While speaking on a panel at Duolingo’s DETcon London conference on June 10, a thought struck me. The UK higher education sector has spent years championing the importance of civic universities to show how institutions are rooted in place, responsive to local need and valuable to the communities around them.
But as the discussion turned to the fractious political landscape we are now living in, it became clear that something is still missing. In an age of populism and global uncertainty, is it not time we think not only about civic universities, but about civil universities too?
A growing divide
This is a challenge to the sector, but we are in challenging political times. While populist sentiments are reshaping electoral maps across the UK, they are also influencing attitudes toward established institutions. These include universities and the flow of people and the exchange of ideas on which they depend.
Despite the significant progress made to reconnect higher education to place over recent years – including through civic university agreements, local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) and place-based research – a disconnect persists between universities and parts of the public.
This works both ways. While public scepticism towards higher education is growing, the attitude of the sector toward voters of parties such as Reform UK and Restore is one of intolerance.
Too often, discourse on campus about these parties slips into dismissal. Such voters are framed as “other”, with an implicit assumption that they sit entirely outside the sector. Evidence and reason are rightly deployed to challenge their policies, but far less effort is made to engage empathetically with those who find those ideas appealing.
However, if universities are serious about rebuilding trust across society, then they must engage with people where they are, not from where academic communities might wish them to be.
Barriers to belonging
There is also a clear equality dimension to this challenge. The sector’s commitment to widening participation – opening doors to underrepresented, disadvantaged and first-in-family students – requires recognition that many future students will come from communities whose political views differ markedly from those prevalent in university environments.
Some will come from households sceptical of higher education, and some from communities where concerns about immigration, national identity or economic insecurity are deeply felt.
Others may already have navigated resistance in choosing to pursue higher education at all. If universities are perceived as spaces that dismiss or caricature such views, then these students may arrive feeling unable to bring their whole selves to campus, or they may decide against higher education altogether.
Inclusion also extends beyond borders. International students coming to the UK enrich perspectives on campus, sustain institutional finances and act as powerful ambassadors for the UK’s soft power. Yet, they often find themselves at the centre of very public debates about immigration and the changing face of Britain.
Students from countries such as Israel or Trump’s America may also encounter insensitive comments about their political leaders or actions, with little regard for the views they themselves may hold.
The case for benevolence
At the 2026 Higher Education Policy Institute conference, Professor Bobby Duffy of the King’s Policy Institute made a compelling case for benevolence as a cornerstone of rebuilding public trust.
He defined this as the need to demonstrate to people that universities are, fundamentally, on their side. It is a simple proposition, but one that the sector has not always got right, particularly during the 2016 Brexit referendum and its aftermath, when universities were out step with majority national sentiment.
Universities have since become more effective at articulating what they contribute to society, be it through research breakthroughs, opportunities for graduates, innovation and economic growth. Yet, they remain less effective at conveying that they understand the concerns, experiences and anxieties that shape public attitudes, particularly around issues such as globalisation and immigration.
Benevolence requires humility. It asks institutions to recognise that expertise alone does not command trust, and that populist concerns cannot simply be dismissed as misinformed. At the same time, it calls on universities to show leadership and make the case for openness, intellectual challenge and international collaboration, while acknowledging the tensions these can create in public debate.
Civility is key
This is where the idea of the civil university comes into focus. This is not just a soundbite. A civil university is one that actively creates the conditions in which trust can be rebuilt. It does not require agreement with every viewpoint, nor does it dilute academic values. Rather, it insists that engagement across political, social and cultural difference is conducted with respect, and that disagreement is not met with derision.
A civil university recognises that students and staff arrive with different backgrounds, beliefs and lived experiences. Some are shaped by communities that feel alienated from higher education, and others are shaped by entirely different national and cultural contexts. In both cases, these individuals should feel they can participate fully in university communities without needing to suppress who they are.
The civic university agenda has rightly focused attention on place and local contribution. But a civil university movement would go further. It would seek out engagement with those who feel disconnected from universities, rather than speaking past them.
It would equip staff and students with the skills to navigate difficult conversations across political and cultural divides. And it would foster environments where someone from a Reform-voting community and someone arriving from overseas feel equally entitled to be heard, respected and included.
The need to do more
This is not an easy shift. It requires reflection and at times discomfort. It may mean confronting assumptions within institutional cultures and acknowledging that universities are not always as inclusive in practice as they are in principle, particularly when it comes to politics. But it is necessary if universities are to avoid closing themselves off from the very societies they are meant to serve.
In an age of populism and global interconnectedness, universities must do more than just demonstrate civic impact; they must demonstrate civility and understanding. They must show that they do not only contribute to society, but that they stand alongside it – listening, engaging and building trust across difference. That is why we need our universities to be civil and civic in equal measure.
