New campaign promoting higher education’s contribution to global challenges launched

Press release - 17 October 2013

A new campaign to raise awareness of how higher education can and should respond to global challenges beyond 2015 was launched yesterday by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).

‘The world beyond 2015 – is higher education ready?’ campaign will explore higher education’s contribution to global development challenges ahead of the Millennium Development Goals expiring in 2015. The campaign provides an international platform for diverse voices within and outside the university sector, and will build an evidence base to show how and why higher education is important.

The Beyond 2015 campaign is structured around six key questions:

1. Why does the Post-2015 agenda matter for higher education?
2. How are universities already addressing local, national, and international issues?
3. How can universities prepare to respond to the Post-2015 agenda?
4. What partnerships should universities establish to achieve their objectives?
5. How can universities champion their contributions to wider society?
6. How relevant and realistic are the Post-2015 goals likely to be?

Submissions in response to any of these six questions are invited, and will be displayed on the dedicated campaign website at www.acu.ac.uk/beyond-2015

Dr John Kirkland, Deputy Secretary General of the ACU, said ‘The ACU’s Beyond 2015 campaign will support universities in articulating a shared vision for how they can contribute to global challenges. Participating in the campaign is a good way to demonstrate your commitment to ensuring that higher education is ready to respond to the emerging Post-2015 agenda’.

The campaign was launched at a reception held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, as part of the ACU Centenary Conference.

Notes:

1. The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is the world's first and oldest international university network, established in 1913. A UK-registered charity, the ACU has over 500 member institutions in developed and developing countries across the Commonwealth. For further information, visit www.acu.ac.uk

2. ‘The world beyond 2015 – is higher education ready?’ is the ACU’s campaign to raise awareness of how higher education can and should respond to global challenges beyond 2015. For further information, visit www.acu.ac.uk/beyond-2015 or follow @HEbeyond2015 on Twitter.

3. For further information, please contact:

Natasha Lokhun
+44 (0)20 7380 6760
[email protected]