenyih (30km outside of KL). Although not a U21 event, U21 members are off ered a preferential conference fee. Please refer to the conference website for further details. More information and booking information can be found at www.nottingham.ac.uk/internationalleadership

International LeadershipInternational Leadership

On the move On the move On the move

The University of Melbourne provides annual scholarships to both academic and professional staff to promote engagement with other Universitas 21 institutions around the world. The scholarships provide staff with opportunities to benchmark and research and to promote global mobility among students and staff . In 2010, I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of a U21 scholarship to consider best practice academic advising in the UK, Canada and the USA.

The project was designed to consider academic advising models and programmes across the institutions with a view to contributing to the review of advising at the University of Melbourne, and a detailed report will be provided to the committee and the participating universities which will highlight the range of approaches to advising. From dedicated advising centres involving academic and professional staff to the student tutoring model that relies almost exclusively on

academic staff , no two models are exactly the same. Advising models refl ect the diversity of the organisation and so when comparing models it is important to note that although there are theories of advising that inform the delivery and philosophy within an institution, ultimately there is not a single model that could be implemented across all universities.

Universities are known to prioritise their advising eff orts based on a range of drivers which may be internal to the organisation such as curriculum review, or external to the organisation such as strategic

government initiatives, resulting in the development of advising programmes specifi cally for students from low socio-economic backgrounds, fi rst in family or specifi c under-represented ethnic groups.

The universities that I visited displayed incredible examples of all of these initiatives.

There are also common characteristics of advising models across universities and among the most obvious is the desire to provide students with access to an individual and highly-customised experience and for the advising to be accessible and timely.

I thank all those at U21 universities who helped me with my research and look forward to spending the next few weeks revisiting my rather extensive notes and being reminded of the creative and diverse examples of advising programmes available across the U21 network. I would be happy to discuss my fi ndings with interested colleagues around the network.

Linda JacksonManager, Arts Student CentreUniversity of Melbourne

I will always have such wonderful memories of my time in Montreal. It is a beautiful city and McGill is a fantastic university.

I was fortunate to fi nd a room in a shared apartment overlooking Saint-Denis, one of the major streets in Montreal, lined with cafes, bars and restaurants. I lived with a fantastic group of people – my housemates hailed from Mauritius, Canada, Kenya, Italy and Iran. McGill attracts people from all over the world and it is truly the place for interacting with people from a myriad of diff erent cultural backgrounds.

I took advantage of the challenging options off ered by the French Department and signed up for a course on French Literature in the 18th century. It was a course geared to French native speakers and I managed to muddle my way though with the help of my kind Prof... If you have a good level of French, I would recommend taking courses in this department as they are of a more challenging level than any of those available at UQ due to the French-speaking nature of the region. I also took a couple of Political Science courses that were really

fantastic. McGill Polsci courses seem to have a particularly hands-on focus with a couple holding ‘sims’ – simulations of real world problems where students represent various countries and organisations and work to support their state’s interests while attempting to resolve a confl ict.

Despite being renowned for academics, McGill also has a vibrant arts community and there is a constant fl ow of auditions and plays on off er. Having joined theatre groups, I found myself auditioning for a few plays and ended up performing in a piece from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was great fun and I met many more wonderful people. Most notably, I also joined McGill Improv – an improvisational theatre

group and something I had wanted to try for a while – and had an amazing time improvising with them a couple of times a week and I hope to stay in touch with many of the friends I made there.

While it’s not the warmest place during the winter, if you have the right clothes and a hankering to see some snow, Montreal is the place to be. It was so surreal waking up

to see a blanket of snow covering everything. I walked to uni most days whatever the weather and would sometimes feel as though the distance doubled due to the amount of snow there was to trudge through – but the novelty never wore off .

I would strongly recommend staying for the summer – Montrealers live for the summer (which doesn’t last all that long) and manage to fi t hundreds of performances, festivals and street

carnivals into two balmy months. Also, if you don’t mind leaving things a little less planned, I would say avoid booking your return ticket too far in advance – you might fi nd that your feet are still itching for more travel but your return date is too pricey to change. Bon voyage!

Alice de GrootUniversity of Queensland

Taking Advice on AdvisingTaking Advice on Advising

Snow, French and Improv...Snow, French and Improv...

