So what are international university networks good for?
In his 20 February piece, “Can university consortia and networks adapt to new normal?”, Gerardo Blanco argues that COVID-19 has so disrupted the functioning of international networks that they face serious questions about their sustainability. As executive director of one of the selective networks that he mentions explicitly, the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), I beg to differ.
Dr Blanco’s thesis is that, in a post-COVID world, a global network like WUN is endangered because its principal function – to burnish the reputations of the highly selective research universities that constitute the membership – is no longer justifiable in a world of greater austerity. Were he right about the major function of the network I would wholeheartedly agree, but I think he has missed the point.