Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have attracted a lot of attention in the academic world in general and presidents’ officesmore particularly. But some worry that this model of teaching is a step back to a vertical and unidirectional model of knowledge transmission and that it breaks down the Humboldtian contract …
Learning to think critically
Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous. (Confucian Analects, Wei zheng [Ho Peng Yoke, 2012]) Confucius explains to his students and scholars his ideas about how togain knowledge. In doing so, he continues, “… shall I teach you whatknowledge is? When you know a thing, to …
Glion Colloquium – A Retrospective
Two Declarations, nine books, 180 chapters, 2,400 pages published overa 15-year span from 1999 to 2014 — by any standards the outputs ofthe regular meetings of the Glion Colloquium, held in Glion itself with the exception of one held in California, have provided a major stimulus to new thinking about …
Reinventing greatness – responding to urgent global level responsibilities
In this chapter I reflect on the contemporary significance of knowledgeinstitutions, and particularly research universities, for both emerging andestablished economies and for the world as a whole, but with particular reference to South Africa and Africa. As knowledge institutions have become ever more central to human social and economic development, …
The role of the university in Economic Development
Any top-rated research university has two core missions, namely, education and scholarly research. The primary focus of the institutionmust be on maintaining quality in these two areas, since the external reputation of the university depends upon its ability to serve students well and on the research reputation of its faculty. …
The social and political responsibilities of research universities
This paper attempts to come up with possible answers to the question:“What do universities consider to be their most important prioritiesand responsibilities in 1) addressing the challenges facing their institutions; and 2) expectations arising from their societies at the local, regional or global level?” Specifically, I wish to address some …
The Role of Universities in Regional Development
In addition to the classic functions of research and teaching, universities worldwide are fulfilling additional functions within their communities. This activity is generally described as the so-called “third mission” of the university and reflects the transfer of knowledge through various forms of community engagement with a wide range of stakeholders… …
Universities, hard and soft Sciences: all key Pillars of global Sustainability
Imagine you are an economic historian writing at the end of the 21st century about the second half of the 20th and first decade of the 21st. You will probably write that this period was characterized by an unprecedented increase in prosperity in the Western World, the rapid emergence of …
A Research University for both Academic Excellence and Responsibility for a sustainable future – does the Swedish model work?
Sweden has for a long time been spared from armed conflicts and major disruptive social problems. During the past decades, we have gone from a homogeneous state to an increasingly diverse and diverged country. In an international comparison, Sweden looks in many ways like a very attractive country to live …
How to Answer the Utilitarian Assault on Higher Education?
GROWING PRESSURES TO ADOPT UTILITARIAN MISSION Across the country, state governors and governing boards are demanding that undergraduate education focus on the preparation of students for immediate jobs, thus promoting vocationalism above all other purposes of education, in fact, often to the exclusion of all other purposes. • In some …
Contemporary challenges for the Swiss – and the continental European – university system
A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT These are very interesting times for university education at the world level, and Switzerland is indeed no exception to this generalization. The importance of higher education in our societies and our economies is being constantly stressed, universities enjoy a higher level of institutional autonomy worldwide than was …
The changing Nature and Character of Research Universities : New Paradigms
The research university in its current form represents a remarkable and successful model where education and research and its application are brought together in synergistic ways that produce valuable new ideas, insights, products and services, as well as thought-leadership that informs policy and action (National Research Council of the National …
Higher Education Model for Large Developing Economies
Education is the key to socio-economic development and character building. Higher education plays an important role in knowledge and wealth creation. Historically, one can find a good correlation between the spread and quality of higher education and the economic development of a nation. Scientific, social and economic developments in developed …
Universities. Serving as, and Educating Global Citizens
Four years ago, in Sydney, Australia, 2.2 million citizens turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Last March, only four years later, 5,251 cities in 135 countries responded to the same call and turned their lights off for “The Earth Hour”, including places …
Research Universities and Sustainable Development with special Reference to India and IIT Madras
Rapid advances in technology have had dramatic consequences. The environment that moulded life on earth over many millennia is being altered and even replaced dynamically, endangering the very life whose quality science and technology seek to improve. The overwhelming concern of all societies today is that of sustainability
Addressing global and social Challenges and the Role of University
The world today is experiencing drastic transformations of its functioning and its underlying systems, driven by entrepreneurial individuals, institutions and States, characterized by increasing interdependency, and multi-dimensional and global nature.
A University Culture of Sustainability_Principle, Practice and Economic Driver
Sustainability — as we use the term in our classrooms, capitals and marketplaces — has evolved and taken on an almost mythical quality. The word is ripe with meaning, yet not well defined, and actions in the name of sustainability are similarly wide-ranging and varied.
Responsibility of Business Schools to train Leaders
Business Schools have been seriously challenged in recent years and have sometimes accused of contributing directly to the financial and economic crisis that has deeply shaken the world and has not been yet overcome. Different types of arguments have been used against BS, including the setting up and use of …
Action is what counts. Sustainability at ETH Zurich and EPFL
Tackling the challenges of sustainable development requires critical thinking, innovative technologies and an open dialogue between science, industry, and society. As Swiss-based universities that are consistently high in the leading international university rankings, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) …
Research Intensive Universities in a Globalized World
As president of a German university and chairman of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), it is my special interest to discuss the role of research intensive universities and their impact on global sustainability from a European point of view. One may wonder why the perspectives of European universities …