In my career as an educator, social scientist and university president, I have worked primarily as an organizational designer and architect. And in doing so, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to study how universities and other organizations are structured, how decisions related to their design can shape their visions and accomplishments, and how organizations can work together as partners to achieve more than they could alone.
It is my belief that, as the pace and complexity of our global society increases exponentially, there is an urgent need to realign the design and infrastructure of education with the needs of the people our educational systems are intended to serve. While universities have long been vital and powerful drivers of global innovation and economic development, they must now be willing to break free from outmoded paradigms if they hope to continue achieving meaningful progress.
With this motivation in mind, Arizona State University (ASU) has spent more than a decade evolving a new model for 21st century higher education. Known as the New American University, it is dedicated to the simultaneous achievement of excellence and access, an endeavour long thought impossible by academic leaders. Based upon that design and my experience over the past eleven years, I offer the following observations and examples as a means of facilitating discussion about the role of universities in our global development in universities community as well as the imperative to foster innovation in all of our global institutions:
1. Universities are unique kinds of global institutions. Universities are institutions intended to be durable and enduring. When wisely designed, governed and financed, they are unique entities in our American democracy and in our global society. Universities are neutral conveners, assemblers of talent, and unmatched idea factories where the passion, creativity, and idealism of great minds, young and old alike, can be applied to problem-solving and advancing our societal and economic well-being.
2. Universities must adapt and innovate. Contemporary universities have a responsibility to transcend traditional disciplinary limitations in pursuit of intellectual fusion, and develop a culture of academic enterprise and knowledge entrepreneurship. They must also be prepared to begin delivering higher education at scale – in a manner that bestows status upon universities based upon the outcomes they achieve and their breadth of impact rather than the exclusivity and quality of their incoming freshman class.
3. Universities must embrace their cultural, socioeconomic and physical setting. It is imperative that universities be socially embedded, thereby fostering development through direct engagement. Universities must work creatively and be willing to take risks to become even greater forces of societal transformation.
4. Universities must focus on the individual. Universities need to foster student success by becoming student-centric – rather than faculty-centric. Successful universities will be those capable of being nimble, anticipatory, imaginative and reactive. They must provide unique environments that prepare students to be “master thinkers” able to grasp a wide array of skills and comprise the most adaptable workforce the world has ever known.
5. Universities must become effective partners for global development. Only through the proliferation of networks between like-minded alliances can transformation occur at the scale that is immediately needed in order to advance our present global knowledge economy. Our communities must open their eyes to this imminent future and transform their thinking to see universities, not as self-indulgent “people factories,” but as valuable idea generators with vast influence and the potential to manifest technologies and concepts that can change lives the world over. More details are here ... Talibilm
Change is not easy. Modification and growth in large, complex institutions that are part of an increasingly global system of commerce, trade and interchange can be particularly challenging. But innovation and adaptation are needed now more than ever before in our international higher education infrastructure and in our global development institutions. We must work together to build what we need, not simply replicate what has existed before, and I welcome your ideas and feedback on the role of universities in advancing global development.
The Sustainable Development Goals provide a common international framework for concrete action. Adopted in 2015 by 193 countries, the 17 goals have 169 targets and are part of the United Nations sustainable development agenda aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity by 2030. The European Union has committed to work towards these goals both within Europe and with its partners abroad.
Universities provide cutting-edge research, high quality education, and ground-breaking innovation (Goal 4 and 9). Strong universities are an important part of civil society (Goal 16) and they are excellent promotors of global and local partnerships (Goal 17). Through their contributions to these four goals, universities facilitate the achievement of all the other goals. Notably, universities support students in developing the rigorous scientific mind-set and spirit of curiosity and entrepreneurship needed to produce the solutions required for sustainable development. University researchers, teachers and students work in partnership with citizens and the private and the public sector, co-creating knowledge that can produce solutions. It is the combination of these core missions that gives universities a unique place in the common effort to achieve the SDGs. A number of universities have incorporated the SDGs into their institutional strategies, both in management and in teaching and research. Sustainable campus management has become important to many universities and is often considered part of the institution’s societal responsibility. Sustainable management can include energy saving measures, resource efficiency and waste reduction, as well as the sharing of services, infrastructure and facilities with other universities or external partners. A key element in all sustainability strategies is the “whole-institution approach”, meaning all parts of the university community, including external stakeholders, are involved in the efforts.
How universities facilitate social, environmental and economic development?
Access to quality education is crucial for sustainable development and a pre-requisite for the achievement of the other goals. Higher education facilitates social mobility, empowers people through critical thinking and provides them with the skills needed in a rapidly changing labour market. Higher education contributes in various ways to making people more resilient and able to face various challenges like distance learning Recent OECD statistics confirm that people with a higher education degree are less likely to be unemployed and earn on average 54% more than those who only completed upper secondary education. A university education, thus, better protects against poverty. Furthermore, the data reveals that higher education graduates are less likely to suffer from depression, which is an important factor for health and well-being. University hospitals play a key role in the public healthcare system. They train new generations of medical professionals, provide care to millions of patients and conduct research that helps find innovative solutions to cure or even prevent disease. Universities are closely connected to their regions, playing a crucial role in the education, innovation, culture and civic life of their local communities. They are also major employers, making considerable economic contributions to their regions.
Digitalisation, automation and globalisation are changing labour markets in a rapid and radical way. The demand for highly skilled people is increasing, making re-training and up-skilling ever more important. Today in Europe, about 40% of young people have a higher education degree and this is likely to increase, as will the role of universities in providing lifelong learning
Universities conduct fundamental research that is crucial to understanding how nature and the earth’s ecosystems function. They gather people from various disciplines, with different approaches and talents to find innovative solutions to the world’s challenges. Research produces evidence that is indispensable in identifying development in universities in climate change and global warming, as well as their impact. Research is also crucial in understanding the interactions of various SDGs, identifying trade-offs and mutual reinforcements and developing a balanced approach in pursuing them. Interdisciplinary is a key factor in this process.
Sustainable development is only possible if we radically change the way we produce and consume. Innovative solutions must be developed in a collaborative effort. Universities work with companies, other education providers and local stakeholders in this regard, often supporting business creation through start-ups. This makes higher education a key facilitator in open innovation. Universities also provide the international links and pipelines needed to nourish local innovation ecosystems and achieve sustainable growth.
Universities as strong institutions
Strong autonomous universities are important partners of governments, companies and civil society in working towards common goals. These partnerships and collaborations are crucial in the promotion and implementation of the SDGs, both in Europe and internationally. Universities facilitate people-to-people contact and are important actors in soft diplomacy. Thousands of mobile student’s cross borders to gain knowledge about new cultures and bring understanding about their own countries to their hosts. Researchers cooperate around the globe, building networks and developing the knowhow needed to sustain innovation worldwide.
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