Beyond Ivory Tower. Navigating Higher Education in the Future

• Higher education has major challenges ahead. The technological
• revolution could profoundly change the demand for university studies and
• teaching methodology; new alternative players to traditional universities could
• also emerge. But we’ve been here before, and the changes have been really
• small. Will this time be different?
• Some indications show that it might be. Online learning and distance
• education have moved from a secondary alternative to an integral part of
• the education system. Digital platforms offer access to educational resources
• on an unprecedented scale, breaking down geographical and economic
• barriers, and democratizing knowledge. Are our educational institutions and
• pedagogical models ready to take full advantage of these tools?
• Globalization has made the world more interconnected. Universities no
• longer compete only at the local or national level, but on a global stage.
  Students seek educational experiences that prepare them for an international
• job market, where cultural diversity and competition are the norm. At the
• same time, nativist tendencies and rejection of the international global order
• are everywhere. How can our universities adapt to offer relevant education not
• only locally, but also in a global context?
• In parallel, the nature of work is changing. Automation and artificial
• intelligence are redefining the jobs and skills needed for the future. In an
• ideal world, universities should rethink their curricula to prepare for the new
• economy. But do we know which direction to go in? Do we need to be
• more technical, or will generative AI already do that? More specialized, or more
• generalist?
• Finally, demographic trends and climate crisis portend unflattering fiscal
• scenarios in the coming decades. How will universities adapt if states decrease
• (or withdraw) from public funding of universities, which is dominant in much
• of the world?
• In this book we want to reflect on how universities should face these
• challenges and also the problems they have traditionally faced such as funding
• and their own governance.
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• Universities around the world provide a crucial space for learning and social development for a seemingly ever-growing number of students, from a wide range of backgrounds and at different stages in their life. The fundamental role of universities as the center of education, optimizing the synergies with research, remains today and into the future. What is changing is the context within which universities operate. Financial pressures, geopolitical tensions, global climate and health emergencies and superfast technological change present challenges to the delivery of high-quality university experiences in a competitive global higher education market. In parallel, the demographics of staff and student bodies are changing. The welcome (albeit all too slow) improvement in diversity and an increased focus on lifelong learning challenge the traditional model of what is taught and how it is taught. In this chapter we discuss how these challenges affect the ability of universities to deliver on their integrated research-education missions. Putting measures in place to ensure resilience to shocks and an ability to adapt with changing context can allow for universities, open to evolving, to turn the apparent challenges into opportunities for growth and improved education experiences for staff and students. Impact and continued value-added comes from being agile.
  
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• Higher education has long been living with the promise, or the threat, that (micro)computing, the internet, or now artificial intelligence, will change everything–whether to reinforce it, turn it upside down, or leave it by the wayside. If we are to learn from the past “to avoid repeating it,” the lesson is clear: once again, technology will not deliver what it promises, especially not to this millenium-old institution, which is much older and more stable than the rest of the educational system. But there is something new: each new technological ecosystem that has penetrated education since the advent of writing, including the printing press, has done so by multiplying access to information and the reach of communication, but always at the cost of more uniformity, rigidity, and one-sidedness. The paradigmatic example in this realm is the fiasco of mass media (film, radio, television…), but also, earlier, the enduring textbook and, later, the ephemeral computer-assisted learning. However, the fifth transformation of information and communication, the digital one, in which we are already immersed, brings two more things: the increasingly developed capacity for personalization and the emerging capacity, just beginning with generative AI, for interaction. In an institution that, unlike earlier educational stages, is free from the custodial function, this can and should bring substantial changes in the processes and relationships of learning and teaching, as well as in its organizational and even material architecture.
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• This article on the humanities in the 21^st century university begins with an analysis of enrolment trends in North American universities, with a particular focus on universities in the province of Ontario, Canada. The picture that emerges is one of a marked decline in demand for humanities programs at most universities, including my own Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Western University. The final sections of the article offer a diagnosis of the current situation and an analysis of the expected impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on humanistic offerings, which should be seen as an opportunity and lever to make the necessary changes as shown in the decline in enrolment to make the programs more attractive for current and future students. In the final part, I trace some possible trajectories for the new humanities of the 21^st century, using my faculty as a case study of this transformation. The humanities are desperately needed to shed light on current global changes, to provide young students with points of reference for their lives, and to begin a transformation that will sooner rather than later confront all university disciplines.
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• This article explores the impact that technological change and artificial intelligence may have on the demand for university studies, using Spanish data. It begins with a retrospective analysis of the evolution of demand over the last three decades. Then, based on the academic literature that analyzes the degree of exposure of each occupation to technological change and the employability patterns of different university degrees, three indexes are developed for each degree: RTI index (Routine Task Intensity), index of exposure to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and index of software exposure. These indexes, based on the exposure to technological change of the different university degrees, are very informative in order to explain both the job prospects and the expected salary of their graduates. The indexes can be used to improve the design of university courses and also as indicators of which degrees are likely to be in greater demand in the future. Finally, using microdata from the Community of Madrid enrollment process, where students indicate their preferences, another indicator is designed to rank degrees according to unsatisfied demand.
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• The employment consequences of technological innovations depend crucially on the degree of complementarity between new machines and workers. In previous episodes of technological revolutions, complementarities between technology and human labor have displayed a skill-bias, that is, they were higher for skilled workers than for unskilled ones. In this piece, facing the context of a new technological environment determined by the advances in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, we discuss i) what are their main characteristics that may change the skill-bias observed in previous technological changes, ii) what are so far the occupations more exposed to the new technological advances brought up by Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, and iii) what kind of investment in educational is needed to fully exploit the complementarities between new technologies and human labor.
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• This study explores the potential mismatch between demand and supply of university degrees in Spain in the context of structural change in labor demand. Our investigation analyzes the trend of students seeking studies in other regions that are not their usual residence. It is observed that certain universities have increased the number of courses offered without increasing the number of places available potentially worsening the mismatch between supply and demand. The courses with greater access barriers in 2022 yielded higher salaries for their graduates in previous years, although no direct relationship was found between the number of places offered and future job opportunities. In addition, we integrate a review of international literature shedding light on how income expectations, perceived skills, and personal preferences play a crucial role in the choice of degree. Our findings show that although there are moderate elasticities between the choice of degree and expected earnings, subjective expectations are dominant factor.
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• This chapter considers research universities. It focuses on two aspects. First, their potential returns: Why should countries care about setting up and sustaining high-quality research universities? The evidence suggests that university research (and university activity more generally) has causal and often localized positive impacts on economic and other outcomes. Second, suppose one accepts that university research is worth promoting. What obstacles do university authorities and policymakers face? What approaches and measures might help address these challenges? The discussion focuses on factors like Attracting and ensuring a supply of research talent and measuring research performance.
  
