Our sector uses the term “global university” all the time, yet there would not be a common view about what it means. The first definition everyone uses is that the university has multiple and diverse international collaborations between academic staff. However, there are thousands of universities worldwide that have substantial and diverse international collaborations and every one of those cannot be a “global university”. We consider that a global university should display seven key characteristics, described below. All of these are evident at the University of Bristol to some degree, although some are currently stronger than others. The actions listed in section 5 below have been developed with these characteristics in mind, capitalising upon the University’s many existing strengths and identifying areas for improvement.
i) Comprehensive excellence in research, teaching, academic staff, facilities, communications, leadership and governance
A global university must demonstrate these qualities as a minimum standard. It must be independent, have good governance and be well led.
ii) Global brand penetration
Only two universities in the UK – Oxford and Cambridge – have the kind of global brand penetration associated with widespread public recognition around the world. For other institutions, global brand penetration is about being acknowledged as “global” not by the general public but by international academic peers and by national policy makers.
iii) Innovative global research
The pursuit of innovative global research is the absolutely prime characteristic; without it, a university cannot claim to be global. What is clear is that global research is not just about more “connectivity” - i.e., putting people together in different ways, maximising effective use of logistics, video seminar series and summer institutes. All these are good in themselves and may lead to new ways of thinking and collaborating, but they are not “global” characteristics. The global dimension is in the marshalling of universities’ huge intellectual and logistical resources to address global problems and questions in new ways.
The size of the endeavour, the scope and centrality of the questions and the multiplicity of partners are the crucial factors here. This means asking academic staff to think in new ways - to look out of the rut and see different horizons. This is not intellectually easy; most of us are much more comfortable with reductionist science. It is fiercely difficult to identify, never mind pose, the central integrating questions. The connectivity described above is an essential condition for identifying and posing these questions, but it is important that such connectivity is seen as a means to a greater end rather than as a good in its own right.
iv) An international curriculum - global distribution of teaching and learning
It is essential that the University’s various curricula prepare students for the globalised world. A global university will be engaged in the global distribution of its educational material and programmes.
v) Strong and diverse international student and staff demand
The academic staff must include colleagues from other countries who have recognised the opportunities offered by a global institution. This has to be more than just returning expatriates who want to be nearer their family. It is also essential that there is a diverse, international student body.
vi) Impacting on global issues and policy formulation
Academic staff of a global university will be advising global institutions on policy formulation in global issues, for example advising the United Nations about solutions to global poverty or WHO about AIDS and its management in the developing world.
vii) Close interactions with global business
Chief executives and senior managers in global businesses will naturally interact and collaborate with organisations they consider to be punching at the same weight as they are.