Social changes, the Bologna process and the 'third mission' of Serbian Universities

Abstract

The expectations that the society and its different segments have from the university are influenced by historical circumstances and social, economic, political and cultural environment as the widest context within which the university interacts with its surroundings. Having this in mind, this paper aims to identify and analyze the explicit and implicit needs articulated by different social actors towards Serbian universities. This is done with an understanding that these needs arise in the context of comprehensive and deep social (economic, cultural, political) transition. The ‘third mission’ of the university, which includes the university participation in economic development as well as in building the civil society and democratic values, is considered to be especially important in the transition period. However, this mission is least present in practice given the fact that Serbian universities are so overburdened by other new roles in scientific research and education that they do not manage to systematically and strategically formulate their tasks within this new mission.

Očekivanja koje društvo i različiti segmenti društva imaju od univerziteta uslovljena su istorijskim okolnostima i društvenim, ekonomskim, političkim i kulturnim ambijentom kao najširim kontekstom unutar kog univerzitet stupa u interakcije sa okruženjem. Imajući ovo u vidu, u radu se uočavaju i analiziraju eksplicitne i implicitne potrebe koje različiti društveni akteri artikulišu prema univerzitetima u Srbiji, uz razumevanje da ove potrebe nastaju u okolnostima sveobuhvatne i duboke društvene (ekonomske, kulturne, političke) tranzicije. Konstatuje se da je 'treća misija' univerziteta, koja se ogleda u učešću univerziteta u ekonomskom razvoju i u izgradnji civilnog društva i demokratskih vrednosti, posebno važna u tranzicionom periodu. Međutim, ona je najmanje zastupljena pošto su univerziteti previše opterećeni drugim novim zadacima u nauci i nastavi da bi sistematično i strateški formulisali svoju ulogu u okviru ove nove misije.