Ideas
Welcome to On the University
This is a knowledge community brought together by a common concern for the role and future of the university in a changing world. The community interacts through an innovative, annual face-to-face conference, as well as year-round virtual relationships in a weblog, peer reviewed journal and book imprint - exploring the affordances of the new digital media. Members of this knowledge community include academics, university leaders and administrators, public administrators and research students.
Conference
Members of the On the University Community meet at the World Universities Forum, held annually in different locations around the world. The Forum was held in Davos, Switzerland in 2008; and at Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay, Mumbai, India in 2009. In 2010, the Conference will return to Davos, Switzerland.
One of the paradoxical characteristics of our time is that some of the most creative thinking comes from business, politicians and other community leaders rather than academe. The World Universities Forum has been created in the belief that there is an urgent need for academe to connect more directly and boldly with the large questions of our time, in much the same way that the World Economic Forum has forged a role of global intellectual leadership for politicians, business people and community leaders.
Established in 1991, the World Economic Forum has been an important, and at times controversial site for dialogue and debate regarding the major social and economic problems of the planet. At its annual meetings in Davos, it brings together representatives of powerful economic and political organisations, to participate in wide-ranging conversations and set the agenda for on-going debates.
While much of the discussion at Davos concerns political and economic matters, the topics WEF considers have profound implications for universities around the world, not only in relation to their governance but also with respect to the issues of how best to interpret and respond to the global transformations. As they consider the broader context within which they are located, universities are not only more affected by the issues that WEF addresses than ever before, but they also have a greater role to play in solving the global problems and setting the agenda for the knowledge economy and society.
With the interests of WEF and universities increasingly aligned, the World Universities Forum (WUF) acts as a counterpoint, enabling an exchange of ideas between political and economic leaders, University sector leaders and leading higher education scholars.
Publishing
The On the University Community enables members to publish through three media. First, by participating in the annual conference of the World Universities Forum, community members can enter a world of journal publication unlike the traditional academic publishing forums - a result of the responsive, non-hierarchical and constructive nature of the peer review process. The Journal of the World Universities Forum provides a framework for double-blind peer review, enabling authors to publish into an academic journal of the highest standard.
The second publication medium is through a book imprint, On the University, publishing cutting edge books in print and electronic formats. Publication proposals and manuscript submissions are welcome.
Our third major publishing medium is our On the University News Blog, constantly publishing short news updates from the community, as well as major developments in the field.