In preparation for the 2019 Global University Leaders Council Hamburg, which is being run by the German Rectors’ Conference, the Körber Foundation and Universität Hamburg, the Körber Foundation asked Peter Maassen from the University of Oslo to compare and analyse the conceptual position of universities in society as well as real-life practices in the interaction between universities and society in various regions around the world. This study sheds light on the situation in Canada (Ontario), Chile, Germany, Japan, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (England), highlighting both differences and similarities.

The author argues that current societal and economic trends such as advancing globalisation and digitalisation require new courses of action, and that it is essential for universities to actively shape the ongoing processes and to clearly communicate the prerequisites for a successful interaction between universities and society to internal and external stakeholders.

Link to the study here