• Refreshments available all day

• Professor David Garza, Executive President, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education

• Professor Andy Schofield, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Glasgow

Host:

• Professor David Garza, Executive President, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education

Speakers:

• Professor Camille Galap, President, Université Paris-Saclay

• Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Johannesburg

• Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Birmingham

• Professor Xiang Zhang, President & Vice-Chancellor, University of Hong Kong

Higher education is entering a period of profound structural change. Geopolitical fragmentation, rapid technological advances, shifting demographics, and growing pressure on traditional funding models are reshaping how universities operate and how they are expected to contribute to society. For university leaders, the challenge is not simply operational adaptation but strategic judgement: understanding which forces will define the next decade and how institutional leadership must evolve in response.

This opening session brings together university presidents for a candid conversation about the future of global higher education. Speakers will reflect on the broader dynamics reshaping the sector: the structural pressures that are redefining universities’ roles, the leadership assumptions that no longer hold, and the strategic choices presidents will face in the years ahead.

Speakers:

• Professor Robbert Dijkgraaf, Theoretical physicist and former Minister of Education, Culture and Science of Netherlands

• Matt Foster, Chief Executive, Cara (Council for At Risk Academics)

• Professor Jane Norman, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Nottingham

• Sir Steve Smith, UK Government International Education Champion

Chair:

• Aisling Conboy, Senior Programme Director, Wilton Park

As geopolitical tensions rise and global alliances become more fragile, universities remain among the few institutions able to sustain dialogue, cooperation, and trust across borders. Through long-standing academic networks, research partnerships, and educational exchange, they create channels of engagement that often endure even when political relationships are strained.

This session focuses on knowledge diplomacy: the ways universities use their intellectual capital, credibility, and convening power to connect nations, communities, and ideas. Moving beyond traditional internationalisation, knowledge diplomacy positions universities as trusted actors in the global system, enabling collaboration across divides, supporting evidence-informed policy, and advancing shared solutions to global challenges.

Bringing together leaders from academia and government, the discussion will explore how universities exercise this distinctive diplomatic role and how institutions can strengthen their capacity to build trust, sustain cooperation, and shape constructive international dialogue in an increasingly fragmented world.

Speakers:

• Opening keynote by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson and Founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited

• Michelle Ferguson OBE, Scotland Director, Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

• Gopalan Rajagopalan, Head, TCS Scotland & UK/I Sales Director, Tata Consultancy Services

• Professor Andy Schofield, Principal and Vice Chancellor, University of Glasgow

• Professor Tan Eng Chye, President, University of NUS

Host:

• Professor Kathy Belov, Pro Vice Chancellor (Global and Research Engagement), University of Sydney

In today’s innovation economy, breakthrough research increasingly reaches society through deep collaboration between universities and industry. From biotechnology and health to advanced technologies and new materials, the most transformative advances now emerge from ecosystems where academic discovery, entrepreneurial talent, and industrial capability are closely aligned.

This session focuses on how universities can strengthen their role as industry partners and innovation catalysts, translating research excellence into new technologies, companies, and global economic value. Building on reflections from biotechnology pioneer Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the discussion will explore how industry–university collaboration is evolving and what institutions must do to engage more effectively with global markets and innovation partners.

Bringing together university leaders, industry representatives, and policymakers, the conversation will examine how universities can build stronger pathways between discovery and application, supporting talent pipelines, accelerating commercialisation, and contributing to dynamic regional and global innovation ecosystems.

Speakers:

• Emma Etim, U21 Leaders of the Future Award Nominee

• Dame Katherine Grainger, Chancellor, University of Glasgow

• Sir David MacMillan, Nobel Laureate, Princeton University

Panel:

• Linda Cowan, Managing Director, Kaplan International Pathways

In every country, extraordinary talent exists, but too often it goes unseen, unsupported, or unrealised. The question is not whether potential is out there, but whether our systems are designed to find it.

This session opens with a keynote from Professor Sir David MacMillan, whose journey from a modest upbringing in Scotland to winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2021, illustrates the transformative power of curiosity, opportunity, and belief. His story is a reminder that brilliance is not confined to predictable paths, and that small moments of support can shape life-changing trajectories.

The conversation that follows, led by Dame Katherine Grainger, will explore how universities can better recognise and nurture talent in all its forms, particularly where it is least visible.

At a moment when inequality continues to shape access to opportunity, this session will ask a fundamental question: are universities truly engines of social mobility and discovery, or do they still leave too much potential untapped?

Bringing together voices from across education and society, the panel will reflect on how institutions can move beyond aspiration to action, creating pathways that are not only open, but genuinely transformative.

Kindly supported by Kaplan International Pathways

Join us for an informal reception in the oldest public museum in Scotland. With collections spanning arts, sciences and humanities, The Hunterian is at the forefront of university museums around the world.