2020 Pre-Summit Activities

Virtual Convening of U7+ Presidential Delegates

Universities are called to lead more than ever at this moment, as the world changes in unprecedented ways amid the COVID-19 pandemic and global and local events that have transpired since its onset. We must find new ways of collaborating with our peers, inside and outside of academia, to address COVID-19 and other critical global challenges, including racism, inequality, and threats to intellectual freedom. This point in history offers a chance for us to reimagine the way we approach everything—to test our assumptions and consider new modes of operating and engaging with the world.

In this light, the U7+ hosted a virtual convening of presidential delegates representing our universities. Presidential delegates thought collectively about how the world is changing and what that means for the impact of universities: How do we define and strengthen our roles as global actors, individually, as a network, and as a sector?

We also came together to take stock of the accomplishments of the U7+ Alliance’s first year and discussed how to activate U7+ working groups to fulfill the Commitments, Principles, and Actions of the U7+ Alliance.

2020 U7+ Worldwide Student Forum

85 students, 22 universities, 12 countries, 1 big question

How should universities best prepare students for life after graduation, in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic and global and local events since the onset of the pandemic?  

By now it is clear that COVID-19 is a critical global health issue. However, it is not purely a medical issue. The COVID-19 pandemic will impact the educational, economic, and social systems of every country. Since the onset of COVID-19, communities around the world are seeking new understandings and actions around issues of discrimination, racial justice, and human rights. In each of our societies, we are asking new questions about our interconnection, reconsideration of old perspectives and approaches, and a search for new visions of the future. 

This challenging time also presents new opportunities for our local and global communities. The way that we respond in this moment will truly impact the course of human history for generations. Throughout history students have risen to the challenge of social change, and helped to shape the world after crises of all sorts. The same will be true in this time. In order to move forward together, we need to foster new forms of connection and collaboration around the world, and we need to ensure that university leaders hear the voices of their students.

On behalf of the U7+ Alliance and the U.S. cosponsoring institutions, Northwestern University hosted an online conference to spark a discussion among students from across the U7+ network. In the context, we posed the question, “How should universities best prepare students for life after graduation, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and global and local events since its onset?”

Our goal was to provide a platform for students to learn from one another, and amplify the voices of students who want to work to build a new vision for how universities can best prepare youth for life after graduation. 

Forum Overview

The virtual U7+ Worldwide Student Forum ran from June 12-July 1, 2020. During this time, students contributed to discussion boards and participated in live small group conversations. Each week, students were invited to respond to a series of prompts using text, video, art, music, poetry and other artifacts. Here are some of the top takeaways and recommendations from students’ forum discussions:

• Student mental health must be a priority. Students are under such pressure in university, and especially in this time of lockdown and limited human interaction. Forum participants called on U7+ Presidents to create pathways for students to seek support throughout their time in university, including during the pandemic when they may be off-campus. “At the end of the day, we can’t be part of making change unless we are healthy,” students reported.
• Universities should help students filter through misinformation, and play a stronger role correcting falsehoods. Students noted that universities are the champions of truth and scientific inquiry and are uniquely positioned to help vet and preserve the integrity of information that reaches the public and shapes decision-making at all levels of society. They also recommended programming designed to teach students to parse fact from fiction. “Truth is what you study in university. After graduation, we will have to venture out and find the truth for ourselves,” they said.
• Build support of the arts into the commitments of the U7+. Students asserted that the arts, in addition to the sciences, are a powerful tool for fostering dialogue across cultures and called on U7+ leaders to recognize their importance. “To omit the arts from the commitments of the U7+ is to ignore an important aspect of our humanity,” they said.
• Digital technologies are replacing in-person experiences, and the U7+ can work to improve the quality of digital learning. During the COVID-19 pandemic classes were moved online very quickly in many countries around the world. While classroom learning migrated to a new format, many of the other experiences that students expect during their time in university—such as internships and study abroad programs—were cancelled. Moving forward, students called for online learning opportunities that foster engagement not just with their university professors, but also with their classmates, with community leaders and with future employers across professional sectors.
• Universities should do more to equalize the experience of domestic and international students. Students recommended that university leaders work together to provide a better and more supportive experience for international students, calling for lower tuition rates and more funding opportunities for international students, in particular. “International students are bringing their cultures to campus with them. Universities are not just giving a service to international students, but they are benefiting from them as well,” they said. Students also called for more engagement between domestic students and international students. “We need to talk more—to talk to people with diverse experiences and backgrounds.”
• There should be more emphasis on the cultivation of personal abilities in addition to knowledge development. Students recommended university leaders create more programs to support the development of skills and accumulation of life experiences during their time in school. They recognized the links and gaps between classroom learning and action in their communities, and encouraged their universities to prioritize programming that will prepare them for careers beyond academia. “Internship programs and experiential learning opportunities would support student preparation for creating the futures they want to be part of,” students said.
• Create concrete goals and accountability measures as part of the U7+ actions. Students recommended U7+ university leaders develop targets to measure the progress of U7+ universities toward broad, far-reaching U7+ Alliance goals such as “equity and inclusiveness in the world” and “combatting polarization in society.” They suggested setting improvement targets for each U7+ institution, regardless of its starting point in a particular area, and recommended creating baseline requirements for U7+ Alliance membership.
• Expand opportunities for student engagement with the U7+, including at the U7+ Presidential Summits. Students called for more communication about the U7+ Alliance and what universities are doing as part of the network. “More students would be interested and more students would be part of supporting the actions of the U7+ if they knew more about it,” they said. In light of that, students suggested making the U7+ Worldwide Student Forum an annual convening, creating a U7+ student board to ensure ongoing communication with U7+ university leaders, and ensuring student representation at the U7+ Presidential Summits or creating opportunities for students to participate in work to achieve U7+ Alliance goals. “Our discussions are important enough that they need to be [covered] in depth with university presidents,” they said.

During the final week of the experience, students were asked to work in their university teams to submit a short video message to their school’s U7+ presidential delegate. These videos were consolidated and delivered to U7+ university presidents and the broader public. Watch the student video compilation below: