By becoming a signatory, King's commits to principles of academic freedom, institutional autonomy and social responsibility.
The signing ceremony took place in the King's College Chapel on 13th November 2025 in the historic King's Building. Professor Shitij Kapur signed the declaration, alongside 36 other universities, taking the threshold of signatories to over 1,000.
Before the official signing of the Magna Charta Universitatum (MCU), Sjur Bergan, Former Head of the Education Department for the Council of Europe, delivered the closing keynote lecture, addressing the importance of universities in an increasingly fragmented world and the pertinence of academic freedom. His speech noted the urgency for universities to protect their institutional autonomy against rising political polarisation.
King's College Chapel also served as the venue where the 1,000th university, Delana University Sweden, officially signed the MCU in person. The signing at King's became a momentous occasion of shared understanding of universities between various academic institutions around the world.
The MCU was developed in 1988 and designed to be a declaration and affirmation of the fundamental principles upon which the mission of universities should be based.
Professor Shitij Kapur, Vice-Chancellor and President of King's College London said:
"By signing the Magna Charta Universitatum, King's reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the fundamental values that underpin higher education globally - academic freedom, institutional autonomy and the pursuit of truth. In a time when universities face growing external pressures, joining this global community sends a clear message that our mission remains unchanged: to produce, transmit and disseminate knowledge as a public good, and that universities' covenant with society is not only alive, but resolute."
Yesterday's proceedings form part of the annual Magna Charta Universitatum anniversary conference, hosted over three days at King's with the theme 'What are universities for?'
The conference featured a comprehensive programme that championed forward thinking and strategic planning for the challenges universities around the world will face, drawing on perspectives within and beyond the higher education sector.
During the opening remarks of the conference, Professor Shitij Kapur said:
"The Magna Charta isn't, in some sense, a blueprint - it is a compass; a guiding principle; a north star you can use when living through a fragmented world. It is how to balance, in many ways, our academic rights and our academic responsibilities, and perhaps more importantly, our academic duties to the societies in which we live."
The conference and bid document to host this year's conference at King's was in large part organised with the help of Professor Liviu Matei, Head of the School of Education, Communication and Society, Professor of Higher Education and Public Policy, co-founder of the Global Observatory on Academic Freedom and member of the governing council of the Magna Charta Observatory.
On the occasion, Professor Matei commented:
"The Magna Charta Universitaum is one of the few, and most reputable, global documents codifying the fundamental values of higher education - as both rights/freedoms and responsibilities/duties of the university. Most remarkably, the Magna Charta Universitatum is unique in that is the result of a successful endeavor originating within higher education itself to clarify these values, and a concerted effort by universities worldwide to assert and implement their fundamental values, rather than leaving the decision in this key area fully and exclusively in the hands of national authorities and intergovernmental organizations. By hosting this global gathering of higher education leaders, the largest ever at King's, to discuss what universities are for at a difficult moment in their history, our College is recognized as a global leader in higher education."
