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Foreword by His Excellency

Bernard Emié
Affiliation:
French Ambassador to the United Kingdom
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Summary

The steady increase in joint programmes and qualifications offered by British and French universities is cause for celebration. But language constraints, financial pressures and political uncertainty present real obstacles to continued expansion. How are these to be overcome? And how can higher education institutions on both sides of the Channel help each other to realise the enormous potential of Franco-British academic partnerships?

This book presents the papers of a seminar which was a first in the history of the two countries: its objective was to take stock of bilateral partnerships in higher education, to share experience and best practice, and to identify new initiatives and new areas for collaboration.

Academic partnerships play a key role in the relationships between the two countries: they affect the lives of over 20,000 students as well as researchers, teachers, exchange scholars and administrators involved in the delivery of joint diplomas. The Institut Français itself, which hosted the seminar in February 2010, had opened the way when, in 1921, it offered French diplomas to British students through an agreement with Lille University.

Franco-British academic cooperation takes place within the multilayered framework of a relationship between two proud and ancient countries. It is a rich and compelling story of alliances and rivalries, of cultural difference and affinities, and, crucially, of human exchange – of ideas, of practices, of goods and capital, financial and intellectual. It is tempting to linger over such a richly textured narrative, but we have no such luxury: the world does not stand still, and the challenges which our two nations face grow ever more pressing. I believe it is now time to take our academic partnership onto a higher plane. The list of issues demanding our attention is a long one: climate change, energy security, financial regulation, national identity and social integration, the safety of our citizens, the relief of poverty, famine and disease – to name but a few.

Of course, ‘policy relevance’ cannot be the only measure of academic enquiry: the humanities are, after all, cornerstones of our moral and intellectual traditions. But we also need to turn our best minds to the pursuit of innovative solu tions that can alleviate the hardships of the many, and secure a better future for our planet.

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Franco-British Academic Partnerships
The Next Chapter
, pp. xxi - xxii
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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