Learning Together - Reshaping Higher Education in a Global Age

Abstract

The conference Learning Together ?Ǩ Reshaping Higher Education in a Global Age took place at the Institute of Education, University of London, on 22-24 July 2007, organised by the International Student Experience Sub-Committee of the Equal Opportunities Committee. At the start of the conference Yu-Ching Kuo, a PhD student at the Institute of Education, and a member of the conference organising committee, posed a number of questions to participants asking whether there was a ?Ǩcorrect?ǨѢ way of learning or engaging with people in global higher education institutions, and whether higher education institutions in a global age should act as centres which disseminate knowledge or transform students into knowledge creators.

The conference aimed to bring together policy makers, students, academic and administrative staff to explore some of the economic, social and political aspects of globalised higher education, particularly seen from the angle of practice in higher education classrooms. The conference organisers were concerned with the urgent and compelling challenges posed to higher education by learning and teaching in a global age, marred by inequalities, but rich in opportunities for dialogue. Their hope was that through an innovative combination of the presentation of research with workshops on curriculum, the student experience and the challenge of higher education pedagogies, the conference would be a significant contribution to how we reshape higher education. More than 140 participants took part, with just under half coming from outside the UK1. This special issue of Reflecting Education is the first of three edited collections bringing together papers first presented at the conference.