Global University, The

Peer Review, Winter 2004 by Buarque, Cristovam

Issues that exist in todays reality but that do not also fall within defined categories of knowledge could be explored in the twenty-first century university that must be organized in a multi-disciplinary fashion as well.

The university of the next few years has to connect students around the world in order to link aesthetic activities to ethical debate. This could be accomplished through the creation of Cultural Centers.

With departments, Issue Centers and Cultural Centers, the twenty-first century university' will he three-dimensional and will train three-dimensional professionals. This will involve specialists in specific fields of knowledge that arc also committed to understanding a pragmatic theme and practicing one or more activities that are linked to humanistic ways of thinking either in the arts or philosophy.

Sytematic university

The university of the future is universally tied to all universities. However, the university of the future must also be linked to the system that creates knowledge. The university should incorporate private and public research institutions and all nongovernmental organizations that are related to the creation of knowledge. Every liberal professional office and every industry that performs research should be part of the university system.

The university will serve as the family of all those involved in the task of the advancement and distribution of knowledge.

Almost eight and a half centuries have passed since the university was created. It is time to take the necessary leap in order to fulfill the role of the university in the midst of the immense riches of the twenty-first century.

Sustainable university

Universities should be public institutions, whether owned by the state or privately. The university cannot die because of a shortage of public resources, nor can it refuse private resources from investors. This is why:

* The university should be financed with public resources in order to guarantee permanent sustainability in a context of social interests, above all in areas of knowledge that do not have economic returns. These include training basic education teachers and the arts and philosophy fields;

* The university should be open to the possibility of receiving resources from the private sector wishing to invest in institutions whether they are private or state owned, and

* State and private institutions should be structured in a way that will serve public interests without becoming prisoners of the corporate interests of students, professors, or employees. In the same fashion, private universities should be private in terms of physical installations, but the academic community should control academic organization. University owners can remain owners in terms of patrimony, but deans should be selected based on academic merit.

By Cristovam Buarque, minister of education in Brazil