Beyond neo-liberalism: Higher education in europe and the global public good

Abstract

In Europe, "the University" is considered to be one of altogether two societal institutions (the other one being the church) that have survived the centuries. This long-term survival could not have happened without change. Despite the fact that universities have often been characterised by an unwillingness to reform, they have continuously adapted to new circumstances and societal change. And we know that the University of the twenty-first century is different from the one of the Medieval Ages. Both the formerly elite institution with its powerful academic guild and the ivory tower in pursuit of disinterested truth have transformed into a mass institution with close relationships to society and economy.