The need for higher education that is relevant to students’ lives, accessible to everyone, and interconnected on a global scale has been emphasised by experts at a Qatar Foundation (QF)-led discussion during the Doha Forum 2024.Moderated by Francisco Marmolejo, president of Higher Education and Education Advisor, QF, the session brought together educators from east and west to explore the opportunities, challenges, and risks surrounding globalised learning and international education, in a world that has become increasingly polarised.The discussion delved into issues such as the impact of rising nationalism, "anti-intellectualism”, and cost on higher education worldwide, and how it can both benefit and come under threat from Artificial Intelligence. Among the perspectives shared was that of the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), from which students, faculty, and staff evacuated to Qatar have continued their learning journey at QF’s Education City, through a strategic partnership between Qatar Fund for Development, QF, and the university."The arrival of the Afghan students into our ecosystem of education has been very refreshing in many ways,” said Marmolejo. "I’m sure it has helped to change the lives of many of our students just by getting a sense of the challenges and the struggles that these students who have become part of our community have brought with them.Ambassador Said T Jawad, chairman of AUAF, stressed the importance of international partnerships in higher education, saying: "There are problems that cannot be solved through one model and in one place – there is every reason to be collaborating, both in terms of our needs as institutions and in terms of solving human problems.”Dr Fanta Aw, director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, told the panel that higher education should not "let a good crisis go to waste”, and that organisations and institutions in the non-education sphere can work in collaboration with the higher education sector to harness opportunities.”Universities have a responsibility to serve their societies as well as their learners, according to Dr Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, who warned: "Unless we provide access for all students, we are not fulfilling our obligations to our students and to our societies, and we are violating that social compact.Dr Ahmad Dallal, president of the American University of Cairo, cited several reasons for his view that "international education has a big problem” – violence leading to student and faculty deaths; increasing nationalism "and the ideological projects being imposed on institutions of higher education”; the cost of education and its "return on investment”; and technology.”The panellists also spoke about the uniqueness of the international education model at QF’s Education City – where branch campuses of international universities stand alongside QF’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University – and how it stands as an example of collaborative learning through enabling students from more than 120 countries to have multiple educational experiences.
December 12, 2024 | 11:30 PM