University Presidents of the U7+ Alliance campaign for Inclusive Education

This year's U7+ Presential Summit, themed “Inclusive Education for Inclusive Societies”, took place at Bocconi University in Italy from April 11 to 12, 2024. It gathered the presidents and leaders of over 80 universities from 18 countries to discuss the crucial topic of global access to higher education. Laura Chaubard, Director General and Acting President of École Polytechnique, and Gaëlle Le Goff, Director of International Affairs at École Polytechnique, attended the summit.

The presidents of 46 U7+ universities formally committed to the 2024 U7+ Statement on Global Access to Higher Education. As part of the six-point statement, they explicate their commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive culture on their campus, to providing financial, social, and academic support for students from disadvantaged communities to mitigate unintentional barriers to equal access, and to working with their communities to create pathways to higher education, continually evaluating admissions processes to minimize built-in biases and disadvantages.

Equal access to higher education and opportunities represents indeed one of École Polytechnique’s priorities and the School is deploying initiatives to promote equal access to higher education opportunities, such as the annual “Operation Monge”, during which students of École Polytechnique visit around 500 high schools all across the country, and in particular in less privileged areas to tell pupils about their studies in sciences, encourage them to pursue studies in this domain if they are interested in sciences and thus contribute to reducing unconscious barriers or self-censorship. Furthermore, l’X also offers financial support and scholarships to students. 

In their statement, the university presidents also addressed the G7 leaders and respectfully called on them to work with the U7+ Alliance to support increased global access to higher education as a means of enhancing inclusion and building stable and flourishing societies. 

They namely requested a commitment from and partnership with the G7 in four key areas, including the continued focus on high-quality and inclusive education systems from primary education to higher education, investment in higher education in low- and middle-income countries, funding to support students from marginalized communities, locally and globally, and support prioritizing visas for students and scholars fleeing oppressive regimes, armed conflict or threats of conflict. 

The 2024 U7+ Statement on Global Access to Higher Education was delivered to Anna Maria Bernini, Italian Minister of University and Research, on April 11, 2024, as a representative of the Italian government hosting the Group of Nations (G7) in June 2024. 

École Polytechnique is a founding member of the Alliance U7+, which was initiated under the patronage of President Emmanuel Macron at Sciences Po in 2019. U7+ university presidents and leadership members meet annually to establish a common agenda for coordinated action.