Building on the second volume of Univer-Cities: Strategic View of the
Future -- From Berkeley and Cambridge to Singapore and Rising Asia
edited by Anthony SC Teo and published in 2015, this third edition
presents 12 chapters weaving the dilemmas of strategy and leadership in
one of humanity's beloved institutions, the university (with a long view
strategy) and the city (a relatively shorter one).Based on the 2016
Univer-Cities conference hosted by the University of Newcastle,
contributors of this volume reflect on the deliberations made by the
conference participants, including academic leaders from University of
Cambridge and University of California, Berkeley, urban architects,
policy planners, and public office holders.The book hopes to engage the
universities' top leadership in addressing accusations of elitism by
re-societalisation of the varsities with their eco-system. Often
criticised for being unresponsive to the pressing and accumulating
problems faced by cities and societies, more can be done for
universities to exert their socio-economic benefits and contribute to
the progress of humankind. It is a call for academic elites to integrate
basic research with the universities' strengths in medical disciplines
for community advancement, urban planning, innovation systems and
regional economic growth.