Abstract by Prof. Diana Beech
In this panel discussion, I am keen to explore what it means to secure freedom in higher education. As concerns about security, resilience and national interests rise, how can universities remain open to the people, ideas and partnerships that have always been central to their success?
From a UK perspective, I believe this is about much more than managing risk. It is also about maintaining the public trust and confidence that give universities their freedom to operate in the first place. In an age of rising populism, universities need to do more to show how global engagement benefits the communities and countries they serve.
Rather than seeing openness and security as competing priorities, I am interested in how universities can bring them together. International partnerships, student mobility and research collaboration can play a vital role in developing the sovereign capabilities that nations increasingly value – from skills and innovation to technological leadership and economic resilience. In this way, global engagement becomes not a challenge to national priorities, but a means of advancing them.
I look forward to discussing with colleagues how universities can balance openness with responsibility, academic freedom with security, and global ambitions with civic purpose. Ultimately, the future of higher education depends not only on protecting universities from external threats, but on continuing to earn the trust of the societies they exist to serve.
You can read Diana’s latest thinking on why universities urgently need to rebuild their legitimacy with the public as they head into a tougher political era in the UK in her co-authored Preparing for Populism report, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute.