24. International cooperation in higher education should be based on solidarity and mutual respect and the promotion of humanistic values and intercultural dialogue. As such, it should be encouraged despite the economic downturn.
25. Institutions of higher education worldwide have a social responsibility to help bridge the development gap by increasing the transfer of knowledge across borders, especially towards developing countries, and working to find common solutions to foster brain circulation and alleviate the negative impact of brain drain.
26. International university networks and partnerships are a part of this solution and help to enhance mutual understanding and a culture of peace.
27. Partnerships for research and staff and student exchanges promote international cooperation. The encouragement of more broadly based and balanced academic mobility should be integrated into mechanisms that guarantee genuine multilateral and multicultural collaboration.
28. Partnerships should nurture the creation of national knowledge capabilities in all involved countries, thus ensuring more diversified sources of high quality research peers and knowledge production, on regional and global scales.
29. For globalisation of higher education to benefit all, it is critical to ensure equity in access and success, to promote quality and to respect cultural diversity as well as national sovereignty.
30. Globalisation has highlighted the need for the establishment of national accreditation and quality assurance systems along with promotion of networking among them.
31. Cross-border provision of higher education can make a significant contribution to higher education provided it offers quality education, promotes academic values, maintains relevance and respects the basic principles of dialogue and cooperation, mutual recognition and respect for human rights, diversity and national sovereignty.
32. Cross-border higher education can also create opportunities for fraudulent and low-quality providers of higher education that need to be counteracted. Spurious providers (‘degree mills’) are a serious problem. Combating ‘degree mills’ requires multi-pronged efforts at national and international levels.
33. New dynamics are transforming the landscape of higher education and research. They call for partnerships and concerted action at national, regional and international levels to assure the quality and sustainability of higher education systems worldwide – particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, Small Island Developing States (SIDs) and other Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This should also include South-South and North-South-South cooperation.
34. Greater regional cooperation is desirable in areas such as the recognition of qualifications, quality assurance, governance, and research and innovation. Higher education should reflect the international, regional and national dimensions in both teaching and research.
