Exploring the ‘Public’ Role of the University: Developing a UCL Perspective

This new initiative, jointly run by the Institute of Advanced Studies and the Bartlett, hopes to bring colleagues from across UCL faculties to engage in collective reflection, to be able both to theorise the public role of universities, and to work towards specific proposals for action, identifying levers of change to strengthen UCL’s public-oriented mission. This second session is invitation-only.

The initiative builds on 'Bartlett Publics: Pluralising,' a webinar series held in 2022-23, which aimed to facilitate cross-learning on the principles and practices of international engagement best able to catalyse universities’ ‘public’ role and societal relevance. Topics of discussion included the role of universities in tackling the climate emergency, fostering sustainable futures, and ensuring ethical international engagement. These discussions took place among Bartlett colleagues. The purpose of this year’s initiative is to bring in colleagues from many other disciplines into the conversation. 

The present initiative is led by Barbara Lipietz, Professor in Urban Development Planning at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit and Bartlett Vice Dean International, and Nicola Miller, Professor of Latin American History and Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies. Both Barbara and Nicola have been exploring this question in their personal work and in relation to their institutional functions. Recently, Barbara has curated an international network of colleagues (from Brazil, Cuba, France, India, Lebanon, Mexico, South Africa) to help unpack the meaning of universities’ publicness (their ‘fit for purpose-’ness) in highly divergent socio-political and institutional contexts, and to explore potential levers of change. For Nicola, the question of publicness imbues the IAS’s whole programme of interdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange, perhaps particularly through the lenses of Global Area Studies and Creative Practice Research. 

Participation in this workshop is for UCL Faculty and by invitation only.