The pedagogical implications of the socially relevant university

From the founding of the first universities in the Middle Ages to the modern university in the period of globalization, universities have been created according to the prevailing social, cultural, economic and political conditions.Contemporary universities are faced with numerous demands from the external environment which expects social problems to be solved through education. In this context goals of education are also subject to constant redefinition and alignment with the needs of new social realities. The aim of the paper is to examine the implications of a socially relevant university from the perspective of two approaches: (a) concerns about the future of the university, the very idea of the university itself, and the reduction of the role of universities as critics of society; (b) the importance and necessity of opening a university to the community in order to contribute to society. Both approaches have been permeated within the analytical approach to the challenges facing the modern university, as well as within the study of the social relevance of the university which is linked to the third mission of the university. We then present the current initiatives that advocate the opening of universities towards the environment, the project Institutional Framework for the Development of the Third Mission of the University, as well as the Strategy for the Development of Education in the Republic of Serbia until 2020. Through elaboration of the relevant literature, we also present the pedagogical implications of a socially relevant university. In conclusion, we emphasize that the pluralism of analytical and critical approaches is the only adequate way to consider the relation of the university and its environment as a whole.