Global voices and lasting legacies: CGHE’s 11th Annual Conference sparks debate and honours Professor Claire Callender

The Centre for Global Higher Education’s (CGHE) 11th Annual Conference was held in Oxford last week, bringing together over 230 participants from around the world for a wide-ranging programme of academic exchange and discussion, both online and in-person.

There were more than 140 presentations across 30 panels which provoked lively and engaging debates.

The conference convenors designed high-quality sessions, and participants contributed a range of papers on every aspect of Higher Education across the world: financing, mobility, governance, academic freedom, leadership and sustainability.

CGHE Director Dr David Mills said: “Thank you to everyone who joined our 11th CGHE Conference. It was a pleasure to welcome everyone.

“A highlight for me was the opportunity to celebrate Professor Claire Callender, a year after she sadly died of lung cancer.

“Our opening plenary, convened by Ariane de Gayardon, included tributes from Miriam Zukas, Peter Scott, Chris Milward and Golo Henseke. All spoke of Claire’s warm persona and deep professional commitments.

“She mentored and supported many in our community, and everything she did was informed by her sense of social justice.

“Her research on tuition fees and student debt has shaped critical debates in the field, while her role in safeguarding part-time undergraduate study has had a lasting impact on the policy conversation.

“Her work lives on in the work of the CGHE-supported International Student Funding Network.

“It was also great to welcome the South African Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela who joined our policy plenary via Teams.

“His thoughtful reflections on the challenges of financing university expansion were complemented by great presentations from Shireen Motala and Moses Oketch, along with a Hong Kong perspective from the HKSAR Undersecretary for Education, Jeff Sze.

Recordings of panels and plenaries will be released on the CGHE website and YouTube channel in the coming weeks.