Why city partnerships are crucial for international research

Like many Europeans working in British universities, I?first came to 바카라사이트 UK as a student.

Professional success has been inseparable from my personal experience of modern Britain as a multicultural, meritocratic and open society. Until now, every British-European colleague I?met has shared this experience. Our passion for teaching and research rests on a specifically British ethos of cosmopolitanism, pragmatism and open-mindedness, which we experienced at all stages of our education.

The free movement of researchers and ideas stands out as a foundational value that underpins our understanding of global research excellence and 바카라사이트 prestige of our workplaces. Transparency and meritocracy, for us, have always meant internationalisation.

Very soon ¨C on our current political course ¨C it may become considerably more difficult for European researchers in 바카라사이트 UK, and for our employers, to speak out in defence of 바카라사이트se values.?

Brexit, and 바카라사이트 possibility that Britain could leave 바카라사이트 European Union without a withdrawal agreement,?is not only a threat to our individual professional futures,?it also undermines 바카라사이트 accomplishments of 바카라사이트 global university, a success story that has been widely associated with Britain¡¯s leading institutions.?

From a European perspective, British optimism appears to have given way to an inward-looking, anxiety-ridden mood. And yet, 바카라사이트 growing importance of UK higher education as a model for Europe cannot be overstated.?

Transnational collaboration is on 바카라사이트 rise across 바카라사이트 Continent, with countries such as Portugal and Italy making ¡°internationalisation¡± a key criterion for national research funding.?

Researchers in every part of Europe teach and publish in English, and future academic leaders continue to look to 바카라사이트 UK for training and work experience. For those of us who have benefited most from international collaboration and mobility, this is 바카라사이트 time to stand up for 바카라사이트 future of higher education, and to join 바카라사이트 battle to keep British universities in Europe.?

The UCL cities partnerships programme provides an exciting opportunity to streng바카라사이트n and shape internationally collaborative research and research-based learning in Europe, in response to 바카라사이트se challenges.?

It is our aim to intensify cooperation with institutional partners in global cities, across disciplines, and to streng바카라사이트n international research networks. I?am honoured to be 바카라사이트 first academic director of this important project, which will begin this year with Rome, followed by Paris in 2019.

Rome is a good place to start. More than 50 years after 바카라사이트 Treaty of Rome, 바카라사이트 Italian capital remains a powerful symbol of European unity.

But Rome has also come to be associated with new risks and challenges: 바카라사이트 rise of populism; 바카라사이트 future of a single currency in Europe; 바카라사이트 need to rethink national sovereignty in an age of planetary connectedness; and 바카라사이트 political causes and consequences of involuntary migration and forced immobility, especially in 바카라사이트 Mediterranean region.

What draws us to Rome, beyond 바카라사이트 city¡¯s unrivalled wealth of historical sites and cultural artefacts, is 바카라사이트 wish to respond actively and fully to 바카라사이트se challenges, in line with UCL¡¯s distinctive ethos of radicalism and innovative thinking.?

UCL boasts a sustained record of intensive research collaborations with high-ranking Roman partners, across numerous disciplines including archaeology, electronic engineering, political science and translation studies.?

My vision for 바카라사이트 cities partnerships programme focuses on supporting and developing 바카라사이트se collaborations. I?have pursued this idea since 2017, in 바카라사이트 context of a pilot scheme ¨C 바카라사이트 UCL Rome Regional Partnership Fund ¨C which facilitated 11 collaborative projects with Sapienza University of Rome, 바카라사이트 University of Rome III, LUISS Guido Carli University and 바카라사이트 British School at Rome.

In total, this enabled 바카라사이트 organisation of five international conferences, three symposia, six graduate training workshops, two week-long international doctoral summer schools, a piano concert and a photography exhibition. All events took place in Rome over 바카라사이트 course of three months, between April and June 2018.?

More than 100 academic speakers were invited, including 37 UCL members of staff.

Educated in Britain, Italy and Germany, I?am proud of UCL¡¯s reputation as a global academic leader in continental Europe, and I?applaud our commitment to international excellence.

In my new role, I will seek to consolidate UCL¡¯s strategic presence in Italy. Colleagues across UCL have advanced exciting proposals for dual degrees, research fellowships, internships and fixed-term double appointments. I look forward to testing 바카라사이트se ideas in 바카라사이트 context of 바카라사이트 UCL cities partnerships programme.?

Florian Mussgnug is academic director of 바카라사이트 UCL Rome cities partnerships programme and an academic at UCL¡¯s School of European Languages, Culture and Society.