The University of Connecticut

Alice de Groot enjoying the snow with McGill’s founder

Movers and Shakers Movers and Shakers

Professor Jae Won Lee has recently taken over as U21 Manager for Korea University. Having studied for his undergraduate and Master’s degrees at Seoul National University, he then spent four years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison completing his PhD in statistics, becoming an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and then at the University of Southern California before returning to Korea to take up a position within the Department of Statistics at Korea University in 1994. Since then he has stayed at KU, becoming Professor of the department in 2000 and taking up the role of Vice President for International Aff airs in early 2011. We were pleased to welcome him to the AGM in Sydney this year and look forward to working with him in the years to come.

Dr Gemma Marakas has been working as part of the Secretariat for a few months covering Clare Noakes’s maternity leave. Now that Clare is back, Gemma will be working closely with the Research Leaders group and DDoGS to help support initiatives to build collaborative opportunities for research and researchers. This is part of the network’s commitment to help support those at the beginning of their research careers to develop international networks and linkages through activities such as the Graduate Research Conference and the Early Career Researcher Workshops, the fi rst of which was recently hosted by the University of New South Wales – a report of this appears on page 4.

Gemma is well-placed to support these activities, having recently completed her PhD in Greek archaeology at the University of Birmingham – her thesis on Greek Bronze age ritual practice has just been published, and during her postgraduate career she taught classes at undergraduate level. She brings this fi rst-hand experience to our work in supporting the academy of the future, a key part of our refreshed strategic focus.

New Manager at KUNew Manager at KU

The University of Glasgow has not one but two U21 Managers: Professor Andrea Nolan, Senior Vice Principal for Internationalisation, and Fiona Docherty, International Director, who recently joined Glasgow’s ‘Team U21’, replacing Graham Paterson.

Fiona joined the university two years ago, having previously worked in sales and marketing director roles in both the tourism and the tea and coff ee sectors. So if you’re ever visiting Glasgow, be prepared for a pot of Lapsang Souchong and a run-down of all the fantastic art galleries, museums and gardens that you should see whilst in town! Fiona has now returned to her alma mater where she studied History in the 1980s, and is helping to take forward the new university strategy, Glasgow 2020: A Global Vision. To support this plan, Glasgow is investing greater resources in the U21 network activities over the next fi ve years.

As U21 Managers, both Fiona and Andrea are really keen to build on Glasgow’s existing U21 links and develop new initiatives. They look forward to working with colleagues to expand student and staff exchanges, support early career researcher training, develop joint PhDs and share best practice. (And they love being ‘tour guides’ when colleagues come to visit!)

Glasgow’s New ManagerGlasgow’s New Manager

Familiar Familiar Face, New Face, New RoleRole

Another U21 university to have two Managers is the University of Birmingham, where Dr Edward Harcourt, Director of International Relations, has just been formally appointed to the role of Manager to work with current U21 Manager Professor Michael Sheppard.

Edward is already a familiar face to many

in the network, having represented Birmingham at a number of meetings over the past few years and we are pleased to have him on board in an ‘offi cial’ capacity.

We are also pleased to welcome Professor Anand Prakesh who has become the University of Delhi’s new U21 Manager and look forward to working with him and his colleagues in the International Relations offi ce at Delhi. His profi le will appear in the next edition!

Professor Jae Won Lee

Fiona Docherty

Dr Gemma Marakas

Dr Edward Harcourt

Issues for All Issues for All Issues for All

The unprecedented earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March 2011 infl icted untold devastation on the country, particularly in the Tohoku region. We realise that the disaster has been a major concern for our partner universities. On behalf of Professor Kaoru Kamata, President of Waseda University, I would like to express my gratitude for the outpouring of support and encouragement we have received from our U21 partners as well as other colleagues around the world. Because Waseda University is the only Japanese university that is a member of U21, I felt that we have an obligation to explain the impact of the disaster, and the role of universities in reconstruction eff orts. We hope that this article gives you a more accurate view and understanding of Japan’s present situation, and helps to promote academic exchanges with Japan.

Firstly, let me give you an overview of the disaster. The Great East Japan Earthquake registered a magnitude 9, with 15,270 dead, 8,499 missing and 5,363 wounded (as of 30 May). The expected total cost of the damage is huge, estimated between 16 trillion and 25 trillion yen. By comparison, the February 2011 Christchurch Earthquake in New Zealand had a magnitude of 6.1: in terms of energy, the Great East Japan Earthquake was 22,000 times stronger than the Christchurch Earthquake, signifying the sheer destructive force of this disaster.

Secondly, I would like to focus attention on the tsunami damage. The tsunami was more than 10 metres high. At its highest point the wave crested at 38.9 metres above sea level. It infl icted heavy damage on 52 municipalities mainly along the Pacifi c coast areas of the Tohoku region. The devastation extended from coastal areas to several kilometres inland.

