Universities in an age of uncertainty

44 Propositions on the Future of Universities

PROF. OLIVER GASSMANN
IS PROFESSOR OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. GALLEN (HSG).

PROF. NAOMI HAEFNER
IS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. GALLEN (HSG).

DAVID M. WAGNER
IS PH.D. CANDIDATE AND RESEARCH ASSOCIATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. GALLEN (HSG).

Higher education is known as one of the “least digitised and most people-intensive economic sectors”. [1] While many other industries have been disrupted in their dominant logic of value creation, [2] the education sector has experienced few changes. It continues to pursue its historical ideal of ‘educating autonomous individuals’ [3]. The world is changing rapidly: Recent geopolitical challenges, social polarization, pandemic-induced disruptions, the exponential growth of knowledge and simultaneously increasing scepticism towards science, as well as evolving work modes in a global economy are indicators of that change. At the same time, new digital technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) highlight the necessity and opportunity for transformation of the entire higher education sector.