Higher education and science future(s): rethinking change, governing uncertainty, imagining alternatives.

Autor/inn/en	Marques, Marcelo; Powell, Justin J. W.
Titel	Higher education and science future(s): rethinking change, governing uncertainty, imagining alternatives.
Quelle	In: European Journal of Higher Education, 15 (2025) S1, S. 1-22Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2156-8235; 2156-8243
DOI	10.1080/21568235.2025.2598558
Schlagwörter	Gegenwart; Mobilität; Staat; Hochschule
Abstract	Crises and pervasive uncertainty increasingly oblige higher education and science (HE&S) to embrace an understanding of change that is not confined exclusively to past trajectories but incorporates contested conceptions of future(s). This introduction to the CHER 2024 special issue argues that future(s) in HE&S are actively made and governed. Drawing on seven contributions - on temporal strategies, policy shocks on student mobility, the academic profession, third-party funding, hybrid learning spaces, digital resistance, and knowledge transfer - the article identifies central pressures and emerging responses. Building on these studies, it highlights three directions for research, policy, and organisational development: first, the importance of temporal dynamics in overcoming short-termism and cultivating temporal fit between policy and organisational cycles and rhythms, and the long horizons required for the sustainability of HE&S; second, the need to reimagine public sector and HE&S governance beyond narrow new public management logics, towards public-value and service-oriented models; and third, the design of resilient HE&S systems capable of withstanding geopolitical, financial, and policy shocks. The article concludes by outlining how institutional theory and futures studies can mutually enrich one another and invite the field to continue to trace and theorise how future(s) are legitimised, contested, and enacted in HE&S. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Erfasst von	Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, Bonn
Update	2026/3