Universities are critical for Europe’s future in terms of social and political integration, and in providing an institutional framework through which Europe acts in the world. At a time of radically transforming European and global contexts, what roles should universities play in tackling issues ranging from gender and social inequalities and integration of refugees, to public access to research, and repositioning Europe in a world of competing global strategies over flows of knowledge, researchers and students?

To fulfil this renewed societal engagement and critical public purpose requires rethinking how universities are organised and how they carry out their core activities. The conference will share knowledge generated over two years by Europe-wide working groups on new forms of knowledge production, accountability and public trust, and technologies of management. It offers new insights into tackling gender inequality and precarity, refugee access to higher education, and alternative approaches to internationalisation.

The conference is free, hybrid and open to academics, students and administrators.

The conference is for senior and early-stage researchers and members of the policy community and aims to develop a dialogue between the research and policy-making communities. Conference organizer is Professor Susan Wright, Aarhus University and further information about the project is available at https://projects.au.dk/european-universities-critical-futures/

Programme Overview
Day 1, 23 October
10.00-10.30  Introduction and welcome
10.30-12.00  COVID 19, open science and collaborative research
13.00-14.30  Trust - alternatives to metrics
15.15-16.45  Impacts of management technologies on university work

Day 2, 24 October
10.00-12.00  Gender inequity and precarity
13.00-14.30  Refugee access to higher education
15.15-16.45  Alternative internationalisms
16.45-17.30  Closure and future actions

Se the full programme.

Register by 13^th October at https://events.au.dk/europeanuniversities-criticalfutures