HISTORY NOW

I encourage anyone reading this on New Year’s day to watch Simon Schama’s BBC TV series called “History Now” Schama is always a compelling presenter but in this series, he is more than a messenger, offering something of a call to arms as he emotionally recounted memories of watching Václav Havel address crowds of CzechContinue reading “HISTORY NOW”

Five options for restoring global biodiversity after the UN agreement

From the Conversation December 20th 2022 To slow and reverse the fastest loss of Earth’s living things since the dinosaurs, almost 200 countries have signed an agreement in Montreal, Canada, promising to live in harmony with nature by 2050. The Kunming-Montreal agreement is not legally binding but it will require signatories to report their progress towards meeting targets suchContinue reading “Five options for restoring global biodiversity after the UN agreement”

COHORT 2040 CHALLENGE

How Can Future Leaders be Better Prepared for a Future of Worsening Environmental Crisis (https://www.ippr.org/files/2022-01/cohort-2040-jan-22.pdf   ) This report from the Institute for Public Policy research(IPPR) is yet another wake up call for all of those who are asking where the leadership will come from to tackle a worsening environmental and social crisis created by humanitiesContinue reading “COHORT 2040 CHALLENGE”

Place- Based Learning and Climate Emergencies

 Cities around the globe have a unique and powerful role to play in mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts. Estimates suggest that urban activities produce 75 percent of global CO2 emissions, making them major contributors to climate change. Yet their growing populations are also extremely vulnerable to climate change, with climate change-induced heatContinue reading “Place- Based Learning and Climate Emergencies”

PEDAGOGIES OF TRANSITION

The times call for pedagogies that cultivate integrated knowledge and global citizenship, yet we continue to educate for a world we don’t want. In the long term, we need educational systems aligned with new imperatives, while in the near term offering innovate curricula and teaching within existing systems. The forward-looking educators on this Forum’s panels—Frameworks and Practices—probeContinue reading “PEDAGOGIES OF TRANSITION”

LEVELLING UP WHITE PAPER 2022

  I wrote this extract immediately below from a blog in July 2020 and was surprised by what seemed to be its impact.   There is a growing interest in the idea of civic universities. It’s an idea which has a new resonance with many who believe it’s time for a reassessment of what aContinue reading “LEVELLING UP WHITE PAPER 2022”

Quality of the Student Experience and the Levelling up Agenda

  Since its inception in 2018 the Office for Students (OfS) has not placed any priority on the environmental and social sustainability agenda unlike its predecessors (Higher Education Funding Council; Quality Assurance Agency). So, I was interested to see it announce a new consultation on its next strategy. What caught my attention was the propositionContinue reading “Quality of the Student Experience and the Levelling up Agenda”

Twelve Principles for Reinventing the 21 Century University

Universities are much in the news, but it is not good news. The rise in the  pandemic R number in the UK is having a profound impact on university students as they return in their thousands to campuses to find in many of them that they face total lockdown. So, no immersive quality campus experienceContinue reading “Twelve Principles for Reinventing the 21 Century University”

Climate Assembly UK: Talking about the whether…

Guest Blog by Barry Carney, Research Associate with Change Agents UK The UK is legally committed to net zero emissions by 2050. This target was put forward by the Government’s statutory advisor, the Committee on Climate Change, for delivering on the UK’s commitments to the Paris Agreement. The measures are a continued response to theContinue reading “Climate Assembly UK: Talking about the whether…”

CIVIC UNIVERSITIES and CIVIC RENEWAL

There is a growing interest in the idea of civic universities. It’s an idea which has a new resonance with many who believe its time for a reassessment of what a university is for(see my earlier blogs on From Green Academy to Ecological Universities and What is a University For?). I was particularly struck byContinue reading “CIVIC UNIVERSITIES and CIVIC RENEWAL”