Kick-off conference and PhD course for the project ‘European Universities – Critical Futures’

Date: May 6-8, 2019

Venue: Danish School of Education, Campus Emdrup, Tuborgvej 164, 2400 Copenhagen NV

Registration deadline: April 21, 2019

About fee and registration: Link Arrow Here

Application for PhD students: In addition to registration on this site, please would PhD students apply for a place Link Arrow here

Contact: Professor Sue Wright, Director of CHEF, Link Arrow suwr@edu.au.dk , is the main organiser of the conference 

What are the future roles of universities in creating social and regional integration in Europe, in a shifting global context?

This leads to the three themes of the project:

  1. The role of universities in European social and political integration (social mobility, refuges, democracy)
  2. The roles of universities in integration of European research and higher education ( global knowledge economy, ERA, EHEA)
  3. European universities in a shifting global context (China’s and other countries’ competing global strategies)

Across these three themes we will consider what research, policy and organisational changes are needed? How can the network best promote public debate of its ideas and discussions with policy makers? How can the research generated be translated into action? 

To address these themes, a network of senior and early stage researchers, with members from 17 higher education research centres in Denmark and across Europe is holding a series of workshops incorporating PhD training events. They will share existing knowledge, develop new research and rethink the role of European universities in a situation of political, social and geopolitical upheaval. The objectives are to collectively reshape the research agenda on European university research and generate ideas for engaging with national and European policy makers on future higher education and research strategies. 

Further aims are first, to foster a generational shift, by forming networks among PhD students/early stage researchers (ESRs) and senior researchers, with space for ESRs to define agendas for collective future research, and second, to foster relationships with the policy community, such that they engage in dialogue with researchers about the agendas and ideas generated by the project.

In order to develop collaborative thinking on universities’ critical futures, the first two days of the integrated kick-off conference/PhD course will be organised as a ‘search conference’, facilitated by Professor Davydd Greenwood (Emeritus, Cornell University) one of the best exponents of this participatory methodology. This brings PhD students/ESRs together with senior researchers and members of the policy community to share their knowledge and current research about the role of universities in Europe and to discuss their aspirations and research ideas for the future. In addition, there will be sessions to discuss the interface between European and university values; and to reflect on different techniques of future making. The third day will involve senior and early stage researchers focusing on each of the project’s above three themes to discuss PhD students’ current projects, generate foci for subsequent workshops and plan collaborative activities 

The conference’s cumulative design means there is no dipping in and out.

It is  open to:

  • One senior and one early stage/PhD student from each partner research centre (one place paid by the project and one place self-funded).
  • Any PhD students working on the above issues (on a self-funded basis)
  • Other researchers and policy makers working on the above issues (on a self-funded and first come first served basis).

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