Date and Time

Theme

Session introduction

Date: Monday 11 May

Time: 10.00-10.45am UK time
 

Recruitment

The view from the frontline – evolving student perceptions and changing market sentiment

This breakout session will see a panel of education agents and school counsellors from India and China sharing their thoughts and opinions of the impact of Covid-19 on future student decision-making and market sentiment.

Date: Wednesday 13 May

Time: 09.30-10.15am UK time

Recruitment

Digital transformation – the future of international student recruitment

This breakout session will focus on exploring what the future international student recruitment might look like as it becomes ever more digitally reliant.

Experienced international student recruitment experts will present their thoughts and opinions on the pros and cons of a digital recruitment pipeline as well as discussing future skills that recruitment experts will need.

Date: Friday 15 May

Time: 10.00-11.00am UK time

Recruitment

Yes, no, maybe…we don’t know – probable and possible implications of Covid-19 on the international Higher Education landscape

This session will begin with Matt Durnin, British Council International Education Services Global Head of Insights and Consultancy presenting his views on what the post-Covid-19 international Higher Education landscape might look like.

Following this, Jazreel Goh, British Council Director Education China, will invite a panel of highly experienced HE professionals to share their views on how Covid-19 might shape the international higher education landscape and what it all might mean for those responsible for developing future institutional international strategies.

Date: Tuesday 19 May
Time: 9.30-10.30am UK time
 

TNE

TNE - Governance Policy and Management in uncertain times

TNE policy makers, experts and practitioners from the UK and East Asia will outline their thinking in response to current crisis and best practice in the development of joint programmes and institutes.

Dialogue will address such questions as:

• how has this time of uncertainty changed government priorities, policies and the regulatory environment for TNE e.g. TNE approval, degree recognition?
• What are the current biggest operational challenges in transnational education? What implications are there for future TNE operations
• How will governance and management in TNE change / adapt to support increasing virtual connectedness?
• How should UK institutions plan in the short and long term for future TNE? What governance considerations will UK and local partners need to take to ensure sustainability of future TNE?

Date: Tuesday 26 May  
Time: 9.30-10.30am UK time

Outward Mobility

Student and graduate perceptions on outward mobility opportunities in a post-Covid-world

The global pandemic has led to significant disruptions including travel restrictions, university campus closures and programme cancellations or postponements. With many students being forced to change their foreseeable plans, this panel will bring together young British students and graduates to share their thoughts and opinions on the implications of Covid-19. Discussion will cover impacts on:

• future mobility opportunities;
• expectations on universities (support, funding, well-being etc.)
• the relevance of study abroad during times of crisis;
• pathways for future travel and job opportunities

Date: Friday 5 June
Time: 9.30-10.30am UK time

TNE

TNE – Student Experience In a Post-Mobility Environment

Faced with a new generation of students with sophisticated demands and high expectations, how would TNE policy makers and providers meet the demands and changes to ensure positive student experience through virtual delivery and possibility of less face to face interactions with academics? Discussion will explore such questions as:

• what approaches can help protect and optimise the positive experience and well-being of students?
• support for academics in preparing learning and effective virtual teaching resources 
• in a post-mobility world, how do TNE providers continue to offer students quality learning experience and flexibility?
• Fundamentally, how would TNE providers continue ensure 
  
  • greater access to learning resources
  • stronger connections with employers and industry
  • language learning opportunities
  • enhanced academic integration with home campus

Date: Tuesday 9 June
Time: 9.30-10.15am UK time
 

Outward Mobility

Early decision making and the future of outward mobility – insights for university and industry leader

The impacts of Covid-19 have challenged universities to make quick decisions on how to deal with the global pandemic.  This panel will start with a short case study on how university made early decisions for their mobility programmes in the context of the pandemic. The discussion will then go on to explore implications for outward mobility from university and industry leader perspectives, topics will include:

• short and medium implications for outward mobility programmes;
• university timelines for re-starting outward mobility programmes;
• funding priorities;
• a global experience at home; and
• industry perspective on internships in a post-Covid world

Date: Thursday 18 June
Time: 9.30-10.30am UK time
 

TNE

TNE - Academics and Faculty Engagement

Current travel restrictions and the demand for online teaching have led to the grounding of flying faculties and local staff. Institutions face increasing challenges, culturally and academically, in their efforts to sustain quality TNE delivery across specifically

