The social contract between universities and society

EUPRIO Annual Conference: The social contract between universities and society, Gothenburg, Sweden (6-9 September 2012). The 2012 EUPRIO annual conference is this year situated in Gothenburg, Sweden. The conference is hosted by the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology, and the theme of the conference is ‘The social contract between universities and society’.
We are very proud to present a an exciting programme with a number of excellent speakers  from all over Europe, on how to bridging the gap between universities and the society at large.  As always, the opportunity to network with colleagues from all over Europe is a reason good enough for attending the EUPRIO conference. Do not miss the chance to participate in the EUPRIO award 2012.
‘The social contract between universities and society’
Although the days of universities as ‘ivory towers’ may be gone, this doesn’t automatically mean that universities are very good at proving their value to society, or in creating partnerships with important public stakeholder groups. Universities are challenged to convince the public of what could be called ‘the social contract between universities and society’. In this contract universities commit themselves to constantly improve teaching, to educate young people to become the leaders in future society, to do important research for economic, social and cultural development and to drive public debate about the development of a responsible and prosperous society.
Playing a muted role in promoting ‘the contract’ makes universities an easy prey for governments trying to reduce state deficits. And indeed more than ever universities are in the contemporary global crisis confronted with major cuts. General audiences barely react. They do not feel an urgency to protest against cutbacks or support universities. There is no general notion that investing in universities, in academic education and research, is one of the essential measures to find a way out of the current crisisWhat should universities do or how could universities improve their communication in a way that society recognises the general importance of academic education and research for the welfare of society itself? How can we improve a common understanding of the importance of public funding for universities as a essential investment in society itself? Quite a challenge!
The coming year we want to discuss this issue with all of you. We want to seek solutions, exchange best practise and develop ideas how we as communicators could effectively work on the improvement of the common understanding of the importance of universities for society of ‘the social contract between universities and society’. The European Plaza is the starting point to exchange ideas and experience and gather examples of best practise. We have formulated 4 different themes which allow us to discuss this issue looking at it from different angles. Don’t hesitate to give your opinion or to send in ideas how to handle this situation.
See also University Communicators establish their roles towards 2020.