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Universities have more power to ¡°push back¡± against politicians than they realise as the source of the ¡°brain power¡± driving countries¡¯ economies, scholars have stressed.

While the current political environment has variously been described as ¡°challenging¡±, ¡°dangerous¡±, and ¡°uncertain¡±, Helmut Kern, deputy chairman of the University of Vienna, said instead it should be seen as a time of ¡°great opportunity¡± for universities.

¡°Too often we let ourselves be dragged by politicians into political discussions, and we forget how strong we are as the ¡®brains¡¯ of our countries,¡± Kern told the Times Higher Education Europe Summit in Budapest.

¡°No country can operate without its brain power. No brain power can prevail without international relations and open exchange, all the values that we share. We underestimate the influence and the weight we have in those discussions, and we let ourselves too often and too quickly get dragged into daily politics.¡±

While Kern said it was good to ¡°keep some distance¡± from politics, universities should ¡°push back to politicians¡± when facing attacks.

Internationalisation and forming partnerships with other universities was ¡°a matter of survival¡± for his university in politically and economically challenging times, he added.

Christopher Cripps, vice-president for Europe and international affairs at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, agreed, adding: ¡°if we¡¯re not building partnerships, we¡¯re building silos¡± and ¡°at time of crisis, you look to your friends¡±.

He said ¡°universities withstand pretty much everything¡± including crusades, wars, pandemics ¨C and ¡°politicians¡±. But the current geopolitical climate and the aftermath of the Covid crisis have pushed universities into a ¡°change in paradigm¡± to ¡°think outside of the box¡±, and ¡°trying new models of collaborations¡±.

¡°Together, we are stronger, more impactful with more voice, and more resilience to withstand whatever comes¡­Partnerships must be a priority,¡± Cripps said.

However, he said that universities ¡°have to know when to draw the line, when to walk away¡± when a partnership is no longer working or there is a clash of values. ¡°Those values, you can imagine, include academic freedom as a non-negotiable, sovereignty and security, [and] intellectual property.¡± He added: ¡°If values don¡¯t travel, they¡¯re just marketing.¡±

Funmi Olonisakin, vice-president of international, engagement and service at King¡¯s College London, agreed that ¡°there¡¯s a lot we can do together¡± and there was not nearly enough partnership work among European universities.

International students play an important role in universities, especially in the UK, which is financially reliant on such students, Olonisakin added, but if providers ¡°don¡¯t take careful steps to provide an environment of globalised mindset, the same polarisation¡­will exist inside the universities¡±.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com