FIT FOR PURPOSE?: THE FUTURES OF UNIVERSITIES

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.

Contents:

• Preface
• Introduction
• The Future of Universities (Jan W Vasbinder)
• How It All Began (Alexander J B Zehnder)
• Humboldt's University as a Role Model (Alexander Rinnooy Kan)
• The Role of Universities in Disruptive Transition (Seán Cleary)
• Chinese Big Learning or Narrow Minds? (Andrew Sheng)
• Drivers for Solutions (Alexander J B Zehnder)
• Higher Education for an Inclusive and Resilient Knowledge Society — Sweden as Role Model or Cautionary Tale? (Mats Benner and Sylvia Schwaag Serger)
• Higher Education — Where to Go, What to Do? (Sander van der Leeuw)
• 18 Opinions of Students about Futures of Universities (Ernst Pöppel)
• Bibliography
• Notes on the Authors

Readership: Academics, students and anyone involved in higher education with interest in the future of universities.