The REACT mandate

For a long time universities have been asked to react to forces they did not choose: new technologies, new markets, new policies, new crises. WUF turns the word around. Its mandate is five words, always in this order, and together they move universities from reacting to change to leading it.

Represent

WUF speaks for all 35,000+ universities and gives every legitimate institution, whatever its size, wealth or region, an equal seat at the global table. Representation is the first word because it is the reason WUF exists: more than 80 percent of the world’s universities have never had that seat.

Empower

WUF builds the capacity, intelligence and resilience of universities and of the people who lead, teach and work in them, with independent data, shared frameworks, professional development and direct support. An empowered university can choose its own path instead of following one set for it.

Advocate

WUF carries the collective voice of universities into the places where policy and the future of learning are decided, and it protects academic freedom against political and commercial pressure. Its positions are formed with its members, by region, by type of university and by stakeholder, and reported back to them.

Celebrate

WUF recognizes the achievements of universities, educators and innovators, and the value they give to their societies, to raise public trust in higher education. It gives every university, not only the famous ones, a stage on which its contribution is seen.

Transform

WUF supports universities in becoming smart, sustainable and inclusive institutions, ready to use new technologies wisely and to withstand the crises of the decades ahead. Transformation is the last word because it is where the other four lead.

REACT is how WUF works. Re-Imagine the University is what that work is for.

Read more: Re-Imagine the University · The fourteen domains