Luc E. Weber Books

This twelfth volume of Glion Colloquiums provides a striking kaleidoscopic perspective of the fast-changing environment of University activities and its consequences for their role and responsibilities. The diversity of the remarkable contributions provided here by some of the most eminent leaders of Research University around the globe comprise indispensable advice on guiding the Universities’ future.Innovation and rapid technological advances, many of them initiated by universities and their graduates, have produced prosperity and improved living standards for billions of people. But the world is nonetheless increasingly polarized between the “haves” and “have nots”, and is facing a looming environmental disaster. Political and business leadership worldwide are in a growing state of disarray, unable to deal with these challenges. Thus, Universities are more than ever at the crossroads of these paradoxical not only do they contribute to the development of societies through teaching and research, but they must also help ensure a sustainable future. More than 20 leaders of renowned universities gathered in Glion-above-Montreux in Switzerland for three days in June 2019 to exchange and examine openly the new challenges facing universities and how they should respond. Their unique and remarkable contributions are now made available in this volume to students and researchers, to the worldwide academic community, to governments and to the general public.

Drawn from the 7th Glion Colloquium held in 2009, this volume considers the role of research universities in an innovation-driven global society. Whether in the "old world" of Europe and North America or in rapidly developing nations, the message is innovation has become the key to prosperity and social well-being in a hypercompetitive global economy.Part I introduces several forms of economic, technological, and social innovation.Part II discusses agents of innovation from the points of view of a research university, industry, and national innovation policies.Part III presents university leaders from long-established and emerging institutions to compare how regional and institutional characteristics shape innovation strategies.Part IV focuses on approaches to innovation at national and institutional levels, including a U.S. approach to energy challenges, the shift of high-tech industry toward open innovation, and the challenges of creating world-class universities.Part V addresses the intellectual character of innovation and its relationship to the university's mission.Today's economy requires not only leadership in innovation but also educated citizens capable of applying technology, talent, and capital in new ways. Institutions of higher learning must collaborate with industry and government to create a climate and culture that enable innovation to thrive.