Duke University’s “incubator” for growing universities is officially underway. The Future Universities Alliance is a home for 49 startup universities, existing institutions piloting new initiatives and schools looking to share secrets to their own success across 23 countries for the next year. The alliance is a pivot from Duke’s past global initiatives, informed by the changing tides of higher education being felt across the globe. “The distinction we make is it’s not the Duke alliance where everyone should be like Duke,” Pickus said. “The core hypothesis will remain: we believe deeply in bringing together both startup universities and established universities together in community.