• capacity building for effective online teaching
• boosting virtual collaborations and closer integration between home and off-shore academics
• boosting academic-student virtual interactions

Date: Friday 26 June 2020
Time: 09:30 – 10:30am UK time

Beyond the pandemic: the future of international research collaboration

According to a recent New York Times article, never before have so many of the world’s researchers focused so urgently on a single topic – Covid-19. While politicians are closing national borders to try and halt the pandemic, scientists have been collaborating on an unprecedented scale. This international cooperation is likely to have a long-term legacy for international research collaboration beyond the development of any vaccine or therapeutics for Covid-19.

• What will the impact be on the development of the wider collaborative research agenda in the future?
• Will there be greater international academic collaboration on other key global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss or over population?
• Are innovative collaborative models are emerging? 
• What are the key challenges and risks associated with international collaborations?
• Is this international collaboration likely to influence the decisions governments, policymakers and funders make about research priorities and allocation of resources?

Date: Tuesday 30 June
Time: 9.30-10.30am UK time

Graduate Employability and Alumni

Employability in the post Covid-19 environment: supporting the class of 2020

Nearly a decade since the onset of the Great Recession, many of the world’s major economies have stabilized their footing, and employment rates have surpassed pre-2008 levels. However, Covid-19 means that we would inevitably be heading into another global recession.   What does this mean for the graduates of 2020?  What challenges and opportunities would these graduates be presented with? How (if any) can institutions and industry come together to support this ‘crisis cohort?’ In addition, whilst student experience and graduate employability are at the heart of higher education reform agendas internationally, how can the education sector ensure that this graduating cohort have access to high quality teaching through digital delivery and working with industry, support the class of 2020 to secure a rewarding and fulfilling career in an evolving and post Covid-19 environment?

This session will be preceded by two breakout sessions with graduates to capture their current sentiments

Date: Thursday 2 July
Time: 9.30-10.30am UK time

TNE

TNE – Directions of Travel

In the wake of the current pandemic, TNE providers have rapidly adopted novel approaches to help students succeed. What is the role TNE will play in the internationalisation of education post Covid 19? What can we learn from our experiences today to create a secure future for TNE and enable programmes and students to thrive?

Reimagining equitable access – challenges and opportunities in online teaching and learning

Covid-19 has forced every higher education institution (HEI) to hastily shift teaching and learning into virtual delivery modes to ensure continuity.  With this disruption, ministries and university leadership have realised that online instruction needs to be recognized as core to every university’s plan for institutional resilience and sustainability in the post pandemic future.  Whilst HEIs race to embrace technology to ensure their survival, there is an emerging need to consider the broader implications of embedding online teaching and learning into ministerial policy and higher education institutional strategies as we move forward.

• Challenges: What are governments, universities and other relevant stakeholders doing to ensure widening participation amidst the threat of widening the digital divide?
• Priorities: How are faculty being supported to effectively adapt curriculum, redesign pedagogy and deliver quality content in the immediate and long terms?  
• Opportunities: How can teaching and learning partnerships and collaborations help to shape the “new normal” of within a framework of equitable access?  

Social innovation and entrepreneurship across boundaries

It is increasingly important for universities to fast-track their role as global hubs of innovation by harnessing their knowledge, resources, people and facilities to address the socio-economic and technological challenges of COVID-19. This session will present the results of British Council’s mapping study of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in higher education across Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, and re-examine the learnings from the British Council’s Building Research Innovation for Community Knowledge and Sustainability (BRICKS) initiative in Hong Kong. Panellists will respond to the findings from the study and key learnings from BRICKS and explore how partnerships and multisectoral collaborations can foster social innovation and social entrepreneurship for wider societal impact in a landscape impacted by Covid-19. Key discussions will include:

• What can governments and universities can do to create an environment where social innovation and social entrepreneurship can respond in an agile and timely manner to current societal needs?
• How would governments and universities partner with CSOs and NGOs to engage students and communities to generate innovative solutions that tackle the challenges of Covid-19?
• What are the opportunities for a multisectoral collaboration approach (governments, universities, CSOs/NGOs) that can fast track social innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives for greater societal impact?