Provost Michael Arthur reflects on what makes a university world-class and how UCL and other leading universities may evolve. Key characteristics of world-class universities include producing cutting-edge research, attracting top students and faculty, and enjoying institutional autonomy. While online education and MOOCs will develop, world-class universities will remain campus-based and focus on integrating research and education to tackle global challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration.

1. Provost's Long View: What makes a university world class?
7 November 2013
In my first two months as President & Provost of UCL, I have seen a great deal that confirms the view that we
work and study in a truly world-class university.
Every day, our research is expanding the frontiers of knowledge; at its best, our teaching is challenging and is
inspiring the next generation of leaders;and our engagementwith our partners and society is having real impact.
I have also commented on some of the challenges that face us in delivering truly cutting-edge performance in a
number of areas of activity. As we embark on a process to refresh our strategy, it is perhaps timely to reflect on
what makes a universityworld class;to examine some ofthe challenges of the next 30 years; and to ask whether
we can predict what the future holds for leading global universities?
The key characteristics
There are approximately 17,000 universities in the world, but taking the various measures used to rank them –
and, of course rankings onlymeasure what can be counted, not necessarily what counts – the top 100–200 can
be described as world class, whereas perhaps only the top 25 could be described as being truly world leading.
Most observers would put UCL clearly within this latter group.
In a 2009 World Bank reportThe challenge ofestablishing world-class universities, Jamil Salmi argues that they
share a number of common factors. They have a high concentration of talent, students and academic staff;
possess abundantresources for a comprehensive learning environment; produce advanced research; and enjoy
favourable governance with autonomy, which encourages strategic vision, innovation and flexibility.
Research
If we begin by exploring the research side of world-class universities, they typically produce work at the leading
edge, with internationally peer-reviewed funding and frequently involving high-quality colleagues from different
disciplines and outstanding partners.

2. According to Salmi, these universities operate in global m arkets and enjoy an international reputation for
research and teaching that is recognised not only by peer institutions, but also outside HE.
They boast a number of international leaders in their fields and many world-class departments, which enables
them to produce innovative ideas in basic and applied research in abundance and ground-breaking research with
impact.
Future leaders
World-class universities attract the most able students and have a high proportion of international and
postgraduate research students. They also produce the very best graduates.
But I believe that being world class should also be about the relationship between the research that we do and
the education that our students receive. By involving students in the research process (a more research-based
pedagogy), we produce graduates who are critical independent thinkers and learners, highly competent at
problem solving, excellent communicators, and thus have all the potential to be great contributors to society.
In essence, we are involved in creating the leaders of tomorrow. I have an image in my mind of watching the
future Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister walking into Number 11 and Number 10 shortly after the
general election, and they’re both UCL graduates!
The importance of autonomy
Beyond research and teaching, other key characteristics of world-class universities concern the way in which
they are run, with a sound financial base and diversified income streams.
Typically, they will have excellent leadership (spread widely across the institution) and governance, with clear
strategic vision. Equally important is the autonomy of the host country’s university system and the competitive
nature of the environment in which they operate.

3. We’re very privileged in this country, in that we are afforded a great deal of autonomy by our government,
relatively speaking. Of course, we are regulated through the Higher Education Funding Council, but we are one
of the most autonomous university systems in the world.
We can run this institution,with the guidance ofthe UCL Council,in ways that that will bring most benefit to UCL,
our students and our society, without any fear of direct interference by local or national government.
We can be free-thinking, highly creative and, at times, critical of our own government without fear for the
consequences.
Such a high degree of autonomydoes not exist in the university systems of many countries in the world. Even in
the US, a lot of the state universities are more highly regulated by their state legislature and in the German
university system, regional government plays a really significant regulatory role.
The autonomy we have in this country and the healthy level of competition for good staff, the best students and
research funding are, in my view, factors that really drive our university system forward.
The changing environment
So, having outlined some of the key characteristics of world class universities, we need to think about the future
and how our global environment might change.
Over the next 30 years, the world will need to address some very complex problems.
My listwould include climate change and the human response to it, or otherwise;food and water security; carbon
reduction, sustainable energy and the ongoing depletion of fossil fuels; improving intercultural understanding;
prospects for sustainable economic prosperityand the equitable distribution of wealth; the social consequences
of ageing, obesity and dementia; and the promotion of global health.
This daunting list is not intended to be comprehensive and you may wish to add your own views and concerns.
These challenges are enormous,butour experience at UCL shows how we can begin to tackle them by working
across disciplinary boundaries.
We are already focusing,through the Grand Challenges,on manyof these issues and itis interesting to note that
other universities are now imitating our approach.
The challenges for HE
There are also issues ofmore immediate direct relevance to the changing HE environment; these include ri sing
costs, the massive globalisation of higher education, and the huge levels of investment in higher education
elsewhere around the world – all of which place serious pressure back on the UK higher education system and,
in turn, on UCL.
There will certainly be increasing competition for everything that we need to remain successful and it will
potentially become increasingly more difficult for us to maintain our position in the global top 25.

