British Council: Going Global 2021

On Tuesday 15 June, NCUK’s CEO, Professor John Brewer had the pleasure of speaking at Going Global 2021, the conference for leaders of international education hosted by British Council.

Focusing on reimagining international tertiary education for a post pandemic world, the event featured a number of sessions hosted by education leaders from conference sessions, plenary sessions and masterclasses.

Professor Brewer was part of a discussion panel in which speakers shared their views around “Green internationalisation: A coherent HEI approach” and explored how university leaders should seek to proactively engage to the sustainability agenda.

The threat to the environment is one that has been with us for many years, and one of the ironic consequences of the recent global pandemic is that is has offered a partial solution to this long-term issue.  The use of technology to enable students to learn in their home environment could greatly reduce the carbon impact of future international student travel, and it is likely that we will see more and more universities establishing “in country” TNE to reduce the need for students to travel overseas.  Yet we must be aware that studying at an overseas university is much more than an education – it is a cultural experience that develops students as global citizens of the planet, and we must not return to the university environment of 40 years ago when the students were primarily from the country in which the university was based.

Professor John Brewer, NCUK Chief Executive Officer

If you would like to read more about the sessions that took place at the Going Global 2021 conference, please click here.