Episode 15: Greenworld U: interdisciplinary HE with Shakespeare, starlight and dancing

This edition of the podcast stars Professor Julie Sanders, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at Royal Holloway, University of London. Julie offers a novel concept, Greenworld Univerisity, a constellation of campuses based on the notion of green world spaces in Shakespeare or spaces of possibility. Her university has a very broad offering - not just Shakespeare - and provides huge flexibility in learning patterns for students who can enjoy the right to roam academically and expect a transformative experience.

Greenworld University has quite a porous structure and also brings in broader support including from the wider community. Many things are green including the campuses whether on leafy or post-industrial sites or indeed online. Research is very fluid too and integrated with education - there are opportunities for collaboration and mobility for staff and students across sites and in and out of industry too.

We also learn about governance, which is distributed across the half a dozen sites in the UK and the others further afield, and the importance of belonging, conviviality, food and spaces of encounter at Greenworld. Distinctively, the university focuses less on competitive sport and more on the shared experience of frequent dancing although there is no space for prima donnas. Cross-national and inter-generational learning is important too, including in student accommodation and in the wider university spaces and there will be plenty of time for Julie, as VC, to interact with staff and students instead of in meetings.

Finally, in an inspired touch, we learn that the Greenworld University anthem is a very fitting tune for those seeking to dream impossible dreams.