Schools and universities educate (mostly young) people, to equip them to deal with the future as it unfolds from the present. The question — whether these schools and universities are fit for that purpose — has always been relevant, even in slow-paced times of relative stability, where the future seems predictable as a simple extension of the past.Now that the future is not predictable anymore. Slow-paced times have gone. The relative stability in which universities developed and educated successive generations is gone. The question whether universities are fit for purpose is now more relevant than ever.In this book, ten leading thinkers and eighteen students from different continents, countries and cultures present their views on futures of universities and whether present-day universities are fit for purpose. It is an exploration, meant to inform, inspire and crystallize discussions.

Imagining the universities of the future. How can we re-envision the university? Too many examples of what passes for educational innovation today—MOOCs especially—focus on transactions, on questions of delivery. In Alternative Universities, David J. Staley argues that modern universities suffer from a poverty of imagination about how to reinvent themselves. Anyone seeking innovation in higher education today should concentrate instead, he says, on the kind of transformational experience universities enact. In this exercise in speculative design, Staley proposes ten models of innovation in higher education that expand our ideas of the structure and scope of the university, suggesting possibilities for what its future might look like. What if the university were designed around a curriculum of seven broad cognitive skills or as a series of global gap year experiences? What if, as a condition of matriculation, students had to major in three disparate subjects? What if the university placed the pursuit of play well above the acquisition and production of knowledge? By asking bold "What if?" questions, Staley assumes that the university is always in a state of becoming and that there is not one "idea of the university" to which all institutions must aspire. This book specifically addresses those engaged in university strategy—university presidents, faculty, policy experts, legislators, foundations, and entrepreneurs—those involved in what Simon Marginson calls "university making." Pairing a critique tempered to our current moment with an explanation of how change and disruption might contribute to a new "golden age" for higher education, Alternative Universities is an audacious and essential read.

Transformation of the University imagines preferable futures for the university, building hope for the institution’s necessary transformation. It transcends old criticisms and presents fresh ideas on how the institution might be conceived, organised and put into practice while safeguarding that which makes it a university – the pursuit of knowledge. This book is divided into three main parts: Part One – ‘Knowledge’ assumes the role of the university in generating knowledge for the benefit of society; Part Two – ‘Cultural Growth’ expands on how the university might contribute to and benefit from the cultural growth of society, with both explicit and implicit connections to social and epistemic (in)justice; and Part Three – ‘Institutions’ focuses on imaginative processes for enacting the university as an institution that meets the unforeseen future challenges facing societies around the world. With contributions from scholars across the world, Transformation of the University is an essential read for all academics, practitioners, institutional leaders and broad social thinkers who are concerned with the future of the university and its contributions to society.

This open access collection examines how higher education responds to the demands of the automation economy and the fourth industrial revolution. Considering significant trends in how people are learning, coupled with the ways in which different higher education institutions and education stakeholders are implementing adaptations, it looks at new programs and technological advances that are changing how and why we teach and learn. The book addresses trends in liberal arts integration of STEM innovations, the changing role of libraries in the digital age, global trends in youth mobility, and the development of lifelong learning programs. This is coupled with case study assessments of the various ways China, Singapore, South Africa and Costa Rica are preparing their populations for significant shifts in labour market demands – shifts that are already underway. Offering examples of new frameworks in which collaboration between government, industry, and higher education institutions can prevent lagging behind in this fast changing environment, this book is a key read for anyone wanting to understand how the world should respond to the radical technological shifts underway on the frontline of higher education.

This book has been written to help university staff, students and potential student and their parents understand the stress and strains the university system is under today and how this might play out in the future. Universities are under considerable pressure to change, perhaps under more pressure than at any time since they reinvented themselves in the early 1800s. Universities are being criticised for not producing adequately work-ready graduates. Universities are being criticised for the current market orientation which is reflected in the fees they charge and the high salaries paid to Vice Chancellors, Deans and others holding high office. Universities are being criticised for their bureaucracy which has led to the coining of the expression managerialism. They have been criticised for their intense focus on research which has sometimes been said to have been at the cost to their mandate to educate. However, what is actually happening within universities and what is likely to happen in the future is much more nuanced than most of the criticism which is levelled that them. Universities are a reflection of society and thus they are always a work-in-progress, continually in need of reinventing themselves. This book, The University of the Future is a collection of views from 28 academics and other interested parties from different parts of the world. It considers how universities developed, what we expect of them and how they might be improved in the future.

Romania hosts the 2012 Bologna / European Higher Education Area Ministerial Conference and the Third Bologna Policy Forum. In preparation for these meetings, The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) organised the Future of Higher Education - Bologna Process Researchers’ Conference (FOHE-BPRC) in Bucharest on 17-19 October 2011, with the support of the European University Association (EUA) and the Romanian National Committee for UNESCO. The conference brought the voices of researchers into international-level policy making in higher education. The results of the conference are presented in this book. Until now, empirical evidence supporting policies and reforms in higher education has often been a matter of local or regional focus. The development of a pan-European process in higher education policy drives a need to explore wider research topics on which to base policies. This book offers an unprecedented opportunity for higher education researchers to interact and contribute to the political process shaping the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and to national policy agendas in more than 100 participant countries for the 2012 ministerial events. The book collects more than 50 articles focusing on vital issues in European higher education. These are arranged in sections addressing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) Principles; Teaching and Learning; Quality Assurance; Mobility; Higher Education Governance in the EHEA; Funding of Higher Education; Diversification of Higher Education Missions; Higher Education Futures and Foresight.

