The AC21 International Forum was held in Sydney from Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 July 2004. Hosted by Australia’s most well respected and prestigious tertiary institution, the University of Sydney, the four-day event provided international and Australian academics, government officials, industry professionals, students and the public with a rare opportunity to share information on a wide range of higher education topics and to develop cooperative education programs. The Forum was themed ‘Universities, Cities and Society in the 21st Century’ and served to reassess the roles of universities in a changing society.