Tuesday 14 Dec 9.00-12.15

 

Organisers: Amélia Veiga, University of Porto and Tim Seidenschnur, University of Kassel

Registration: This session is a part of a conference European Universities - Critical Futures that takes place in person in Copenhagen as well as online (13-15 December 2021). The online participation will be via Microsoft Teams (not Zoom). To receive the link, register for as Participant (attending online) here: https://events.au.dk/keystoneconference/signup

 

Background

This project ‘European Universities - Critical Futures’ is coordinating a study with research teams from 9 European countries on how higher education systems have been affected by the pandemic. What ‘pre-existing conditions’ have been exacerbated, how have individual institutions, national systems and the European field of higher education overall been changing during the pandemic and how are they dealing with current problems? 

In addressing the effects of the pandemic on the field of higher education in Europe, we take into account that when the Covid-19 pandemic began shattering social life, Europe was already facing political, economic, and cultural problems.

On the basis of interviews with national leaders and institutional actors, the study has explored the pre-existing conditions and the effects of the pandemic in each country, based on three main issues:

1. The sustainability of higher education systems – this refers to the composition of the higher education sector and the survival of higher education institutions’ key priorities during the Covid 19 pandemic
2. The purposes of higher education institutions in society – this refers to how society discusses the role of universities.
3. How higher education institutions see themselves – this refers to how HEIs see their own field, how the pandemic has affected the workings of the university, how it reacts, and how it has changed through COVID-19.

 

Programme

Overview of the Pandemic Study – Amélia Veiga (University of Porto) and Tim Seidenschnur, (University of Kassel)

Research teams from UK, Portugal, Norway, Ireland, Hungary, Germany, France, Finland and Denmark present their most important findings

Dialogue partner

Chris Newfield, Independent Social Research Council