How can the higher education sector contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable development? How can skilled personnel be trained and retained? How should the sector relate to government, business, the local community and civil society? What are good models of partnership between North and South? What role for the private sector? How can science and new technologies be deployed?
The main topics include:
- What forms of partnership between North and South are effective and appropriate?
- What should have priority in higher education: providing skills for the present job market or training in flexibility and adaptation for the future?
- How can appropriate higher education be financed – what balance should there be between aid, taxation and fees?
- What is the role of the private sector?
- What existing models of excellence in the South can be replicated, adapted and learnt from?
- Does everything need to be done at national level, or is there real scope for regional and continental initiatives?
- What is the role of “centres of excellence” especially in science and technology?
- What role for Information and Communications Technologies?
- Politicians and civil servants with policy responsibility for higher education issues;
- Experts with policy responsibility from international organisations and donor agencies;
- Academic specialists with a commitment for tertiary education for development;
- NGO specialists on education and independent analysts.
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