UNU Update: University of future will be bigger, stronger, more competitive

University of
future will
be "bigger,
stronger, more competitive"
– UNU Rector

Hans van Ginkel

International networks may form the basis of the university of the future, or at least help if to function properly, according to United Nations University rector Hans van Ginkel. "Universities will become increasingly interlinked and bound to one another, while also identifying themselves as distinct from each other," he said.

Speaking at an international conference on The University of the 21st Century in Oman, van Ginkel said that the network a university belongs to will become increasingly important, contributing directly to the identity and awareness of the institution as well as its international position.

"The university will become, under the influence of the up-scaling process, bigger, stronger, more competitive," said van Ginkel. "It will behave increasingly like an international business."

However, the increased volume and frequency of interaction and exchange worldwide, as well as the increasing knowledge-intensiveness of society and development, oblige universities and the people learning and teaching there to continuously pay attention to the consequences of their activities.

"This includes awareness of ethical issues, the important of norms and values and the role of culture," van Ginkel said.

For more information contact UNU Public Affairs.