Like any other field within the educational domain, higher education (HE) is a contested field, theoretically, politically, economically and as everyday practice. HE institutions, such as the university, create spaces for people engaging in research, education, knowledge development, bringing together people working as students, teachers, researchers, administrators, leaders, technicians, … Life goes on in and across HE institutions. But universities are also bureaucratic and controlled societal organizations, with contested purposes across a precarious world.

It appears that the main purpose of higher education today is to solve the problems of our time, of history and of the future. If there is any hold in this claim, it is meaningful to ask who defines the problems to be solved, and on what grounds? And further, if we are solving any problems or creating (meaningless) systems of 'appearance'? The predominant call for 'employability' from higher education programs and for 'applicability of research, raises questions about the fundamental purposes of education and research – not only the conceptual phrasing of what the purposes are, but for whom and for what. How can the wider purposes of HE in relation to the constitution of democratic societies and individuals’ self-formation be nurtured under the increased demand for accountability? Whose interests are we serving in our work in and throughout HE?

In our quest to be purposeful in the ways that count and are counted, useful and effective, we seldom have time to come together to reflect upon what is or could be meaningful in our everyday work in higher education. This year's IPL-conference is aiming for critical and caring discussions that creates room for different voices and different understandings of what is or could be meaningful in higher education. Underlying is a notion of the meaningful being at stake.

We would like this to be a day of discussions and co-creation rather than performance, and therefore omit the usual paper presentation parallels-format. In this call for contributions, we invite you to write short online texts, based on the question What is meaningful in higher education?

The texts can be of different genres, such as thinking pieces, narratives and reflections on experiences, conceptual work as well short abstracts from research work. We welcome contributions from all people taking part in and across higher education – both academic and administrative staff, students, leaders … and more. We especially encourage students to submit contributions in the form of thinking pieces and narratives.

Read more about the call.

We would like this to be a day of discussions and co-creation rather than performance, and therefore omit the usual paper presentation parallels-format. We collect short online "task card"-submissions from the participants before the conference, based on the question What is meaningful in higher education?

The first keynote by Associate Professor Fadia Dakka (Birmingham City University / NTNU) will offer critical perspectives on co-creation and togetherness in the university. Dakka will guide us in creating a rhythm of moments of possibility to connect in meaningful ways during the conference. The participants engage in an ongoing co-creative process during the day.

The second keynote from Professor Mats Alvesson (Lund University) offers perspectives on the meaningful – and meaningless – in higher education. These perspectives will contribute to a constructive break to initiate further discussions in groups and in plenary.