2024 Winter Forum: Building back better?
Each edition of Forum magazine tackles a critical conversation in international higher education. The Winter 2024 edition continues this legacy. Centred around the theme of 'Building back better?', this issue, stands with its feet solidly in the present and takes a glance at the past, with the grander aim of preparing for the future.
The pandemic also brought possibilities for development [and] ... alternative solutions and frameworks created an environment for digitalisation to thrive.
Many of the articles in this edition reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic, taking the structural, social and cultural developments that took place during and after the lockdown years as their object of analysis. Some entries explore the continued relevance of virtual learning initiatives, including online internships, Collaborative Online Interactive Learning (COIL) and Virtual Exchange programmes, proving the efficacy of online-powered internationalisation efforts.
Other articles tackle cultural and societal shifts that took place during the pandemic and investigate the lasting effects we are feeling now. In this current moment, we are collectively dealing with these new dimensions and exploring new attitudes and philosophies; through careful consideration of our recent past and our imminent futures, we can ensure that we act in a way that prioritises inclusivity and security.
Finally, this edition's interview takes ‘building back better’ in its most tangible sense. Professor Mykola Trofymenko, rector of Mariupol State University, discusses the process of rebuilding Mariupol State University after its destruction during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He shares with us the university’s role in the local community and details the rebuilding process in Kyiv.
We have this principle, to build back better, in everything that we are doing.
All in all, this edition of Forum is one that asks us to pause and consider the current moment. What has led us to where we are today, and what steps can we now take towards cementing a collaborative and healthy international education community?