Universities face 'mission overload', says report

As pressure grows on higher education institutes to raise their economic competitiveness and live up to new social responsibilities, a forward-looking study on the subject argues that future universities could well face a "mission overload".

While many argue that universities play a central role in building a European 'knowledge society', there is a risk that as the pressure to do so grows, "the university is actually endangered and risks losing its key position and leadership role in the generation and dissemination of knowledge," states a European Science Foundation (ESF) report on the future of higher education published in early July.