University and society in dialogue
Today's universities are striving to meet the demands of society and to support individual personal development. The rapid technological developments are requiring people to pursue continuing education more often, and lifelong learning is a hot topic.
The increasing diversity of lifestyles, greater involvement in education, as well as the needs of students and teachers are also presenting higher education institutions with new challenges.
The interactive and international area of knowledge allows scientific knowledge to be widely and rapidly shared by using new communication and information technologies. This area includes all of society and creates space for co-designing and participation. Higher education institutions can and should provide new stimuli that encourage innovation and actively raise questions about the knowledge use and digital skill development in society, thus enabling joint and participatory research.
The term Third Mission refers to the economic and social missions of higher education institutions and their societal contributions, which they should deliver as part of redefining their responsibilities. The Third Mission reveals the overall impact of higher education institutions and actively applies the results of their first two research and teaching missions as yet another part of their core duties.
On the one hand, digital transformation processes are relevant here, considering the role of a learning and teaching institution that leans more towards fulfilling labour market policy requirements. On the other hand, these institutions play a leading role in digital skills development and thus in creating expertise. Moreover, digital transformation can be interpreted here as an ongoing process where societal and technological changes should be responded to effectively and efficiently.
The initiatives published below show how skilled individuals can effectively assume responsibility for societal development processes that occur within transformation processes and support the transfer of ideas and knowledge.
