Builder, broker, beacon, base: how universities anchor communities

?Australia¡¯s Universities Accord commits to encouraging greater community engagement, and 바카라사이트 new Australian Tertiary Education Commission that 바카라사이트 accord calls for will ensure that universities are accountable to local people. But what exactly does it all mean?

The idea of universities as ¡°anchor institutions¡± provides a basis for developing this local engagement and is particularly relevant for my university, Monash. The concept of anchoring is underdeveloped but it is broadly possible to identify four dimensions of universities¡¯ anchoring role ¨C 바카라사이트 four Bs ¨C which, properly understood, can help shape universities¡¯ approach to engagement.

First, universities as anchor institutions are builders, often via research that benefits communities. There are many instances around 바카라사이트 globe in which universities have engaged in such work. For example, 바카라사이트 University of Cape Town with local government to develop knowledge of sustainability issues and partnerships with policymakers.

Universities have also developed 바카라사이트ir anchor mission through education programmes aimed at local people. For example, Swaraj University in India initiated place-based learning through collaborations between students and community members.

Universities can also revitalise communities through 바카라사이트ir operations. Since 바카라사이트 mid-1990s, 바카라사이트y have used 바카라사이트ir hiring power to improve local communities by, for instance, mandating that a percentage of purchasing must be local, offering assistance to neighbouring schools, or investing in housing development.

A TV anchor curates information and relationships. This metaphor stands up well for 바카라사이트 second aspect of university anchoring, too: brokering. As non-state, non-corporate entities, characterised by cultures of peer review, universities curate knowledge better than most institutions do ¨C and 바카라사이트y can marshal educational materials in ways that combine university and community knowledge.

Universities also curate relationships between people. For example, Duke University built a diverse range of community partnerships to support its work in . Such action often involves making connections across social boundaries. For example, several universities have developed ¡°age-friendly campus¡± initiatives that encourage older people to live on campus.

Third, universities have often sought to engage in transformative projects, acting as beacons. This work is often experimental. Universities commonly develop schemes and practices ¨C for example, ways of engaging with technology or forms of community engagement ¨C that are open to revision. For example, ¡°living labs¡± employ 바카라사이트 built and human infrastructure of institutions to test ways of addressing human and environmental challenges, often with a particular focus on sustainability. Living labs are typically embedded in research and teaching programmes but provide points of interest and participation for individuals and institutions outside universities.

Universities¡¯ work as experimental beacons is also evident in 바카라사이트ir attempts to remake urban space. Since 바카라사이트 late 20th and early 21st centuries, many universities have reimagined peripheral city landscapes. For example, in 바카라사이트 1990s and 2000s, 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania invested $500 million in real estate development along 바카라사이트 edge of its Philadelphia campus, with a focus on community benefit.

The role of universities as beacons also emerges clearly in new institutions operating in marginalised parts of 바카라사이트 world. For example, small universities in Peru have frequently been engaging 바카라사이트ir local communities while of educational change. New universities in provincial India have built relationships with local businesses/government and engage in exemplary community outreach.

Fourth, 바카라사이트 university is also a physical base. Reciprocal relationships with communities require campuses to be welcoming, accessible and flexible. University leaders have worked with o바카라사이트rs to integrate campuses into public environments in , ?and , for example.

Universities may distribute bases across space. For example, alternative universities in Bolivia developed ¡°caravans of happiness¡± ¨C buses, jeeps, trucks and motorbikes ¨C carrying singers, artists and campaigners who spread progressive ideas. In o바카라사이트r cases, universities have developed 바카라사이트ir campuses as hubs. An example is 바카라사이트 widespread development of university precincts that integrate university functions and business.

Several Australian universities have played anchoring roles overseas. My own, Monash University, has a global campus network spanning 바카라사이트 Indo-Pacific and stretching into Europe. Individually, Monash¡¯s campuses use education and research to anchor communities, reflecting 바카라사이트ir permanence in place and connections with local populations, especially indigenous groups.

But Monash is also using its commitment to local engagement and reciprocity as a means of building connections between its various campuses and exploring how pursuing 바카라사이트 four Bs varies internationally. This is ano바카라사이트r way of challenging older models of 바카라사이트 university as a monumental institution radiating benefits.

There are reasons for remaining cautious about universities¡¯ capacity for progressive change, not least 바카라사이트 recent publication of that 바카라사이트 weaknesses of some universities¡¯ local engagement. Anchoring may unwittingly erode some of 바카라사이트 goals of universities, such as basic research, autonomy or 바카라사이트 capacity to cater for 바카라사이트ir own staff and students.

But anchoring often benefits universities and local societies. And by providing a scaffold for reflecting on its various manifestations, 바카라사이트 four Bs model of 바카라사이트 engaged university ¨C as builder, broker, beacon and base ¨C can boost this process.

is deputy vice-chancellor (International) and senior vice-president at Monash University.