The 2021 IPCC report made one thing crystal clear — global climate change is here to stay. Time is up. We need to act or climate change will lead to inconceivable suffering by billions of people. Buying Time for Climate Action is the combined narrative of world class experts, all committed to help humanity survive its largely self-induced destructive course. Changing that course requires urgent action. Determining which actions will lead to helpful change requires insights into the stumbling blocks that always emerge when actions aimed at change are planned, resulting in lost time. The experts who contributed to this volume, through their expertise, networks, wisdom and creativity, have largely concluded that the way to cope with the stumbling blocks is to avoid them by focusing on grassroots initiatives. Their narratives and discussions, presented in this book, highlight such thinking.The book is essential reading for anyone committed to help avoid an existential disaster for humanity, and ready to move plans into effective action.

From the renowned futurist, a look at how current trends will transform American higher education over the next twenty years. 2020 Most Significant Futures Work Award Winner, Association of Professional Futurists The outlook for the future of colleges and universities is uncertain. Financial stresses, changing student populations, and rapidly developing technologies all pose significant challenges to the nation's colleges and universities. In Academia Next, futurist and higher education expert Bryan Alexander addresses these evolving trends to better understand higher education's next generation. Alexander first examines current economic, demographic, political, international, and policy developments as they relate to higher education. He also explores internal transformations within postsecondary institutions, including those related to enrollment, access, academic labor, alternative certification, sexual assault, and the changing library, paying particularly close attention to technological changes. Alexander then looks beyond these trends to offer a series of distinct scenarios and practical responses for institutions to consider when combating shrinking enrollments, reduced public support, and the proliferation of technological options. Arguing that the forces he highlights are not speculative but are already in play, Alexander draws on a rich, extensive, and socially engaged body of research to best determine their likeliest outcomes. It is only by taking these trends seriously, he writes, that colleges and universities can improve their chances of survival and growth. An unusually multifaceted approach to American higher education that views institutions as complex organisms, Academia Next offers a fresh perspective on the emerging colleges and universities of today and tomorrow.

This book unlocks mysteries surrounding university presidents. Presidents have a large and growing influence on world and academic affairs. Yet until now, little has been revealed about how they enact their roles, how they capture motivation and academic energy, and their views on higher education. This book sheds light on these critical topics, revealing insights from in-depth interviews with presidents of nineteen globally focused universities from thirteen countries. The book presents the interview transcripts and surrounds these with interpretative commentary. Underpinned by leadership theory and framed by analysis, the book provides glimpses into how top leaders think, how presidents manoeuvre through their careers, how leaders form and run productive teams, and opportunities for research and innovation. Common themes and challenges are identified. The presidents reflect on university landscapes, strategic outlooks, the formation of executive teams, online teaching, funding, industry engagement, sustainability, grand challenges, and interdisciplinarity. This book is for professionals and scholars who are interested in education, universities, public policy, science and humanities, and global affairs.

Puna Aurei / LearnFest is an annual teaching and learning symposium hosted by Te Puna Ako - Centre for Tertiary Teaching & Learning at Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato / The University of Waikato in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand. This event, since its inception in 2016, has evolved from a local face-to-face gathering to a global online forum, particularly during the Covid pandemic. The 2022 edition, hosted online in partnership with Cardiff University (UK) as the world emerged from the Covid pandemic, had the theme of ‘Revitalisation’. This acknowledged the broad spectrum of rejuvenation underway in higher education, whether institutionally, within discipline-specific teaching, or regarding individual practice. This volume, the first of its kind from LearnFest, is timely, as it reflects on the profound disruptions caused by the global pandemic across educational landscapes. Although the final outcome of these changes is still unknown, it is clear that the dynamics of teaching and learning have shifted dramatically. The volume is structured thematically, with the first theme ‘Key Challenges’ exploring the shifts and reconstructions of professional identity post-Covid, the challenges of indigenising a largely Western philosophy curriculum, and potential positive shifts from the pandemic's constraints. The theme of ‘Motivation’ scrutinises the dynamics of student and staff engagement, including studies on adult language learning, collaborative experiments, student course evaluations, and the impact of Covid on motivation levels. The third theme of ‘Gamification’ highlights how innovative teaching pedagogies that embed computer and role-playing games within the classroom can enhance learning experiences and outcomes. Next, ‘Confronting Climate Change’ discusses pragmatic and strategic approaches to meaningfully integrating climate change into both curricula (at an institutional level) and classroom learning (for the individual teacher). Finally, the theme of ‘Revitalising English Medium Instruction’ explores the disruptions and adaptations in international education that were driven by the pandemic, and showcases some practical responses to the abrupt online transition and difficulties in language skill development that resulted. Revitalising Higher Education: Insights from Te Puna Aurei LearnFest 2022 showcases the dynamic shifts in teaching and learning taking place in contemporary higher education. The various case studies and reflective discussions will be of value to anyone interested in the revitalisation of higher education teaching and learning post-pandemic.