Going Global, the British Council’s celebrated international HE conference, will be held in the USA for the first time next year. Richard Everitt, Head of Education for the British Council in the US, and Kevin McGurgan of the British Consul-General in Miami, check in with The PIE in the lead-up to the event.
The PIE: How did Miami become next year’s host city?
RE: Going Global has been held seven times. It started as small annual UK event but expanded to Hong Kong in 2011, Dubai this year and Miami next year. There was a competition between nine locations around the world but Miami won because of the recognition from the UK sector that perhaps the Americas have been overlooked, especially in terms of education and recruitment where the focus has traditionally gone to Asia. But now the discussion has gone beyond that.
It’s about forming relationships and working with emerging economies like Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Traditionally over the past seven years attendance from the Americas – from Canada down to Chile – has been around 5-7% engagement and we want to change that. Miami isn’t like any other American city so the interesting thing will be to engage with other demographics, to look South and West, not just East.
“Traditionally over the past seven years attendance from the Americas has been around 5-7% engagement and we want to change that”
The PIE: What makes Miami stand out?
KM: Miami’s a great place for Going Global for a few reasons. First of all it’s one of those cities that’s a global crossing point between North and South America and the UK and Europe. And emerging economies and economies that have already emerged in South America maybe more inclined to say, “We can make it to Miami for two or three days for Going Global rather than Dubai or Hong Kong”.
The education institutions there also have good ideas and innovative ways of doing things. They’re climbing up the ladder. Miami Dade college is the country’s largest community college; 160,000 students attend in one way shape or form across three or four campuses and there are number of congressmen and women among their alumni. There’s cutting edge research that takes place at the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. It’s the number one eye research centre in the world. It’s in Miami, not Harvard or Stanford. Who knew?
“By 2050 the face of demographics in America will have dramatically changed”
The PIE: So it is quite distinct from the rest of the USA?
KM: If Florida were an independent country it would be the 19th largest economy in the world. That’s bigger than Turkey or Saudi Arabia or Argentina. It’s the fourth largest populated state currently and in 2014 and they think it will surpass New York to be the third because immigration is up again. Historically it’s been a place where graduates have moved on and now civil socity in Miami is driving the notion that we can’t let these graduates go.
To me it’s a city that represents who the US will look in 2050 and as a British Diplomat I’m very interested in how to engage with the next generation of Americans that don’t have the close familial or cultural ties with Europe and the UK as past generations have.
The PIE: How did you make the case for backing by an American audience?
KM: Firstly we talked with colleagues in the British Council in Washington to work out the strengths of logistics – to see if they could cope with 1,500 people flying in from across the world. Then we went to individuals in universities such as Dr Padrón at Miami Dade College and Donna Shalala from University of Miami, as well as Miami personalities – the mayor and former governor Jeb Bush who has engaged in the education debate previously.
The PIE: Why do you think the western hemisphere has been overlooked by the UK?
RE: South America had nothing to do with the rise and fall of fascism or communism so it wasn’t involved in these big international relations issues. And the time zone issue, the whole of the world has finished their day by the time they get started. The world is generally shifting South and East. International education, broadly speaking, has been focused on East Asia because it really has been about student opportunities, but that global picture changes the more student relationships you develop.
KM: The Foreign Office has recently put more focus on South America and Central America, putting in new staff who can reopen consulates that have been closed for the past 20 years. So for me Miami is a continuation of the past three years of realising that we were on verge of ignoring a huge part of the world, and education is going to be a big part of that for these emerging markets who now have the luxury to think about their children’s education. Bringing that global discussion to this city is a symbol of our commitment to the western hemisphere.
The PIE: Kevin, as the British Consul-General, tell me how you became interested in education and involved in taking Going Global to the US. [More>>]
KM: I think I’m passionate about education because I haven’t had a traditional one. I didn’t go to college but did online learning through the Open University in the UK. So I have a different view of whether three years at the beginning is the right way to start off your life or work experience, and in strategic points during your life taking a step back to invest in something else, apply and learn.
“We want to make the conference a place where you feel a part of something”
I also see education as something where the UK has a very distinct offer and it’s an opportunity to connect with the next generation of Americans. 50,000 Latinos in the US turn 18 every month. By 2050 the face of demographics in America will have dramatically changed. The consequences of that we don’t know yet but in terms of dealing with the UK our values are pretty similar to the United States’, and I think values and aspirations are what drive people rather than race or gender.
This all plays back into why Miami. If you’re bringing a world conference to the US, bring them to a place where they can see how the US has already changed, how it looks and feels very different.
The PIE: What’s been the biggest challenge in planning so far?
RE: The biggest challenge about Going Global has been getting the word out to a region which has not traditionally been engaged with it.
KM: I’ve been meeting with ambassadors from South American countries to tell them that we’re under a year away from Going Global and they need to go to the Ministry of Education to make the case, because this an opportunity for the UK to sell ourselves as an education destination on a number of levels, from English Langauge through to online life-long learning.
“We plan to have a few experts on hand for people to approach – similar to the Apple ‘Genius Bar’”
The PIE: How is this year ‘s Going Global going to compare to previous conferences?
RE: Higher education conferences are becoming more similar but what we’re trying to do with Going Global is make it different – by focusing on only high quality content, attendance by leaders, and on innovation in the conference. We plan to embed a think tank in the conference which will call on the experts to come up with some challenges at the beginning of the two days, which will be discussed throughout the conference.
We plan to have a few experts with higher education skills on hand for people to approach and ask practical questions about strategies and internationalisation – similar to the Apple ‘Genius Bar’. We want to make the conference a place where you feel a part of something. Inclusion and innovation are the themes and they’re central to the Americas because the current infrastructure in many countries will not cope with the global demand by people to improve their skills and lives.
