1) The document discusses the interconnectedness of global issues and how impacts in one country can spread widely and strongly to others. It also discusses the Sustainable Development Goals and the importance of addressing economic, social and environmental challenges. 2) Universities have an obligation to address these challenges through teaching, research and partnerships. They can integrate community engagement into their operations to enhance learning and empower communities. 3) The University of Pretoria promotes international connections and local impact through programs like Engineers Without Borders and partnerships between its departments and surrounding communities. It aims to be an agent of change by redefining what makes a university "world class".

1. Global Connections, Local
Impact and University Social
Responsiveness
Prof Cheryl de la Rey
Vice-Chancellor and Principal: University of
Pretoria
4 May 2018

2. “…the peoples of the world are
more tightly coupled in the sense
that impacts from one country
spread wider, faster and stronger
than at any time before in human
history…”
World Social Science Report 2010
2

3. “ A confluence of crises, that is
contemporary crises that mutually
reinforce one another”
World Social Science Report 2010
3

4. The Sustainable Development Goals
are …
➤ A set of 17 goals for the world’s future, through
2030
➤ Backed up by a set of 169 detailed Targets
➤ Negotiated over a two-year period at the United
Nations
➤ Agreed to by nearly all the world’s nations, on 25

5. World Social Science Report 2016
• Unchecked inequality could jeopardize the sustainability
of economies, societies and communities
• 7 dimensions of inequality: economic, political, social,
cultural, environmental, spatial and knowledge-based
5

6. 6

7. Implications for Universities?
7

8. 8
“…universities can be of huge benefit to society if
students learn the right stuff.” (The Economist, 2015)
What is the right stuff?

9. The Race for World-Class Status:
“ The Right Stuff”?
• International reputation
• Professors are world leaders
• Highly ranked
• Ground-breaking research
• Attracts best students and staff
• Attracts high proportion of international students
• High levels of research funding
9

10. “ a fault-line between local/national and
global/international” Marginson 2018
10

11. Binaries/dualisms
“..the critical element in the structure
and dynamics of the university system
is their ability to combine and make
compatible seemingly contradictory
functions”
Manuel Castells 2017
11

12. • About 250 university members
• Expand higher education civic engagement programs through
teaching, research, and public service
• Foster partnerships between institutions of higher education
and communities to empower groups and individuals to tackle
societal issues and shape the future of higher education
• Facilitate the creation of regional networks of universities
dedicated to civic engagement
12

13. 13

14. 14
Based on the belief that universities have an
obligation to work together to address the economic,
social, cultural and environmental challenges in the
world and to find solutions so as to make our world
more just, inclusive, peaceful and sustainable.

15. University of Pretoria Approach
Universities are micro-economies: centres of employment,
destinations for students, purchasers of goods and services,
centres of research, curators and generators of arts and culture,
and owners of real estate, with a key focus on graduates and
research.
They are also situated within communities: residential and
commercial neighborhoods
They are also hubs of connection via collaboration and
partnerships, connecting local and global
15

16. 16
Engineers
without
Borders (UP)
Curricular Community Engagement

17. 17
UP and Rutgers: Community participation
impact assessment study on EDC centres

18. Beyond the classroom lies the learning of practice
and social engagement
18
I – SET Robotics Hub

19. International connections, local impact,
 Networks of universities (the global) can work in
alignment with the local
 Integrate community engagement into teaching and
research and the operational business of the
University
• Enhanced graduate outcomes – empathy,
communication, critical thinking, innovation
• Universities can be agents of change
19

20. Redefining World Class….
20
USRN Social Impact Metrics
Workshop, Dec 2017 Hong
Kong

21. Thank you