THE THIRD ROLE OF A CZECH PUBLIC UNIVERSITY: CASE STUDY FROM CZECH REPUBLIC

Abstract

In last decades, colleges and universities across the world have undergone developmental changes, which had direct impact on the roles these bodies play in society. As well as the private sector, they are also forced to react to demands of changing society. The first and the second role of colleges and universities, the educational and the research role, was complemented by another one - the social role. It?s closely related to social responsibility. Currently, this third role is a common part of universities? strategic plans worldwide. The question is how efficiently is such role fulfilled in reality. The article deals with the perception of the third role of a Czech public university - Mendel University Brno when viewed by one of its stakeholders - the local community. Based upon the primary research, it is examined what is the impact of the third role and what meaning it brings to the local community.