Today, I had the pleasure and privilege of addressing the Times Higher Education Asia Universities Summit, held this year in Shenzhen, China and hosted by Southern University of Science and Technology, or SUSTech. The theme of this year’s gathering was “Connecting cities, changing the world,” which underscores how important global connections are and will be to the better future we all have a stake in. This was my second year addressing the summit and it was a powerful reminder that making connections and forming partnerships across cities, continents and cultures is what the world urgently needs. Addressing challenges — like climate change, disease, and terrorism — that transcend borders, disciplines and sectors can only be accomplished collaboratively. In my talk, I focused on the power of partnerships and the special role that universities can and must play in tackling these issues. Full text of my remarks here.