From envisioning to managing educational development and organizational innovation:

Abstract

In light of growing complexity worldwide, universities are challenged to tackle ill-defined problems in need of innovative solutions. Yet higher education finds difficulty in organizing initiatives to address such issues and continues to structure solutions in traditional, hierarchical, and restrictive ways. To address such issues, a mid-sized European university has started to challenge itself, the manner in which it conducts education and the group of people to whom it offers education. To achieve this goal, a bottom-up project structure was adopted, giving lower-level faculty members the autonomy, money and time to experiment and explore unorthodox methods. The research presented in this chapter details the perspectives and experiences of this unique project team, and outlines capacities needed and relevant questions to consider in dealing with wicked problems.