In the era marked by globalization and its profound impacts on individuals, societies, states and markets, world-class universities need to position themselves in the forefront of seeking conceptual and practical solutions to daunting challenges by paying greater attention to their roles in serving local society and contributing to global common goods. Based on the findings of the Seventh International Conference on World-Class Universities, World-Class Universities: Towards a Global Common Good and Seeking National and Institutional Contributions provides updated insights and debates on how world-class universities will contribute to the global common good and balance their global, national and local roles in doing so.

The Eighth International Conference on World-Class Universities was held in October 2019. The conference theme was "World-Class Universities: Global Trends and Institutional Models". The theme of this volume is embedded in the context of an ever-changing and complex world. Changes are taking place constantly in social, economic, cultural and political spheres, such as technological transformation, backlash against globalization and emerging forces of nationalism in various parts of the world, as well as increasing inequality and disparity of wealth, economic and social opportunities. These challenges impact global, national and institutional higher education practices and induce mounting pressure on World-Class Universities to respond effectively to the ferocity of social change. World-Class Universities, commonly recognized as global research universities or flagship universities, are essential in developing a nation's potential in the knowledge economy and in seeking conceptual and practical solutions to daunting challenges. This volume sheds light on World-Class Universities' challenges, opportunities, roles and strategies in response to the changing landscape of higher education and our society as a whole. It is composed of two parts: "Global Trends" and "Institutional Models".

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Social Robotics, ICSR 2021, held in Singapore, Singapore, in November 2021. The conference was held as a hybrid event.The 64 full papers and 15 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 114 submissions. The conference presents topics on humans and intelligent robots and on the integration of robots into the fabric of our society. The theme of the 2021 edition was "Robotics in our everyday lives", emphasizing on the increasing importance of robotics in human daily living.

The Eighth International Conference on World-Class Universities was held in October 2019. The conference theme was "World-Class Universities: Global Trends and Institutional Models". The theme of this volume is embedded in the context of an ever-changing and complex world. Changes are taking place constantly in social, economic, cultural and political spheres, such as technological transformation, backlash against globalization and emerging forces of nationalism in various parts of the world, as well as increasing inequality and disparity of wealth, economic and social opportunities. These challenges impact global, national and institutional higher education practices and induce mounting pressure on World-Class Universities to respond effectively to the ferocity of social change. World-Class Universities, commonly recognized as global research universities or flagship universities, are essential in developing a nation's potential in the knowledge economy and in seeking conceptual and practical solutions to daunting challenges. This volume sheds light on World-Class Universities' challenges, opportunities, roles and strategies in response to the changing landscape of higher education and our society as a whole. It is composed of two parts: "Global Trends" and "Institutional Models".

In the era marked by globalization and its profound impacts on individuals, societies, states and markets, world-class universities need to position themselves in the forefront of seeking conceptual and practical solutions to daunting challenges by paying greater attention to their roles in serving local society and contributing to global common goods. Based on the findings of the Seventh International Conference on World-Class Universities, World-Class Universities: Towards a Global Common Good and Seeking National and Institutional Contributions provides updated insights and debates on how world-class universities will contribute to the global common good and balance their global, national and local roles in doing so.