Between Social Tutelage and Individual Responsibility: Dilemmas of Higher Education in Eastern Europe

Abstract

What explains the crisis of the Eastern European universities, and how can they overcome it? This article tries to find the causes of such a crisis in the communist tradition and the lingering communitarian systems of thought in Eastern Europe. The current state-controlled academic systems in the region continue to reproduce such a culture. Instead, this article suggests the transformation of Eastern European universities to entrepreneurial universities focused on creating entrepreneurial graduates who invest in and benefit from their careers. A university—industry—government triple helix model would have been the right model had not industry in many Eastern European countries collapsed under communist regimes. In such a case, universities should take over the task of encouraging industry creation. Also, other societal stakeholders might help.