Barcelona, Spain

The Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI) invites the academic community worldwide to participate in the 4^th International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education to explore the role of higher education as a key element for human and social development and to rethink and propose new routes for the interchange of values between higher education institutions and society.    

The role of higher education in today's world is complex and vital. A wide range of challenges and possibilities are emerging, with political, economic and social implications. Perhaps most significant are the challenges associated with shifting perspectives on knowledge itself, which are influencing strongly the role and the responsibility of the university in society.

The goals are to:

• Explore the higher education role for human and social development.
• Share and debate ideas on the relevant social role that higher education is called upon to play in this increasingly globalized world.
• Provide a space to analyse the role of knowledge in our society, what knowledge is needed for the kind of society we want to build, and how higher education institutions define their role in this regard.
• Review and reconsider the interchange of values between university and society by rethinking the social relevance of universities.
• Stimulate serious, committed and profound debate, among all those whose different links with the world of higher education could contribute to enriching the discussion, this will open opportunities that should be jointly analyzed by academics, university managers, policy makers and members of civil society and business community.
• Present a proactive and assertive analysis, offering many ideas and visions for orienting the future.
• Reconsider the social function of higher education through an academic analysis based on what higher education is today and what its context needs, in order to propose what it should be like from the perspective of its own functions.

The period to submit abstract proposals will be open until the 10^th of January 2008.

• The papers can be either theoretical or experiences and good practices.
• The selected papers will be awarded a free registration to the Conference.

The papers should adjust to one of the following thematic lines: 

• Ethics and relevance of scientific knowledge: what knowledge for what society?
• Knowledge technologies for social transformation
• Higher education and gender equity
• Higher education, arts and creativity
• The role of higher education in peace building and reconciliation processes
• Higher education for intercultural dialogue and multiculturalism  
• Higher education for sustainable development
• Higher Education and citizenship, participation and democracy

An international scientific committee will select the papers that will be presented at the Conference.

Reduced registration fee for the Conference will be available until 15^th of January 2008.

Please follow the link for further details:  http://www.guni-rmies.net/k2008