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• This chapter examines the persistent challenges to diversity and inclusion within universities. It argues that dismantling remaining “ivory walls” at universities necessitates fostering a culture of belonging that actively addresses social inequalities and empowers under-represented groups. The chapter explores how academics can contribute to this transformation. It offers practical strategies for creating inclusive communities through individual behaviours, and teaching practices. Additionally explains how universities can update their processes to support these changes. By emphasising both individual and systemic efforts, the chapter provides a starting point for building more equitable and inclusive academic environment. This, in turn, strengthens universities’ ability to serve as true drivers of positive social change. However, this is contingent upon the engagement of the university leadership and the allocation of adequate resources.
  
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• Students across the globe employ a diverse array of financial mechanisms to fund their higher education: from grants to subsidies. Even within Europe, there is a significant variance in financing systems. For instance, the Nordic countries rely on a model of generous scholarships. Conversely, in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, loan based financing is more prevalent. Meanwhile, nations such as Austria, France, and Spain, among others, exhibit less developed financial instruments –private or public– and have long used direct subsidies to educational institutions funded with general taxes. When the main part of university resources is publicly and directly provided, government budget cuts have a strong impact on the survival and quality of tertiary education institutions. In the face of an ageing population and large and increasing public deficits, we analyze whether a subsidized system of progressive Income Contingent Loans (ICL) is feasible in Spain, and how it would impact different strata of the population. We find that (i) our proposed structure is highly progressive under all specifications, with the top quarter of the distribution paying close to the full amount of the tuition and the bottom 10% paying almost no tuition; and (ii) the share of total university education subsidized by the government is between 16 and 56 percentage points less than under the current system.
  
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• This article analyzes various models of university education financing, comparing theoretical aspects and practical applications, and focuses on the competition between public and private universities in Spain. It begins by discussing significant corporate activities and the rapid growth of private university enrollment over the past two decades. It examines the effectiveness and equity of financing methods such as general taxes, graduate taxes, traditional loans, and income-contingent loans (ICL). The article highlights the growing competition between private and public universities, focusing on differences in student demographics, quality, and employability. A survey conducted in Catalonia in 2017 evaluates students’ perceptions and knowledge about costs and financial aid. It reveals a significant lack of accurate information among students, affecting their decisions. The findings suggest that adopting ICL or graduate tax systems could improve equity and efficiency in university financing in Spain.
  
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• The objective of this document is to present a set of reflections on some of the challenges that public universities currently face. Higher education is becoming an increasingly competitive market due to the greater dynamism of private universities and, also, the potential emergence of new actors that can have a decisive influence in this area. he text focuses on two critical dimensions for the future of the public university system: on the one hand, its regulation, governance and management model and, on the other hand, the need to reinvent the teaching function of face-to-face public universities. as one of the most relevant sources of social legitimation. The new profile of students entering the University and the technological transformation demand a new paradigm that modifies the traditional teaching dynamics, which is currently one of the weakest links in higher education centers.
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• One wonders if it makes sense to write yet another essay on the Spanish
• university, given the abundance of literature on the subject and the fact that
• its influence on the politicians who make decisions and on society in general is
• asymptotically zero. For someone like me, who has been writing on the subject
• with some frequency for more than thirty years, the doubts about thepurpose
• of this task are even more pressing, and my only excuse for putting them aside,
• i.e. the conviction that there is no worthy future for Spain without a better
• university, remains valid, so, following what our northern neighbors call the
• Coué method, I forget the more than probable uselessness of the text and
• throw myself into writing it, which, to add insult to injury, I am doing with great
• pleasure.

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