Starting from the observation that there is no longer a unifying “idea of the university” and that this might constitute a problem, in this presentation Professor Kehm will first present the idea of (European) university development as a sequence of generations. She will then discuss three ideas or metaphors for the University of the 21st century which has been promoted in recent years in a wide range of literature about the university and its future: the multi-versity, the entrepreneurial university and the network university. She will then talk about trust and loss of trust and what that means for the relationship between universities and societies before drawing some tentative conclusions.

This event commences with a brief lecture by Professor Kehm and is intended to open into an interactive session calling on contributions from the audience on the idea of the university and the relationship/s between universities and societies. One of the goals might be to test whether there is a universal “idea” of the university and its purpose(s) or whether universities play different roles in and for societies in different parts of the world.

About the Speaker

Professor Barbara M. Kehm studied German Literature, History and Philosophy at Bochum University in Germany. After having spent three years as a lecturer at Sussex University in the UK she was recruited to a senior research position in the International Centre for Higher Education Research (INCHER) at Kassel University where she started to specialise in higher education research. After seven years as a senior researcher at an East German research institute she returned to Kassel as a professor and was the director of INCHER from 2004 until 2011. In October 2013 she relocated to Scotland after having accepted the offer of a research professorship for Leadership and International Strategic Development in Higher Education.

Event details

Tuesday 9 December, 

10.30am – 12.30pm

Location

Venue Building 80 (Swanston Academic Building) 

445 Swanston Street,

Level 4, Room 19

RSVP to:  [email protected]