4. As the Russell Group pointed out in its 2012 report, Jewels in the crown: the importance and characteristics of
the UK’s world class universities, while the average annual expenditure on HE by OECD countries is 1.5%, for
the UK it was only 1.2% in 2008, down from 1.3% in 1997.
In the current straitened economic times, we can expect nothing more than a flat cash investment in science and
research for the duration of this parliament – yet China will invest 1.7% and the US, 2.3% of GDP.
The impact of technology
Another significant issue is the rapid development of educational technology and whether or not this will be
disruptive to higher education in its current form. There is significantpolitical interestin the developmentof online
education, particularly in the form of Massive Online Open Courses, colloquially known as MOOCs.
Many politicians around the globe see such technological advances as a much cheaper way of delivering higher
education on a grand scale.
Moreover, many commentators have predicted that MOOCs and other forms of online education will ultimately
lead to ‘the end of the campus university’.
Not to beat about the bush, my view is that this analysis is complete nonsense, for reasons that I will explain.
Such commentators are confusing the provision of‘contentand information’ with an ‘education’ and the important
emphasis that we put on our desire to inspire our students, help them to become critical independent learners
and help them at a personal level to develop their full potential.
While some of that can be delivered online, a high-quality campus experience will never, in my opinion, be
surpassed.
For certain, the one thing that is most difficult to do online is to involve students directly in research, take them
through the research process and get them truly involved in the cutting edge of creating new knowledge.

5. If we are to put this set of issues firmly at the heart of our strategy and pedagogy, then for us and our students,
the future use of online learning fits better into a much more ‘e-enabled future’ where high-quality blended
learning is the norm.
It will, therefore, remain very important for us to develop such high-quality online material, but our students will
largely use it in the context of their overall campus-based experience.
Of course, we will also use such material to demons trate to the world, via the internet, what we are about and,
above all, the very high international quality of our educational provision.
The world-class university of the future
Finally, let me turn to the question of predicting the future of world-class universities. Increasingly, these
institutions will face pressure to articulate why they matter, but thankfully, the arguments are compelling.
World-class universities representa critical mass ofexcellence,marrying international reach with soft diplomacy,
while their interdisciplinaryapproach and partnership working will enable them to tackle global challenges across
national boundaries.
They will be the powerhouse that lies behind further development of the knowledge economy and will drive
international competitiveness, economic growth and inward investment.
Even with such clear strengths, world-class universities will need to evolve to meet future challenges.
They will remain campus-based and their research and education will become more closely integrated, but they
will become more e-enabled, allowing their students to derive the very best value from their tutorial, practical,
social and extramural experiences on campus.
My prediction is that there will be an increased focus on ‘grand challenge research’, and these and other big
societal questions will include the need to focus on how we most effectively set about changing human
behaviours;the social sciences and arts and humanities will thus make a major contribution to our global future.
Research funding will become even more concentrated, yet a critical mass of disciplines will be vital, as will the
ability to work effectively in partnership with other HEIs, industry, health services, local and national government
and the third sector.
Ultimately,world-class universities will create outstanding graduates, scholars and leaders of the future, and the
translational research and innovation that they produce will contribute to economic growth, prosperity and social
benefit.
These thoughts represent the scale of the challenge for us at UCL as we review our strategy over the next few
months. I very much look forward to your contributions to the debate.

6. Professor Michael Arthur
UCL President & Provost
- See more at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/staff/staff-news/1113/071113-provost-long-view-worldclass-
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