Call for Papers - Access and geopolitics: Next steps in tackling the equity crisis in global Higher Education

The World Access to Higher Education Network (WAHEN)  is pleased to invite submissions to ‘Access and Geopolitics: Next Steps in Tackling the Equity Crisis in Global Higher Education’, a free one-day hybrid research conference hosted by WAHEN, CGHE, and SKOPE. The event will take place on 3rd June 2025 at Ruskin College, Oxford, and online.

The World Access to Higher Education Network (WAHEN) is the first global network focused on addressing inequalities in higher education access and success. It is led by a board of world-leading organisations including the World Bank, UNESCO IESALC, Lumina Foundation, The Saville Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, University of California, Berkeley, University of Oxford and more. The Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) researches the inequalities within, and consequences of, the globalisation of higher education, and the Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE) focuses on policy and practice at the intersection of education, skills, and employment.

Across the world, policies promoting equitable access to higher education are facing increasing challenges, including a populist backlash. This conference will bring together scholars working on equitable access, participation and progression within higher education from across the globe to examine these pressing issues and explore solutions. 

We invite short (15-minute) paper submissions on the following themes:

• The politics – and geopolitics – of widening participation
• The challenge of financing access
• Private provision and higher education as a public good
• Populism and the equity ‘backlash’
• The challenge of generating meaningful participation data

To submit a proposal, email your proposed title and a 250 word abstract to david.mills@education.ox.ac.uk by 31st March 2025. You can find more information about the conference here.