BUiD Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer participates in the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit 2020

Hugh Martin, the Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer of The British University in Dubai (BUiD), joined the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit 2020 on 1-2 September as the only speaker from a university in the GCC.

Hugh shared the virtual stage with Presidents and Vice Chancellors from a number of the world’s top universities, including Cambridge, Manchester, Glasgow, Copenhagen, Cape Town, New York, UC Berkeley, Toronto, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Auckland, Sydney, and NU Singapore.

The theme of the Summit was ‘A new dawn for Higher Education?’ and in his webinar Hugh spoke on ‘Driving equality, diversity and inclusion’. He discussed the differences between the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agenda in higher education across various international environments, taking account of cultural and societal differences and expectations. His focus was on students, particularly those from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds – underlining that university leaders need to prioritise the lived experience of students in developing and improving equal opportunity and representation on their campuses.

Hugh echoed other university heads at the Summit in stressing that in the light of Black Lives Matter and other vital, ongoing movements to redress racial, gender, disability and other inequalities, the time for change is now and higher education institutions must take the lead in informing and shaping this change.

The Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summits are the flagship events in a programme of worldwide activity which brings together pre-eminent global thought leaders across higher education, research, industry and government to share best practice and innovation in the development and leadership of world-class universities and research.

As the market leader in higher education, THE events are the essential forum for leaders from across the academic community to meet and shape the future for international higher education governance and innovation. Alumni of the World Summit Series join a global network of outstanding presidents, vice-chancellors, chief executives and decision-makers to learn, interact, create and share knowledge and experience for the benefit of all.

The Times Higher Education World Academic Summit 2021, on the theme ‘The power of place’, will take place at the University of Toronto on 31 August to 2 September 2021.