UNICA EduLAB webinar “University-based Schools of Education serving capital cities in Europe” | 9 May 2023

Promoted by King’s College London

Higher Education Institutions are becoming increasingly international in their student and staff recruitment, teaching and learning, and research. Yet, universities are also expected, and rightly so, to serve local communities, their immediate neighbourhoods, and the cities where they are based and operate.

The webinar addressed the ongoing developments in the cooperation between universities and their cities, extracting lessons from partnerships between city administrations and Universities’ educational divisions (Department of Education/School of Education, etc.). The event had the format of a panel discussion followed by a Q&A session with the participants.

The panel was composed of representatives of university-based Schools & Departments of Education along with top city administration leaders from capital cities of Europe and provided a space for an exchange of know-how and good practices regarding how Schools of Education based in universities serve their capital cities in Europe.

SPEAKERS

• Ciprian Ciucu, Mayor Sector 6 of Bucharest, Romania
• Romita Iucu, President of the Board of Trustees, University of Bucharest, Romania (moderator)
• Liviu Matei, Head of the School of Education Communication and Society, King’s College London, UK
• Joanne McCartney, Statutory Deputy Mayor of London, UK
• Maria Sfyroera, Professor of the School of Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Matters discussed included: 

• Do university-based Schools of Education address effectively the needs of their capital cities?  
• What are these needs? How are they identified and by whom?  
• Who has the responsibility to formulate appropriate answers, such as in the design and deliver of teacher education activities?
• What type of cooperation exists or should be put in place between universities, the cities and central government authorities to ensure that the needs of the capital cities in this area are properly assessed and addressed? 
• What are the main obstacles in university-based Schools of Education serving the capital cities in Europe and what are good experiences in overcoming such barriers?  

Read the opening remarks by Liviu Matei, Head of the School of Education, Communication & Society, King’s College London

(Re)Watch the webinar