On September 16, ACEEU Chair, Professor Thorsten Kliewe, joined an international debate at the 2020 QS MAPLE Conference in Saudi Arabia. The motion “COVID-19 changes everything for Higher Education Institutions” was proposed by Professor Sir Colin Blakemore, HKIAS Senior Fellow, and Yeung Kin Man, Chair Professor of Department of Neuroscience. Professor Kliewe seconded the motion while Christine Nasserghodsi, Co-Founder Mirai and Innovation & Education Contributor, as well as Anton John Crace, Editor and Program Designer in the QS Intelligence Unit, opposed the motion.
It has to be noted that the debaters presented their arguments from an academic standpoint, which does not necessarily reflect their personal opinion.
While the majority of the conference participants voted already before the debate for the motion, even more participants were convinced after the debate (+3%). The debate was moderated by Dr. Kevin Downing, QS MAPLE Conference Programme Chair.
“It has been a great pleasure to join the event and engage in a debate on such a relevant topic with other experts from around the world. I hope the debate sparked the interest and curiosity of the participants to further explore how the current situation can be used to foster positive change.” , says Professor Kliewe.
The QS Maple Conference is organised every year by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a leading global higher education organization that is most known for it global university ranking system.