Twenty-seven years of fostering international higher-education cooperation:
Long live GUNi!
Higher-education institutions have been called to play a prominent role in the knowledge society. In this polarized world, amid several ongoing crises, universities need to add rigor, evidence, critical thinking, constructive debates and forums for dialogue and coordination, high-quality lifelong learning, innovation and international cooperation. Universities are institutions used to work on the duality of local and global issues, providing a critical perspective for the years ahead, as we grow more and more aware of our interdependencies and the need to work on a planetary scale.
In this context, I believe the mission of the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi) is more relevant than ever. It was founded in 1999, shortly after the celebration of UNESCO’s 1st World Conference on Higher Education, with the aim of disseminating and following up on its conclusions and recommendations. Twenty-seven years later, GUNi has established itself as a leading global network in the field of university policy and higher-education management, always in line with UNESCO’s values. In fact, it fills us with pride that UNESCO chose Barcelona as the host city of the 3rd World Conference on Higher Education in 2022, and that GUNi was chosen as the local coordinating institution of this global event.
I had the honour of participating, from 1998 to 1999, in the creation, design and early development of GUNi from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), in collaboration with UNESCO and the United Nations University (UNU). For twelve years, from 2014 to 2026, I had, once again, the privilege to lead and drive GUNi from the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP). Throughout this period, GUNi has developed a wide range of programs, initiatives and publications guided by a commitment to public service, relevance, social responsibility and innovation. Today, it brings together 336 universities, research centres and UNESCO Chairs from nearly 100 countries, a number that keeps growing each year and showcases the willingness of institutions from all continents to collaborate through GUNi’s local secretariat in Barcelona. The periodical publication of the Higher Education in the World Reports has been one of GUNi’s highlights as the reports have been disseminated and consulted within university and higher-education policy institutions around the world. At the same time, we have held plenty of international conferences, seminars and workshops, focusing on topics such as the 2030 Agenda and higher-education, sustainability, international academic cooperation, responsible research and innovation, the funding of higher-education, quality assurance and the transformation of universities. Finally, during the last few years GUNi has launched some ambitious projects, such as GUNi International Call to Action, the Higher Education Leadership and Management Hub and the Cities and Universities Programme.
Despite GUNi’s encouraging track record, it is worth noting that international higher-education cooperation is not easy to put into practice in today’s extremely competitive society, where, more often than not, spurious and local interests overtake the common interest and good. Now more than ever, we need to rescue the real purpose of “Universitas” as a space for reason, collaboration and cooperation between people, countries and cultures for the sake of progress and well-being. The advancement of science, culture and education around the world, are some of the key elements that will allow us to live fulfilling lives characterised by our well-being and shared progress. It is through this lens that GUNi has been led from the first day, and I am convinced that it will continue working this way in the years to come.
From now on, GUNi is embarking on a new era. The presidency and the permanent secretariat are returning to UPC, which already held these roles during the network’s early years. I am confident that during this new chapter, the network will continue to make a significant contribution to the advancement of higher-education and universities all over the world.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all people and institutions that have deposited their trust in GUNi during these past years: to UNESCO, UPC, ACUP and all their directives, for their complicity and shared vision; to all member universities, research centres and UNESCO Chairs around the world; to all GUNi and ACUP secretariat staff in Barcelona, for their professionalism and steadfast commitment; to all members of the Strategic Council for their constant support; and to all Catalan, Spanish and worldwide institutions, public and private, that have sponsored and collaborated through plenty of initiatives and projects.
To all of you, many thanks for placing your trust in GUNi and embracing international higher-academic cooperation through compromise, reason, democracy and multilateralism.
Long live GUNi and UNESCO’s founding values.
Josep M. Vilalta.