Thirdly, the status of the nuclear power plant accident following the disaster should also be noted. The region continues to be aff ected by radiological release, with a No Entry Zone established within a 20-kilometre radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. However, unlike the Chernobyl accident, the Fukushima accident saw no explosion of the reactor itself, and not even a continuous fi re, although a hydrogen explosion destroyed the reactor buildings. Recovery work is currently under way to cool down and stabilize the reactors.

Turning to the situation in Tokyo, damages were relatively limited with very few

structures destroyed. At present, life has largely returned to normal. One major concern of the Tokyo metropolitan area is power supply shortages expected this summer. Prior to the disaster, electricity generated at the Fukushima nuclear plants was supplied to the Tokyo metropolitan area. For this reason, Tokyo experienced a power shortage after the disaster. Rolling blackouts by area rotation were implemented for a time. Currently, the power shortage is being compensated for by electricity supplied to Tokyo from other power plants in operation, and power conservation measures at corporations and general households. However, further power conservation measures may become necessary in the summer when power consumption typically increases.

Industry has been signifi cantly aff ected. The marine industry along the stricken coastal areas has sustained extensive damage, including fi sheries, aquaculture and marine food processing. Damage to semiconductor factories in the devastated areas is having an impact on the car industry, including US and European manufacturers. There has also been an indirect impact from harmful rumours. Concerns about Japan’s diminishing international competitiveness and a decline in market share due to a suspension of business activities are yet another mark of the devastation that the earthquake and tsunami have left behind.

In these circumstances, Japan has started its journey on the road to reconstruction now that some months have passed since the disaster. There is much to be done. Promotion of reconstruction projects, support for local governments, developing safe nuclear power systems and alternative energy resources, responding to the nuclear accident by cooling down and stabilising the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and providing compensation for victims, developing safer emergency evacuation systems and constructing durable social systems that are resilient to disasters in industry, transportation and city functions – the list goes on. Universities’ co-operation is essential, particularly in research, development and technical support. Therein lies the role we must fulfi l. There is no end to the areas in which we could make a diff erence. Breakwaters,

earthquake resistance and seismic isolation technologies, new energy resources and energy conservation are some to name but a few.

Waseda University has set up a Special Scholarship for students whose households are based in the disaster areas and have lost their source of income. Other measures include a fundraising drive and the dispatch of student volunteers to support reconstruction eff orts. We also established the Waseda University Center for Research on Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake in order to contribute to society by putting our resources as a research-intensive university to good use. The Center constitutes an aggregation of mid- and long-term interdisciplinary research projects. The university will support seven selected research topics in the following three fi elds: Medicine & Health Care, Infrastructure Restoration and Disaster Management Systems, and Urban Planning and Social Design. In each fi eld, research directed at supporting reconstruction eff orts is proceeding apace.

Universities have a signifi cant role to fulfi l in supporting reconstruction and rehabilitation from this devastating disaster. Particularly crucial is support in the three areas of collaboration with local governments, development of safe nuclear power systems and alternative energy sources, and constructing durable social systems that are resilient to disasters in industry, transportation and city functions. Waseda University intends to remain actively engaged in each area.

We wish to make the following request to our partner universities overseas. Based on a proper appreciation and correct understanding of the situation in Japan, we ask that you continue to promote and enhance academic exchange with Japan in such areas as joint research, international symposia and student exchanges. Active academic exchange will provide the energy needed to drive Japan’s reconstruction forward and to spark new technologies and ideas. Above all, this is the best way to support Japan. Through exchanges with our partners, Waseda University hopes to contribute to the further development of the U21 network. We look forward to a variety of exchanges with you all in many diff erent settings going forward.

Professor Katsuichi UchidaVice President for International Aff airsWaseda University

The university’s role in reconstructionThe university’s role in reconstruction

Forthcoming U21 Events Forthcoming U21 Events

26 August 2011 Deadline for Gilbert Medal nominations Worldwide

29 - 30 August 2011 Water Governance Workshop Lund University, Sweden

30 August - 3 September 2011

Workshop on Research Collaboration in Science and Music

Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, UK

15 September 2011 Deadline for U21 Award for Internationalisation nominations Worldwide

19 - 23 September 2011 Learning Environments Design Forum University of Birmingham, UK

25 - 30 September 2011 Health Sciences Meeting Korea University

5 - 6 October 2011 WFSC Steering Group Meeting University of Connecticut, USA

20 - 21 October 2011 U21 Managers’ Meeting University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus

3 - 4 November 2011 Teaching & Learning Network Conference University of British Columbia, Canada

