Every university, one summit
World Summit on Universities
The meeting place of the world's universities and of everyone who shapes their future.
The university of the future, shaped by the universities of the world.
The university is entering its most decisive decade. Artificial intelligence changes how knowledge is produced, taught and trusted; the aspiration to higher education rises in every region; governments, markets and technology platforms define more and more of the future of learning. No institution bears a comparable responsibility for knowledge and for the future of societies, yet the universities of the world have never declared, together and in their own name, the principles that bind them and the direction they choose. The Summit exists so that they can.
Why the Summit exists
More than 80 percent of the world's universities have no seat at the global table. At the Summit, every one of them has.
One table, every year.
The Summit brings the universities of the world and everyone who shapes them to one table every year: to talk and to decide, to think and to meet, to celebrate, and to carry home what they have shaped together. A year of work, a week of decision.
Every year, one week
Spend a week in Antalya, Türkiye, every year.
One week to talk and to decide, to think and to meet, to celebrate, and to enjoy being among global colleagues, and being in Antalya. A vision for the years to come, built one week at a time.
The concept
Not only the elites, but all.
The World Summit on Universities is a parliament of universities, not a club. Large and small, public and private, famous and unknown, every university of every region has the same place at the Summit and the same voice in what it decides.
- A voice for all Every university, of every size and region, with the same voice in what the Summit decides.
- A table for work Plenaries, sessions and roundtables that end in decisions, never in applause alone.
- A home for partnership Leaders who meet as peers and leave as partners, with texts they have shaped themselves.
A Note from the Founder
Its promise has not changed since I first proposed it: not only the elites, but all.
Read the note
A manifesto
It is about all, and it is about time.
It is time to discuss the future of the university.It is time to think about the university of the future.It is time for universities to own the changes they need.It is time for all, not for the elite or the few.It is time for the World Summit on Universities.
Who meets at the Summit
The leaders of universities, and the leaders of all who shape them.
One table, every year.
The Summit brings the universities of the world and everyone who shapes them to one table every year: to talk and to decide, to think and to meet, to celebrate, and to carry home what they have shaped together. A year of work, a week of decision.
Take your seatPlenaries, sessions by region and by domain, roundtables among peers.
Exchange meetings, university to university, company to university, organization to university, and partnership signings.
The old town, dinners hosted by delegations, the ancient cities of the coast.
- 35,000+universities in the world
- 200+countries
- 260+million students
- 15+million academics
- 20+million administrative staff
- 1+million executives and leaders
A Note from the Founder
There are more than 35,000 universities in the world. Each of them carries the hopes of a city, a region or a nation, and each of them faces the same great questions about what a university must become. Yet the conversations that shape the future of the university are held by a small circle, and more than 80 percent of the world's universities have no seat at the table where those conversations take place.
The World Summit on Universities exists to change that. Its promise has not changed since I first proposed it: not only the elites, but all. Large and small, public and private, famous and unknown, every university of every region has the same place at the Summit and the same voice in what it decides.
I invite you to take your seat. Bring your university, your experience and your questions.
Prof. Bassem KhafagyFounder and Chairman, World Summit on Universities
The latest news
News from the Summit
The World Summit on Universities opens its website, W-S-U.org, the home of the Summit and of its inaugural edition, WSU27.
22 October 2026WSU27, the inaugural World Summit on Universities, will meet in Antalya in November 2027The World Summit on Universities will hold its inaugural summit, WSU27, from Sunday 7 to Friday 12 November 2027 at the NEST Convention Center in Belek, Antalya, Türkiye, under the theme Re-Imagine University.
22 October 2026The road to Antalya: four gatherings in 2027 lead to WSU27The year 2027 brings four gatherings to Antalya, Türkiye. The Founders' Council, FC27, opens it from 26 to 29 January; CAN-27, the twin summit on climate action, follows from 14 to 17 March; the Smart University Forum, SUF27, meets from 25 to 28 April.
The world at one table
Is your country in the room?
Each country lights when its first delegate takes a seat. Only countries are shown, never names.
Take your seat at the Summit
Request your place among the leaders of the world's universities. Every request receives a personal reply.