Universities urged to preserve local identity and culture amid globalisation drive

Universities should retain their local identities and unique culture even as they become increasingly globalised, a group of vice-chancellors have said.

Speaking at Times Higher Education (THE)’s World Academic Summit, university leaders emphasised the importance of balancing local priorities with global ambitions in a climate of increasing international competition.

Retaining a local identity helps to foster relationships with local communities, the academics claimed.

Following cuts in government funding, UK universities have become increasingly reliant on international students as a source of income. This is because tuition fees for home students are capped at £9,535 this year, while fees for international students are determined by universities and stand at £22,000 a year on average.

Globalisation must not import ‘best practices’ from other cultures to the extent that they ‘destroy the very foundation of the culture that you are trying to teach your children’

Tebelelo Seretse, University of Botswana Chancellor

Warwick’s success is tied to its identity as a “globally engaged university”, which is reflected by its large international community (which makes up 38% of its student body) and by the fact that, in 2023/24, international fees made up 33% of the university’s total income.

Warwick also ranked 27^th in THE’s list of ‘Most International Universities of the World in 2025’.

Speaking at the THE conference, Tebelelo Seretse, Chancellor of the University of Botswana, warned that globalisation must not import “best practices” from other cultures to the extent that they “destroy the very foundation of the culture that you are trying to teach your children”.

The former Botswanan Ambassador to the United States instead emphasised the importance of asking questions such as “where does our culture come in?” and “how do we tell the correct stories now to our children?”

Warwick has worked to address these issues through its Cultural Strategy, which aims to boost ‘engagement with local and regional communities’

Warwick has worked to address these issues through its Cultural Strategy, which aims to boost “engagement with local and regional communities” while “building on our active connections with key civic and regional cultural partners”.

The Warwick Arts Centre (WAC) plays a key role in Warwick’s strategy, acting as a cultural hub where local artists can perform and display their work. In 2023/24, the University hosted over 50 projects involving local artists, while 193,000 visitors bought a ticket or saw an exhibition at the WAC.

Events hosted by the Resonate programme, Warwick’s public engagement initiative, have enriched the experiences of both the local community and students.

In 2023/24, 16,000 people attended Resonate events in-person or online, and 90% of respondents agreed that Resonate had improved their perception of Warwick.

Efforts are also being made by the University to deepen regional engagement in research. The Place-Based Research and Culture Programme, launched in 2023, empowers Warwick researchers to “collaborate with artists, local organisations and communities”. The six projects that make up the programme have been awarded over £122,000 in funding.

Warwick [has] the third lowest proportion of local students [at elite universities], with only 12.8% from the West Midlands

Statistics provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency in 2024 reveal that local students are underrepresented in many elite UK universities. Of these universities, Warwick had the third lowest proportion of local students, with only 12.8% from the West Midlands.

Elsewhere, Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, noted that “over a third of [Durham’s] students come from outside of the UK, and 40% of our staff”, and, as a result, there is a “very significant divergence between the university population and the local population”.

O’Brien also acknowledged Durham’s reputation as being “very functional nationally, very connected internationally, but perhaps not so connected locally.”

Paul Ashwin, Professor of Higher Education at Lancaster University, expressed similar concerns to O’Brien, telling THE that the lack of local students could lead to “local people feeling that [the university] is ‘not for them’.”