The Future of the University – Preparing for Change: Building a Nimble and Responsive University

LW Chapters and other contributions, Governance and leadership, Missions & Responsibilities

The research universities represented by the Glion Colloquium have been responsible for many of the greatest discoveries and intellectual breakthroughs in history. I am proud to lead one of these universities. For the last 800 years in Cambridge, new discoveries have been forged to transform the way we live and …

The Story of the Cambridge Taxi Driver and the Future of the University

LW Challenges, Chapters and other contributions, Governance and leadership, Missions & Responsibilities

The research universities represented by the Glion Colloquium have been responsible for many of the greatest discoveries and intellectual breakthroughs in history. I am proud to lead one of these universities. For the last 800 years in Cambridge, new discoveries have been forged to transform the way we live and …

Adapting the university to the constraints. Responsibilities and opportunities of a new age

GK Chapters and other contributions, Governance and leadership, Missions & Responsibilities

During the years following the Great Depression and World War II,the United States launched a massive effort to provide educationalopportunities to all Americans. Returning veterans funded through the GI Bill (Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944) tripled college enrolments. The post-WWII research strategy developed by Vannevar Bush transformed our campuses into …

Cities, research universities and the economic geography of innovation

GK Chapters and other contributions, Missions & Responsibilities, Research & Innovation

Within the past decade, an increasingly pervasive view argues that“the world is flat”, and that location matters less and less whenit comes to economic activity (Friedman, 2005). Information and communication technologies are said to be the key to understanding this trend, since they dramatically reduce the cost and increase the …

The university in the 21st century

GK Challenges, Chapters and other contributions, Governance and leadership, Missions & Responsibilities

The University is one of the greatest inventions of the second millennium (Rhodes, 1998). Europe can be particularly proud of this, given that the University is first and foremost a European institution which — while keeping its essential characteristics — has since spread worldwide (Rüegg, 1992). Universities have shown themselves …

The role of universities and social needs in times of great change

GK Chapters and other contributions, Human Resources, Missions & Responsibilities

It goes without saying that universities are social entities, and the very meaning of their existence is directly related to whether they can serveand benefit society. Although this may vary widely among universities, and an institution may place more importance on one philosophy over another, almost all universities are founded …

Global research questions and institutional research strategies

GK Chapters and other contributions, Missions & Responsibilities, Research & Innovation

Two years ago, one of the authors (PJP) was at a conference in Seoul on“The Role and Responsibilities of Research Universities”, moderatinga session on “Higher Education and Strategic Knowledge Creation”. It was an intensive session, with ten papers, in which university presidents and senior academic officers from around the world …

Preface to university priorities and constraints

GK Chapters and other contributions, Missions & Responsibilities, Preface and Conclusion, Uncategorized

Since its launch in 1998, the Glion Colloquium has established itselfas both a key international forum and a highly influential resource inaddressing the challenges and responsibilities of the world’s research universities. Held every two years, the forum brings together leaders of research universities, often joined by key figures from business …

University research comes in many shapes

GK Chapters and other contributions, Missions & Responsibilities, Research & Innovation

In “The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge”, written in 1937, (Flexner, 1955) Abraham Flexner described a conversation with George Eastman:tured to ask him whom he regarded as the most useful worker in science in the“I venworld. He replied instantaneously, ‘Marconi’. I surprised him by saying: ‘Whatever pleasure we derive from the …