The Research Impact Agenda

1 The idea of university and its societal role

DOI: 10.4324/9781003090465-1

1.1 Introduction

We began working on this book in June 2020 in London, with the world changing in front of our eyes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our work as researchers and educators had to move online nearly overnight, and for the first time in our professional lives we had to confront questions about how, in the new and uncertain circumstances, we are going to serve our students and colleagues, our research communities, and all other stakeholders for whom we engage in academic work. Along with the changes in the immediate realities of academic life, higher education (HE) policy decisions relevant to issues that are central to the focus of this book, i.e. ...