3+1 Challenges for the future of universities ?
Universities are looking for effective strategies to cope with the global changes that have extended across the world in the past years. Existing approaches to research and education are increasingly perceived as unable or at least insufficient to capture and take into account the complexity and the dynamism of the globalized society. This is particularly true for the ICT sector, which has been radically transformed by technologies such as mobile devices, ubiquitous connectivity, and pervasive ICT. Indeed, as these technologies are inherently disruptive, they are profoundly impacting and transforming the economy and the entire society in general. This paper aims at discussing the issues and problems that universities are facing to deal with the growth and evolution of the ICT sector. In particular, the paper proposes 3+1 challenges they need to address and master. The challenges deal with three fundamental functions of modern universities: research, innovation, and education. Moreover, the paper proposes a fourth challenge related primarily to the attitude and behavior of faculty members and academic boards. The ultimate goal of the paper is to contribute to the development of an effective and useful debate about the strategies to support the evolution and growth of universities, as key players to promote the public good and the overall progress of our society.
research education innovation academic institutions