IMHE Conference: Higher Education in the 21st Century – Diversity of Missions

Around the world, higher education and higher education institutions are changing rapidly. Traditional academic cultures and relationships are being challenged, bringing new social dynamics to higher education systems and increasing diversity and differentiation within and between institutions.

Against the backdrop of these changes, the OECD Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE), the International Association of Universities (IAU), Ireland's Higher Education Authority (HEA), and the Irish Universities Association (IUA) organised a conference on the theme: Higher Education in the 21st Century - Diversity of Missions, which was held from 25-27 June 2007 at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland (DIT) .

Sessions focused on questions of how the diversity of institutions is valued (or not) by Governments, funding agencies and society more generally by exploring such issues as: what are the appropriate incentives to enable institutions to relate research to mission; how to better measure and evaluate the contribution that HEIs make to national, regional and local economic and social development; and how are institutions facing up to the challenges of widening participation and cultural diversity, and how to support diversity without hierarchy.

Conference abstracts

• Frans van Vught: Diversity and Differentiation in Higher Education Systems

• Sir Howard Newby: Valuing and Funding Diverse Missions

• Helen Garnett: Charles Darwin University – a University with Unique Features within Australia’s Public University Sector

• Frank McMahon: Universities Surviving Diversity of Mission

• Andrée Sursock: The changing context of quality assurance in Europe

• Elizabeth Harman: Learning (in) Contexts: Re-imaging Campuses and Partnerships at a New School of Thought

• Josep M. Vilalta: Regional and Industry Partnerships in Catalonia. The Role of Catalan Universities in the Development of a Knowledge Based Society and Economy

• Heather Eggins: Diversity within Institutions

• Sam Shaw: Supporting Diversity at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

• Jaana Puukka & Francisco Marmolejo: Supporting the Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development

• Ossi V. Lindquist: Research and Institutional Mission

• Andréas Eshete

• John Hughes: Research and Institutional Mission

• Peter Eckel: Prestige, Reputation, and Mission Diversity in U.S. Higher Education: The Buick and The Mercedes-Benz

• Mala Singh: Valuing Diversity of Higher Education Missions as a Qualified Good

• Pavel Zgaga: Diverse Pedagogies for Teaching and Learning

• Gordon Freedman: Institutional Image and Differentiation

• Ellen Hazelkorn: Impact of League Tables and Ranking on Institutional Diversity

• John Rickard: Central Queensland University: Regional University; Global Perspective – Breaking the traditional higher education model

• Abdul Razak Dzulkifli: What kind of Institution does your Institution want to be?

• Lara Lena Tischler: What kind of Institution does your Institution want to be?

Conference website