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More of the “Town and Gown”: The Role of External Partnerships in Amplifying Impact
Universities thrive when their host communities offer a high quality of life that helps us all to attract and retain very talented faculty, students and staff. At the same time, the local presence of intellectual assets that our universities represent creates huge economic and social benefits locally. So it is very much a two-way street.
Professor Meric Gertler President, University of Toronto
The “ivory tower” has long been used as a metaphor to imply universities are out of touch with society. Yet the evidence suggests otherwise. Increasingly, society has turned to academic research to advance technology and solve problems, while universities have found it fruitful for both students and staff to work more closely with communities and industry. The “town and gown” relationship is therefore ripe for re-assessment and a consideration of how it can be developed going forward. In a session moderated by Professor Meric Gertler, President of the University of Toronto, panellists Professor Tony Chan, President of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Professor Banchong Mahaisavariya, President of Mahidol University, Professor Sandra Almeida, Rector of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), and Professor Gary S May, Chancellor of University of California, Davis (UC Davis), shared their experiences and insights on developing town-gown relations. Professor Gertler kicked things off by reflecting that while no two institutions are alike and local context and history matter, “in every instance, this relationship is fundamentally
symbiotic. Universities thrive when their host communities offer a high quality of life that helps us all to attract and retain very talented faculty, students and staff. At the same time, the local presence of intellectual assets that our universities represent creates huge economic and social benefits locally. So it is very much a two-way street,” he said. Partnerships yield mutual benefits in at least three ways. One relates to experiential learning opportunities in the community, which help students hone their skills and networks while benefitting local employers through access to energetic, creative talent as interns and potential future employees. Secondly, researchers benefit from the opportunity to study pressing problems brought forward from the local community, such as housing affordability and ways to improve healthcare. At the same time, governments, community-based organisations, and local firms benefit from access to university- based expertise and the global knowledge networks in which universities play such an important part. Thirdly, universities are increasingly emerging as key participants in local innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems, working collaboratively with start-ups, groundbreaking
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