29 - 30 November 2011 Water Reuse Workshop National University of Singapore

13 - 15 December 2011 Early Career Researcher Workshop on Healthy Living University of Birmingham, UK

9 - 11 May 2012 Annual Presidents’ Meeting & AGM Lund University, Sweden

Details of all U21 activities and events can be found online at www.universitas21.com/event

Out and about with U21Out and about with U21

The Back Page Interview The Back Page Interview

Universitas 21Strathcona 109 • University of Birmingham • Edgbaston • Birmingham • B15 2TT • UK

T: +44 121 415 8870 • F: +44 121 415 8873 • E: [email protected]

The deadline for receiving articles for the next newsletter is Wednesday 21 September 2011. Please send any text, photos or ideas to Clare Noakes ([email protected])

This edition’s Back Page Interview is with Dr Ross Lewin, Executive Director of the Offi ce of Global Programs at the University of Connecticut, one of U21’s newer members.

What is a typical day in your job?What’s so wonderful about my job is that there is no typical day. While my day usually begins at home shooting off a series of emails, once I’m at work I might fi nd myself preparing a budget, designing a new programme, nurturing a new partner, attending a meeting, resolving a problem, writing a conference paper, negotiating a contract or, developing a strategy. And the list goes on. I’m never bored.

What are the key challenges you are facing currently? Up until now, UConn’s international activities have been spread across the campus among various autonomous units, and my new responsibility is to bring them under one umbrella. While this presents me with a series of challenges, it’s also very exciting, as it will help us signifi cantly in advancing our internationalisation agenda.

What does the University of Connecticut have to off er U21? What does it gain from it?UConn off ers U21 a dynamic, ambitious and welcoming academic community that is eager to collaborate with other U21 members in ways that are both inside and outside of the box. We want to develop our exchanges, help create U21-wide undergraduate programmes, facilitate faculty exchanges, help establish new working groups, and identify new areas of research collaboration. By playing an active role in U21, UConn can provide its faculty, staff and students with a wonderful set of global opportunities. U21 can also help strengthen our university’s international reputation.

What are your favourite parts of your job? The two favourite parts of my job are helping to create life-changing global opportunities for our students and helping UConn establish a global presence.

What would you most like to change in Higher Education? I would like US Higher Education to require all of its undergraduate students to become fl uent in a foreign language, and I would like affl uent universities to exemplify global leadership by partnering collaboratively and productively with poorer universities around the globe.

What motivates you each day when you come to work? I passionately believe in the value of international education.

What does ‘internationalisation’ mean to you? Internationalisation means developing sister-like partnerships with universities around the globe. It means cultivating a sense of global civic responsibility among our students. It means getting one’s university to identify itself within a global rather than merely a national context. That’s not always easy for US institutions.

What has been the greatest infl uence on your professional life to date? The greatest infl uence on me professionally was probably a professor I had as an undergraduate. He was a political theorist and an extraordinary teacher. I took fi ve courses from him. He made me read and read and read great works, and then write and write about big questions related to how we should live together. In thinking

through how to manage my staff , develop a vision for internationalisation at UConn, or design a new programme for students, I fi nd myself going back to fundamental issues to which he so eloquently introduced me.

What was your proudest professional moment? Believe it or not, one of the proudest moments for me professionally was when UConn was offi cially invited to join U21.

What are your hobbies/how do you switch off from academic life? I walk my Pembroke Welsh Corgi every morning and evening come rain or shine. I also love to spend as much time as possible with my two year old daughter, Isabel, in the swimming pool, reading aloud to her, walking around the local farmer’s market, building block towers or even watching Elmo on my Blackberry. I also love to read novels.

What is your favourite book? My favourite book is probably Goethe’s Faust, as it relentlessly wrestles with some of the biggest issues confronting us even today, such as the limits of reason, the power of passion, and the ongoing challenge of responsibility. My favourite author is probably Thomas Mann. I particularly like his short stories.

Which fi gures from history would you invite to a dinner party and why? I would probably invite fi gures who had to make monumental historical decisions, such as Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, or Ghandhi.

If you were starting out your career, what might you do diff erently? I adore my job, but I might have chosen pediatric medicine as a profession if I could do it over again with what I know now. I can’t think of anything more rewarding than trying to help the most vulnerable among us.

How would you like to be remembered? Professionally, I’d like to be remembered as someone who played a signifi cant role in making global citizenship a cornerstone of international education.

Dr Ross Lewin

issue 21, july 2011 ssuccess in ... · the back page interview - dr ross lewin 15 universitas 21...

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