On 1 and 2 September THE's virtual World Academic Summit will bring together over 100 speakers to answer questions like: Is the pandemic and the shift to a more digitally-based world changing the value of “place” for higher education institutions? Does this create a new opportunity for institutions in the Global South to redefine their public value and research impact? Has the pandemic accelerated trends that were already clear and expected for higher education institutions or have we moved into uncharted territory?   

The THE World University Rankings 2021 will also be launched during the event. 

In this episode of the podcast THE's chief knowledge officer, Phil Baty, and our head of content and engagement for our world summit series, Tim Sowula, join host Sara Custer to discuss the highlights of the upcoming event and what attendees can expect from the virtual platform. 

Susan McCahan, vice-provost of academic programmes at the University of Toronto, also speaks with Sara about how the institution has seen challenges as well as opportunities during the pandemic and her vision for the future of higher education. 

Special thanks to the water fowl of Victoria park for their cameo appearances.