A new book that explores the rise and relevance of the Association of Commonwealth Universities as the world’s oldest international network of universities was launched at the ACU’s Centenary Conference, held at Senate House in London last week.

Published by SAGE Publications and edited by Deryck M. Schreuder, the book titled ‘Universities for a New World: Making a Global Network in International Higher Education, 1913-2013’ takes the centenary of the ACU as the starting point for its exploration of the international ‘academic revolution’ in modern higher education. The book – the foreword of which is written by the former Chair of the ACU Council, Professor Niger Harris – explores the utility of the ACU in its capacity-building role in a chapter contributed by the ACU’s Deputy Secretary General Dr John Kirkland and Librarian Nick Mulhern.

As well as charting the history and evolution of the ACU, it also focusses on what it refers to as the ‘protean “revolution” in higher education provision’, sampling the diverse experiences across the Commonwealth in particular, yet making comparisons and connections to broader developments in international higher education.

Covering areas such as international student mobility, higher education in India and Pakistan, the rise of ‘postmodern universities’, and the potential of e-learning to disrupt higher education, the book offers a range of insightful contributions from a wealth of respected names in international higher education.

‘[This book] constitutes a significant contribution to the thinking and literature about higher education, by raising and examining vital questions – not only for education but also for social scientists in many fields’ writes Thomas Symons, Founding President of Trent University, Canada, in his foreword.

In line with the ACU’s Centenary theme Future Forward: taking charge of change, the book also offers perspectives on the potential future of universities in the 21st century, concluding with the paradoxical assertion that ‘further change is now the only constant for higher education in an era of globalisation’.

To obtain a 20% discount, email [email protected] with the discount code UK13CF048.