What is or should a university be in the 21^st century? Is it just a factory of knowledge, delivering professionals to the market? Or is it an institution of social and cultural value with a responsibility towards its students and society? In this series of lectures Studium Generale TU Delft organises three debates about the future of universities with speakers from within and outside TU Delft.

The International Campus

Dutch universities are attracting more and more international students. The growing international economy and information-based society is here to stay, and so is internationalisation of university students. What should this look like in the future? What can we learn from the experiences of international students regarding integration into Dutch culture and university campus? Where lies the responsibility of the university? To what point does internationalisation enhance quality, and when does quality of learning and personal coaching and development drop due to sparse resources and too few teachers? 

In this session we will explore together the tipping point of internationalisation. What should the international university look like in the 21th century? 

Panel

Prof. Dr. Marijk van der Wende is Distinguished Faculty Professor of Higher Education at Utrecht University’s Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance. Her research focuses on the impact of globalization and internationalization on higher education systems, institutions, curricula, and teaching and learning arrangements.

Dr. Roberto Rocco is an Associate Professor of Spatial Planning and Strategy at the Department of Urbanism at Bouwkunde. He was recently appointed as Faculty Diversity Officer at the Faculty of Architecture.

Saraf Nawar is chair of GreenTU at TU Delft and represents Lijst Bèta in the Student Council.

Delta columnist and PhD candidate Vishal Onkhar will share his thoughts on the nature of the international campus. The panel discussion is moderated by Hilde Taverne.

SG presents: the Future of Universities series

We currently live in an information-based society. This puts pressure on the university, since universities have a responsibility in the distribution and advancement of knowledge. The result is a work load going through the roof, emphasis on results and efficiency rather than the process and high demand for study places from all over the world. Next to that, there’s little extra finance from the government, and so universities start operating more and more like commercial companies.

This calls for debate and discussion. Where do we stand, where are we going and is this desirable? Studium Generale, in co-operation with Delta, organises the series the future of universities. Three afternoon debates with managers, teachers, students and policy advisors from TU Delft and philosophers, sociologists, journalists and other from outside.