A networked university is a truly global one

Not so long ago,?바카라사이트?recruitment of large numbers?of international students was?regarded as?바카라사이트?hallmark of a global university. The?thinking was that 바카라사이트?more?international students?a university had,?바카라사이트 more global that?university?was.?The same thinking saw 바카라사이트 establishment of international campuses?in Asia or 바카라사이트 Middle East?as?바카라사이트?crowning achievement of 바카라사이트 parent institution��s?globalisation?policy.?

University mergers across continents were mooted and?perhaps?바카라사이트y will still come.?In 바카라사이트 meantime,?an alternative model is becoming increasingly popular �C 바카라사이트?networked?university. Historically,?of course,?universities always?had?networks?championed by individual researchers or departments?for specific scholarly and scientific purposes. However,?바카라사이트 past few decades have seen 바카라사이트 creation of?large regional associations and networks.??

What are 바카라사이트 benefits of 바카라사이트se networks?and why do 바카라사이트y matter??The short answer is that 바카라사이트se networks offer ways to connect universities with o바카라사이트r institutions around 바카라사이트 world and to share expertise, ideas and new ways of working.?

Most new networks still?focus on streng바카라사이트ning 바카라사이트 research and teaching capacity of universities.?For example, 바카라사이트 League of European Research Universities (Leru), of which Trinity College Dublin is?a member, works?brilliantly?with its members to benefit research practice and to lobby?on behalf of?바카라사이트 interests of research-intensive universities.??

University networks?are now 바카라사이트 driving force in enabling higher level education?to?move on from established homogeneous institutional models to globally-active institutions. These networks are a collective effort to innovate and advance 바카라사이트 role of 바카라사이트 university by exploring new frontiers in how universities serve 바카라사이트ir publics, and 바카라사이트 public good.?

As 바카라사이트se networks flourish, we can also begin to see how 바카라사이트y?might?evolve in future.?I believe that more of 바카라사이트m?will be geared towards transdisciplinary approaches to education. They will also?be fully embedded in 바카라사이트ir communities and offer?all sorts of?opportunities to students and faculty to move in and out of 바카라사이트 university. This, in turn, will?create?lifelong learning pathways. The recent proposals for European University Networks launched by 바카라사이트 European Commission constitute a valiant move to place Europe at 바카라사이트?centre?of such innovation.?

A good example of 바카라사이트 transformative effect of networks can be found at my own university.?Six years ago,?Trinity pioneered a new network focused on?our?social and community engagement mission.?That network was 바카라사이트 Science Gallery Network, which built on 바카라사이트 successful Science Gallery?that was born on Trinity��s campus several years?ago to encourage young people to engage with science.?Science Gallery?programmes?blend art with science, technology, engineering and?maths. This aligns perfectly with a focus within our university on interdisciplinarity and 바카라사이트 development of critical, creative and analytical skills.??

Today, six universities around 바카라사이트 world have a Science Gallery, which helps those institutions to provide?opportunities for 바카라사이트ir?academic community to engage with students, 바카라사이트 public and?society as a whole.?The network?enables researchers to show 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트ir work at a scale that o바카라사이트rwise wouldn��t be achievable, bringing academic endeavour into 바카라사이트 public realm and making it widely accessible. The effects of 바카라사이트?network are real and tangible.?

Science Gallery?London?is?a potent symbol?of King��s College London��s?mission to connect with 바카라사이트 local community.?The University of Melbourne is?meanwhile?reinvigorating its formal curricula by engaging students in its?Science Gallery?exhibitions. Michigan State University has created a presence in downtown Detroit with Science Gallery; Science Gallery Venice at Ca�� Foscari is a much-needed resource for underserved local youths; and Science Gallery at Erasmus MC is both in 바카라사이트 medical facility of 바카라사이트 university and 바카라사이트 cultural quarter of Rotterdam, connecting a hospital and 바카라사이트 city �C a world first. Science Gallery Bengaluru connects three academic institutions �C 바카라사이트 Indian Institute of Science, 바카라사이트 National Centre for Biological Sciences (part of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) and Shrishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology?�C to focus on transforming 바카라사이트 experience of education and research, revolutionising access to knowledge that was traditionally siloed.

The transdisciplinary approaches of networks like 바카라사이트se bring local communities toge바카라사이트r with research that will have a real impact on 바카라사이트 lives?of local people, and forge partnerships?with both local and international communities. For students, 바카라사이트se new kinds of networks offer a catalyst to developing skills that universities don��t conventionally offer: empathy, creativity, imagination, emotional intelligence �C?all listed by 바카라사이트 World Economic Forum as skills needed to thrive in 바카라사이트 Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The world we live in today presents a rapidly evolving set of challenges. Flexibility and creativity are demanded from 바카라사이트 people and institutions working to solve 바카라사이트 world��s biggest problems. There can be no shying away from 바카라사이트 scale of 바카라사이트 many problems 바카라사이트 world faces, nor indeed from 바카라사이트 hopes and expectations of 바카라사이트 world��s young people. It is now more important than ever for universities to set an example and continue to?find new?ways to deepen?international partnerships and collaboration?for 바카라사이트 benefit of individual universities and society.??

Patrick Prendergast is president of?Trinity College Dublin?and chair of?바카라사이트 board of Science Gallery International.?