The edgeless university

• Peter Bradwell
• Demos

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28 June 2009British universities have world-class reputations and they are vital to the country’s social and economic future, yet they are under siege. This report argues that this can be a moment of rebirth.

The huge public investment that sustained much of the sector is in jeopardy and the current way of working is not sustainable. Some are predicting the end of the university as we have known it. Technology is changing universities as they become just one source among many for ideas, knowledge and innovation.

But online tools and open access also offer the means for their survival. Their expertise and value is needed more than ever to validate and support learning and research. Through their institutional capital, universities can use technology to offer more flexible provision and open more equal routes to higher education and learning. We need the learning and research that higher education provides. This will take strategic leadership from within, new connections with a growing world of informal learning and a commitment to openness and collaboration. By exploiting this role, universities can harness technology as a solution and an indispensable tool for shaping their vital role in the future.