The Future of Higher Education in an Age of Uncertainty
Higher education, constituting an open and complex system, is shaped by its interactions with society, economy, culture, politics, nature, and other domains, whilst also playing an eminent role in shaping the future of the domains in question. From a historical perspective, major transformations such as the post-World War II era, which was marked by changes of profound sort in knowledge, science, education, and technology, along with the transition to a global knowledge economy/society beginning in the 1990s have also been periods during which higher education and universities were subjected to various forms of ‘restructuring’. The said periods have repeatedly prompted some fundamental questions like, ‘What is the university and what should it be?’, ‘What is and should be the role of higher education in constructing the future of our societies?’, and ‘What kind of a higher education reform is necessary to adapt to these transformations?’.
These questions also form the reason for the emergence of Higher Education Studies as an international and interdisciplinary field of research. Dwelling on and analyzing how these questions are mirrored in contemporary higher education policies necessitates collaborative, multi-disciplinary research initiatives, particularly in the fields of Educational Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities.
In recent decades, the accelerating pace of radical transformations alongside uncertainties pertaining to the future have compelled universities to develop ways through which they can sustain their existence within an ecosystem that calls for constant change. This externally driven and rapid demand for transformation has, in a fair number of respects, rendered traditional academic processes and the culture of universities and science increasingly unsustainable.
Within this frame of reference, at IHEC 2025, under the concept of ‘The Future of Higher Education in an Age of Uncertainty’, we intend to concentrate on the transformation of the missions of higher education viz. education, research, and community service in the face of multiple crises e.g., climate crisis, pandemics, economic crises, wars, migration, and others, on the challenges it encounters, and on the possible future scenarios. In this conference, which we expect it to be enriched with the contributions from scholars of diverse disciplines with distinct perspectives, we will broadly be addressing the following questions and themes: As the Association for Higher Education Studies, we are also pleased to be collaborating under this shared theme with TED University, founded in 2009 with the vision of ‘Leaving a lasting impact on social development for a sustainable future’.
- How are the global policies on higher education evolving from the ‘Global Knowledge Economy’ toward the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’?
- How will the trend towards massification in higher education be shaped by demographic changes? To illustrate, can massification continue in the countries in which birth rates are declining?
- How are the pandemic and national protectionist tendencies impacting internationalization policies in higher education?
- What pedagogical/andragogical approaches are coming to the fore in education and learning in the age of uncertainty?
- How are learner profiles and experiences altering (with respect to intergenerational dynamics, poverty, identity, and alike)?
- How do the current approaches to higher education administration and quality assurance models contribute to the effective functioning of universities under these conditions of uncertainty?
- As the mental health and well-being needs of university stakeholders have become more crucial through the pandemic experience, how are these issues being addressed in higher education policies and practices?
- How are digitization and Artificial Intelligence transforming the administration, education, research, and community engagement related missions of universities?
Conference Themes:
- Academic freedom and autonomy of universities
- Academic staff experiences and needs
- Regional development and higher education
- Science and technology policies
- Digitization and Artificial Intelligence in education and research
- Entrepreneurship, community engagement, development, sustainability
- Graduate student experiences and needs
- Micro-credentials and flexible learning
- Faculty development policies
- Higher education for the Sustainable Development Goals
- Mental health and well-being of university stakeholders
- University-city relations
- University-industry/private sector collaboration and helix ecosystems
- University students’ experiences and needs
- New generation universities and alternative university models
- Internationalization of higher education
- Ethics, principles, and values in higher education
- Quality assurance in higher education
- Pedagogical/andragogical approaches in higher education
- Access to higher education, equity, diversity, participation
- History and philosophy of higher education
- Mission, vision, and role of higher education
- Higher education system and administration
- Massification of higher education
- Financing and sustainability of higher education