Response to Quo vadis university? University Horizon (Réplica a ¿Quo vadis universidad? Horizonte Universidad)

Abstract

The analysis of where the university is going, will go or should go is incessant; it has long been present, in any circumstance. And it certainly should be. It is complex because of the need to consider both people and the organization (university institution), as well as society and the context within which it operates. After an analysis of how we have arrived at the institution we have today, the article in question with this evocative title examines the future by emphasizing four challenges, namely: new social echelons’ access to higher education, the exponential growth in information, the influence of business management and the bureaucratization of university work. Naturally, other challenges could also be included, but it is reasonable to limit them. Before addressing these challenges, the author reflects on the forerunners. The current situation of the university, where it is today, is the result of the past. The future is the horizon; now in our space it is Europe’s Horizon. In summary, the current situation is the outcome of a range of factors (LuqueMartínez, 2020), some of them sociodemographic, either social (population structure, concentration, spread of university education, etc.) or specific to the university (academic mobility, ageing, attracting talent, access, etc.). Other factors are economic, also either in society in general (income level and distribution, scholarship policy, economic context, economic consequences of the pandemic, etc.) or specific to the university (financial structure, available resources, fees, management). Another important factor is internationalization (being part of the European area) and the process of globalization, with all the tensions stemming therefrom. Coupled with the latter, one particularly disruptive factor is technological change, due to its implications on society, the economy, the university and the teaching–learning process. This is what is called the digital transformation and Industry 4.0, which encompasses concepts like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics, 3D printing, augmented reality and others. Finally, we should include universities’ commitment to engaging in activities with their communities (such as by fulfiling the Sustainability Development Goals, SDGs) and with the COVID-19 pandemic. The health crisis (and its consequent economic crisis) is leading us to reconsider the what and how of university activities, shifting the focal