Choices and Responsibilities: Higher Education in the Knowledge Society

 

The 2004 conference will focus on some of the challenges faced by higher education in today's "knowledge society". Higher education must respond to new funding and governance mechanisms, questions of access and equity, an increasing client base, new and developing research agendas, and issues of attracting and retaining staff and students.

In the face of these challenges, higher education institutions must continue to fulfil their traditional role of providing future "knowledge workers" with the necessary knowledge and competencies to succeed in an increasingly competitive labour market and complex society.

This conference will offer participants the opportunity to examine both the interactive relationship between education systems and the knowledge-driven economy and the implications for higher education in terms of choices and responsibilities. It aims at contributing answers to questions such as:

  • Does higher education contribute to the development of the knowledge society?
  • How to ensure that labour market and society get the competencies expected?
  • How can the contribution of higher education to society be evaluated?