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Role of universities in promoting empathy, women empowerment, and social engagement

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University of Limerick
University of Limerick

This presentation is part of a workshop on the role of universities in promoting empathy, women empowerment, and social engagement, delivered during the Global Education Summit 2024 hosted by Chandigarh University. It explores the obstacles and possible solutions for universities seeking to promote the empowerment of women students and academics, making teaching and research more community-engaged, and fostering academic freedom and free speech at a time of growing political polarisation.

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Role of universities in promoting empathy, women empowerment, and social engagement Professor Nigel Healey Vice President Global and Community Engagement 4 October 2024
Overview Our fiction: Universities are open communities of enquiring curious minds, challenging orthodoxy, breaking down barriers and creating new knowledge and new ways of thinking Our reality? Universities are deeply conservative institutions that educate social elites and undertake curiosity-driven research Universities are ill-suited to promote to (in order of difficulty): Women empowerment Social engagement Empathy What are the obstacles? What are the solutions?
Empowerment of women Solutions Universities must seek to eliminate barriers to female student success e.g. by combating sexism and sexual violence on and off campus Universities must promote women in STEM subjects Universities must ensure transparency in reporting gender gaps (e.g. pay, seniority), reform promotions systems and use positive discrimination where necessary Obstacles Universities are social constructs and reflect the power structures and prejudices of society (e.g. admission of women to university) Universities prepare students for a labour market which is structurally unfair. Result: university education widens the gender pay gap) University appointments and promotions reinforce and retransmit gender stereotypes and imbalances, especially at senior levels
Empowerment of women
Social engagement Solutions Research programmes need to redesigned for social impact, informed by societal needs Applied multidisciplinary research with societal impact needs to be rewarded e.g. UKs Research Excellence Framework Governments need to preferentially subsidise students from disadvantaged or underrepresented groups and programmes with the highest public good e.g. teacher education, social work Obstacles Universities are ivory towers, populated by intellectual misfits remote from mainstream society Blue skies research in disciplinary silos is incentivised by academic journals and promotions criteria Universities recruit social elites and focus on taught programmes with the highest private good e.g. business and finance, computer science and data analytics
Social engagement
Empathy Solutions Universities need to reaffirm academic freedom and freedom of speech In their teaching and behaviour, universities need to create an atmosphere of respectful open debate and challenge as per the scientific tradition Universities need to educate their students to be independent minded, critical thinkers who spot and reject fake news and conspiracy theories Obstacles University students are typically more liberal than their society campuses have become the battleground for culture wars Liberal values and freedom of speech can become incompatible e.g. cancelling voices from the far right Discourse in universities has often become trapped in the echo chambers of social media
Empathy
University of Limerick Comprehensive policies, strategies and action plans for human rights and EDI which frame our global and community engagement
Conclusions Universities do not naturally promote women empowerment, social engagement or empathy But universities are home to intelligent, enquiring minds and, by recognising the obstacles, can reinvent themselves to do better
Go raibh maith agat For more details: nigel.healey@ul.ie For more information and research on international higher education: https://limerick.academia.edu/NigelHealey

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Role of universities in promoting empathy, women empowerment, and social engagement

  • 1. Role of universities in promoting empathy, women empowerment, and social engagement Professor Nigel Healey Vice President Global and Community Engagement 4 October 2024
  • 2. Overview Our fiction: Universities are open communities of enquiring curious minds, challenging orthodoxy, breaking down barriers and creating new knowledge and new ways of thinking Our reality? Universities are deeply conservative institutions that educate social elites and undertake curiosity-driven research Universities are ill-suited to promote to (in order of difficulty): Women empowerment Social engagement Empathy What are the obstacles? What are the solutions?
  • 3. Empowerment of women Solutions Universities must seek to eliminate barriers to female student success e.g. by combating sexism and sexual violence on and off campus Universities must promote women in STEM subjects Universities must ensure transparency in reporting gender gaps (e.g. pay, seniority), reform promotions systems and use positive discrimination where necessary Obstacles Universities are social constructs and reflect the power structures and prejudices of society (e.g. admission of women to university) Universities prepare students for a labour market which is structurally unfair. Result: university education widens the gender pay gap) University appointments and promotions reinforce and retransmit gender stereotypes and imbalances, especially at senior levels
  • 5. Social engagement Solutions Research programmes need to redesigned for social impact, informed by societal needs Applied multidisciplinary research with societal impact needs to be rewarded e.g. UKs Research Excellence Framework Governments need to preferentially subsidise students from disadvantaged or underrepresented groups and programmes with the highest public good e.g. teacher education, social work Obstacles Universities are ivory towers, populated by intellectual misfits remote from mainstream society Blue skies research in disciplinary silos is incentivised by academic journals and promotions criteria Universities recruit social elites and focus on taught programmes with the highest private good e.g. business and finance, computer science and data analytics
  • 7. Empathy Solutions Universities need to reaffirm academic freedom and freedom of speech In their teaching and behaviour, universities need to create an atmosphere of respectful open debate and challenge as per the scientific tradition Universities need to educate their students to be independent minded, critical thinkers who spot and reject fake news and conspiracy theories Obstacles University students are typically more liberal than their society campuses have become the battleground for culture wars Liberal values and freedom of speech can become incompatible e.g. cancelling voices from the far right Discourse in universities has often become trapped in the echo chambers of social media
  • 9. University of Limerick Comprehensive policies, strategies and action plans for human rights and EDI which frame our global and community engagement
  • 10. Conclusions Universities do not naturally promote women empowerment, social engagement or empathy But universities are home to intelligent, enquiring minds and, by recognising the obstacles, can reinvent themselves to do better
  • 11. Go raibh maith agat For more details: nigel.healey@ul.ie For more information and research on international higher education: https://limerick.academia.edu/NigelHealey