The value of international and cross-sectoral partnerships in higher education is well established. However, the conditions under which universities build, sustain, and leverage collaboration are changing. Rising geopolitical tensions are reshaping global cooperation and international funding, forcing institutions to revisit their longstanding “reciprocal” assumptions underpinning collaboration strategies. This webinar brings together perspectives from across the global higher education landscape to examine what meaningful, equitable, and resilient partnerships look like in this new environment. Discussions will draw on the experiences of institutions in the Global South navigating shifting donor and collaboration dynamics; countries where international partnerships are a cornerstone of the national higher education strategy; and regional university alliances, which are grappling with the tensions between openness and consolidation. We hope this timely conversation will invite discussion about what it takes to build partnerships that hold up under pressure and remain a force for shared progress.

Speakers:

- Rahel Argaw (Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia)

- Darkhan Bilyalov (Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan)

- David Julien (Inter-American Organization for Higher Education)

- Juan Rayón González (European Universities alliance INGENIUM)