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provision of student exchange and studies at foreign
universities. The aim for education internationalisa-
tion is to increase the quality and relevance, attract the
best students and researchers, generate income and
promote diversity.
New education forms and learning environments
Digital and mobile technology is transforming the way
education is communicated and received, and how
values are created by providers of higher education. For
universities, these can form the basis for an upheaval
on the same level as what happened almost 600 years
ago, when Gutenberg’s technique for printing books was
put to use. A virtual world for studies and research is
developing, together with a rapid, massive increase in
information available online. This creates an opening for
a global democratisation of knowledge, and an infinite
knowledge market where private actors can position
themselves along world-leading universities.
Attractiveness in a world without borders
In many countries, the approach to education and re-
search is changing. Universities and university colleges
are competing over students, staff and public funding,
more than ever before. The biggest challenge for univer-
sities is to appear attractive in a research and education
environment where the rules are changing.
The university in the society
New efforts in education and research focuses on the
social benefits of suggested activities. This can be seen
in relation to an increased interest for national and
international innovation strategies as tools for meeting
the present global, financial and political requirements
and changes. As an example, the Nordic countries are
promoting innovation strategy as an important tool
for meeting regional and global societal challenges,
increasing value and renewing the future’s welfare and
social services.
Parallel to this development, many universities are
changing from research-based, state-funded institu-
tions to becoming international ”knowledge hubs”. This
is the ”third generation university”, characterised by
assuming an active role in utilising the knowledge it
develops.
Strategic campus development
Currently, a dialogue is taking place between Euro-
pean universities about their own place in the society.
The core of these discussions is determining how to
approach the conflict between the more introverted
academic tradition, versus an extroverted strategy
with an increased focus on knowledge applicability. In
Europe, the increasing globalisation of higher educa-
tion, together with the effect of the Bologna declara-
tion, can be seen as a powerful motivation to develop a
common, explicit and attractive identity for European
universities. In this lies the acknowledgement that one
has to consider possibilities beyond developing common
programmes of study and research. In relation to this,
synergies between the university and city qualities are
often emphasised as an important factor for attracting
students. This is related to a more general challenge for
European universities, namely recruitment in natural
The new Knowledge Centre at St. Olav’s Hospital in Trondheim.
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