Laura and Catherine co-edited the recently published volume Higher Education for Good: Teaching and Learning Futures. The book, an edited collection of work by 71 authors in 18 countries, explores what better futures for higher education could look like across a range of contexts, focusing on HE futures that are just, humane and globally sustainable. In addition to chapters written in conventional academic forms, the book includes speculative fiction, dialogues, poetry, audio, a graphic story, and artwork. The book’s central thrust is an exploration of what “good” could look like in a sector reeling from economic, ecological and health crises.

During this session, the speakers will give an overview of the book, including the 5 tenets of a “manifesto for higher education for good” which emerged from the book’s chapters. Following this, they will invite participants to respond to the book’s themes and the manifesto, and to share their own ideas regarding higher education for good.

Laura Czerniewicz is Professor Emerita at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, previously the founding director of its Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching. Her professional life has engaged in education from many perspectives including researcher, teacher, publisher and open education advocate, with a consistent focus on equity, digital inequality and justice.  She has played a key strategic and scholarly role in open and online education locally and internationally. She can be found online at @czernie and at https://czernie.weebly.com.

Catherine Cronin is an independent scholar focusing on critical and social justice approaches in open, digital and higher education. Her most recent roles were as a GO-GN Fellow and as digital/open education lead in Ireland’s National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in HE. Catherine has published widely and openly on topics including open educational practices, open education policy, critical and social justice approaches, and intersectional feminism. She blogs and shares scholarship at http://catherinecronin.net

Resources for participants: Higher Education for Good: Teaching and Learning Futures (2023)