The 2nd University Cities Forum – Leveraging University Vitality for Urban & Regional Development – was hosted on November 30th – December 2nd 2017 in Tomsk by National Research Tomsk State University. The Forum was held with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Administration of the Tomsk Region, the Embassy of France in Russia, the Consulate General of Germany in Novosibirsk.
The Forum was an international platform for joint work of government officials, university authorities and researchers, representatives of high-tech businesses and social entrepreneurs.
Main goal of the 2nd University Cities Forum was to form the agenda for the development of university cities in different regions of the world.
The focus of the Forum-2017 was:
(1) how to increase the university’s influence on the development of the digital economy and social sectors of the regions;
(2) how university-business-government partnerships can respond to social, urban and economic challenges.
The Forum’s program included three tracks.
Track 1 «University and the new economy of the city/region»
Key objective: to identify the university role in the development of the new economy in a city or a region.
Key topics of the track for discussion:
- How to bring together university, industry and government and build their cooperation for the urban/regional economy transformation? What modern concepts should we apply?
- How to achieve the necessary concentration of technology businesses for the development of new sectors of the economy?
- How to transform university campus into a center of gravity for businesses and a new type of urban environment?
- How to design a university-industry-government consensus space for the development and implementation of joint initiatives?
Track 2 «University in complex urban ecosystem»
Key objective: to determine how the process of urbanization and urban development is changing while addressing environmental and political challenges.
Key topics of the track for discussion:
- What are the prerequisites for a university environment to conceive and nurture experimental solutions for urgent environmental and urban problems?
- Can the urbanization process be more thoughtful and responsible?
- What knowledge and professions will be needed to respond to global environmental challenges?
Track 3 «University and disruptive social changes»
Key objective: to formulate the key conditions for the transformation of the university into a driver for social change in different processes, e.g. in the development of social entrepreneurship, in addressing key issues of the urban and regional social development, in the concentration of the active working age population and young talents.
Key topics of the track for discussion:
- How can a university concentrate talents in a city?
- What are the priorities for academic mobility development?
- How can a university contribute to a labor market enhancement and to respond to social challenges?
We invited to take part in the Forum-2017:
- Mayors of university cities;
- Executive authorities representatives responsible for socio-economic and territorial development;
- Development institutions, regional and national executive powers officials;
- University authorities and researchers;
- Representatives of technology businesses and innovation clusters;
- Social entrepreneurs;
- Architects and designers;
