Beyond Brexit and Corona

Science and education are topics close to the heart of liberalism. They stand for the promise that every person has the right to be fully equipped for a self-determined life, and they underpin the liberal narrative of human progress. Individual efforts and global cooperation go hand in hand to create a better future for all people through research and innovation. The development of several vaccines by international corporations on the back of global research cooperations exemplifies this.

However, today’s international republic of scholars is not a pure success story. For example, Brexit has dealt a severe blow to many forms of European cooperation in the field of science. The end of the Erasmus+ programme in Britain will directly affect the educational opportunities of young Europeans. Elsewhere, it is also clear that science and a liberal set of values do not always coincide. Western universities, for example, are faced with the question of how to deal with Confucius Institutes, which are dependent on the Chinese Communist Party. Educational cooperation, especially between liberal democracies, must therefore be put on a new footing.

Although education is already an integral part of international development cooperation through SDG4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, many opportunities remain untapped. Ideas are needed for a new start of international education cooperation based on liberal values. The aim of the panel is to discuss how joint learning and research can be shaped across national borders. How does the modern university position itself as a place of global knowledge production? What lasting challenges does Brexit leave behind for European educational cooperation and what prospects might arise for new, worldwide models of cooperation? How are international academic careers shaping up in the “world war for talent”? And how is the international education landscape changing in a multipolar world order?