Title: Dissolving Certainties and Emerging Identities: The Role of Science Management in Shaping the ‘Authentic University’
Date: Monday, March 3, 2025 at 3pm CET
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Frank Ziegele, Executive Director, CHE Centre for Higher Education
Location: online via MS Teams livestream.
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Abstract:
The higher education landscape is undergoing profound transformations and established certainties are dissolving. These dynamics, however, provide the unique opportunity for universities to refine and strengthen their institutional identity. The presentation explores how universities can actively shape their profile instead of passively reacting to external pressures. By examining a spectrum of possible future university models, it showcases strategic pathways for differentiation. A key focus is on the role of science management in this transformation. How can it facilitate authentic institutional profiling? What governance structures, leadership approaches, and change management strategies are required? The presentation will outline practical approaches to navigating uncertainty and strengthening universities’ identities in a rapidly evolving academic landscape.
About the speaker
Prof. Dr. Frank Ziegele is executive director of the CHE Centre for Higher Education, Gütersloh, as well as professor for higher education and research management at the University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück. As an expert for higher education, he is active as a consultant, researcher, trainer and speaker all over the world. He holds a master’s in business administration from University of Hohenheim and a Ph.D. from Ruhr-University Bochum. He is responsible for large-scale applied research projects (e.g. the European U-Multirank project), but also for the practical implementation of reforms in the higher education sector (e.g. as Worldbank consultant). In more than 20 years he has contributed with more than 150 publications and more than 100 national and international projects to the field of higher education. He is or was a member in numerous boards, such as editorial boards, the advisory board of the German Network for Research and Transfer Management (FORTRAMA) and the board of the German Society for Higher Education Research.
