APRIL 2015 THE UNIVERSITY Times Higher Education Times Supplement to AND THE CITY GOETHE UNIVERSITY FRANKFURT Political sphere Economic sphere Civic engagement Networks and alliances Includes lead article by Lesley Wilson, European University Association university-and-city.com 2 UNIVERSITY AND THE CITY APRIL 2015 The university and the city Autonomy of universities, autonomy of cities? New insights A university can only thrive in an attractive location, and if cities and universities, citing the examples of EUROCITIES, cities want to succeed in today’s global knowledge economy, of which Birmingham was a founding member, as well as they need good universities and their graduates. Surprising- Universitas 21 and a set of strategic partnerships that the ly, the symbiotic relationship between cities and universities University of Birmingham entertains. They conclude that has received little attention in both research and practice. As the university and city are of immense mutual benefit. an autonomous institution that is firmly grounded in the City of With the examples of Shanghai, Krakow and Frank­ Frankfurt, Goethe University brought together ten prominent furt, The economic sphere demonstrates the symbiotic rela­ partner universities and their host cities to discuss the role of tionship between universities and city­regions. A universi­ Rainer Klump, autonomy in the university–city link. ty facilitates the production of knowledge and innovation, University of Luxembourg, produces a highly skilled workforce and helps market the formerly Goethe University ithin these pages, we set out the main ideas discus­ host city as a global centre in the knowledge economy. In Wsed at this conference. The secretary general of the turn, cities ought to provide a favourable environment for Euro pean University Association sets the scene and makes higher education to prosper. A piece on Prague focuses on a compelling case for autonomy as a vital precondition for related issues of economic transition for Eastern European the success of Europe’s universities. Only with financial universities and cities, and the economic opportunities and sustainability, legislative stability and freedom from short­ pressures for their students. term political interference can higher education help pro­ The relationship between the university and a city’s resi­ duce educated citizens and economic success for their re­ dents and institutions is at the heart of Jenny Phillimore’s gions. analysis. In Whose university? Whose city? Universities and civic The political sphere highlights the role of universities engagement, she identifies possible domains of civic engage­ Martin Bickl as contributors to social and territorial cohesion. Experts ment with examples from the universities of Vilnius, Tel Goethe University from the European level and Japan demonstrate how Aviv and Birmingham, including public access to univer­ funding priorities and mechanisms have improved the po­ sity­owned facilities, academic outreach, widening partic­ tential for partnerships between cities, regions and uni­ ipation and collaboration with local businesses. Smith and versities, with a case study from the Lithuanian govern­ Summers explore UPenn’s Challenges and opportunities for ment and its main university, Vilnius. The case study from university civic engagement, where the goals of defending a Prague reveals a shared development trajectory between position as a world­leading research university and being the city and its main university. an accessible institution that actively seeks to create op­ The co­authored paper by the leader of Birmingham portunities for its local communities may be reconciled. City Council and the university’s pro­vice­chancellor il­ Synergies, cooperation and competition: Alliances among cit- lustrates the role of the two institutions in Alliances among ies and universities identifies policy learning and political lobbying as the main rationales behind inter­city and in­ ter­university networks, and the challenges to these net­ works, including a limited steering capacity and the un­ easy relationship between competition and collaboration. A new breed of university–city networks is evolving, ex­ emplified by the alliance between Goethe University and the City of Frankfurt, which have realigned their sets of international partnerships to achieve political, social and economic synergies. While this was the third event in a bi­annual confer­ Front cover: Goethe University ence series in Frankfurt (2010) and Toronto (2012), some campus and City of Frankfurt of the opportunities in the collaboration between cities skyline and universities are still not fully understood, making this supplement compelling reading for academics and practi­ tioners alike. Rainer Klump, former Vice-President of Goethe University, Riedberg Campus, Goethe is now Rector, University of Luxembourg. University Martin Bickl is Director of the International Office, Goethe University. UNIVERSITY AND THE CITY APRIL 2015 3 Autonomy A vital precondition for the success of Europe’s universities Lesley Wilson many European countries. The state is tightening its belt while demanding more efficiency and introducing more University autonomy is at the heart of the often complex re- targeted, performance­based funding mechanisms. At the lations between universities and the state, which in Europe same time, demands are growing for widening access and still provides over 70% of university funding. The challenges increasing the number of highly qualified graduates with that our societies and universities face are considerable, and broad employability and skills to meet the demands of the make it more necessary than ever before to find a good bal- knowledge economy. ance between autonomy and accountability – one that gives This new era of globalisation also means a highly com­ universities the necessary freedom to pursue their increas- petitive world market for universities in teaching and re­ ingly diverse missions. search and innovation. This is reflected in the growing “Autonomy is never a importance of international rankings, which receive con­ given, but is permanently ndeed, university autonomy is a complicated concept siderable attention from the public, policy makers and under pressure and Ithat evolved with changes in cultural, political, legal and universities, and greatly impact systems and institution­ needs to be constantly historical circumstances. The first universities started as al behaviour. feudal institutions in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, Major changes have also taken place in the last 10–15 renegotiated.” Wilson focusing on a limited number of classical subjects until the years in European higher education, leading to the Bologna 19th century, when the research university emerged – this reforms and the creation of the European Higher Education was linked to the Industrial and Scientific Revolution and Area (EHEA). More recently, there have been increased the recognition that the state needed investment in practi­ efforts to finalise the European Research Area (ERA), one cal knowledge and higher learning. important element of which is the creation of a European A century later, post­1945, the growth of the welfare labour market for researchers. While higher education state and strong economic development gave way to a ma­ policy remains in the hands of each member state, the jor expansion of universities in North America, and then in Bologna reforms and European mobility programmes have different waves across Europe. These changes led to enor­ resulted in the creation of common structures and frame­ mous increases in participation and completion rates in Eu­ works that have an influence on all systems and individ­ rope and are now reflected in the EU­wide benchmark for ual institutions. 2020 that 40% of young people should have a tertiary edu­ In this context, two key conditions are important for cation diploma – a figure that many countries have already universities to be able to fulfil their role. First, university met. There is now more focus on leadership and manage­ autonomy is a necessary precondition for the consolidation ment and more centralised administration of large, public of the EHEA and ERA. Second, advocacy on behalf of higher education systems and institutions; in some cases, at universities is as important at the European level as it is at the expense of more collegial models of governance. the national level. The role of multiple players at the Euro­ However, the economic slowdown has resulted in sub­ pean level, including the European University Association Photo by Stuart Watson Photography, © University of Pennsylvania Photography, Photo by Stuart Watson stantial cuts in higher education and research budgets for (EUA), complements the work of national associations in 4 UNIVERSITY AND THE CITY APRIL 2015 promoting the interests of universities at the European sities cannot select their quality assurance mechanism, level and making sure that their voice is heard in the con­ although this is slowly changing due to European legisla­ struction of the European project. tion. There are also differences in the extent to which stu­ The existence of the EHEA and ERA is leading to the dent numbers are regulated, and only in one­third of sys­ establishment of common frameworks at the European tems surveyed can universities select their students. level that affect national and regional actors and univer­ Looking ahead, there are four major challenges that sities. With