How Universities Should Shape Their Own and Our Collective Future

The twelfth set of articles from The Future of Universities Thoughtbook | Universities During Times of Crisis introduces Professor of Management at the Centre for Management Studies (Jamia Millia Islamia), Furqan Qamar, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford, Simon Marginson, and Minister of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, Janis Vitenbergs.

In his article ‘IMAGINE Universities as Virtual Spaces Guided by AI and AR with Qualifications Coming with an Expiry Tag’, Furqan Qamar shifts the focus of our thinking from the traditional degrees and modes of teaching delivery to the alternative credentials and virtual learning formats, where students will be taking customized AI curated courses across different institutions.

Simon Marginson envisions in his article ‘The Pandemic in Higher Education Tests Our Social Values’,  the ideal higher education response during the pandemic. He explains how higher education should contribute to solidaristic social relations with policies supporting them in a socially responsible manner.

In his article ‘Changing Future Now’, Janis Vitenbergs envisions universities providing interdisciplinary learning opportunities and working in collaboration with a variety of industry sectors. He believes that these are the two key factors that will shape the success of universities in the future.

The Future of Universities Thoughtbook | Universities During Times of Crisis is a compilation of 45 perspectives of international thought and practice leaders.

The Thoughtbook has gathered the perspectives of leaders and champions at the forefront on how universities can shape the world during times of crisis, presenting a range of possible futures. This edition creates a vision for the future of higher education institutions and how they will impact their communities during times of crisis, complementing the inaugural international Future of Universities Thoughtbook and the Australian and North American editions. The contributions are divided into six thematic sections – Imagine a University…, Crisis as a Driving Force, Disrupting Teaching and Learning, Collision of Technology and Humanity, Socially Engaged University and Entrepreneurship and University-Industry Interaction. Together, the articles provide a 360-degree view of universities from the perspective of different stakeholder groups.

For more information and to order or download your copy of The Future of Universities Thoughtbook | Universities During Times of Crisis visit our website www.future-universities.com

Header photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash.