Change of the Concept of the University: From Enlightenment Ideals to the Development of Entrepreneurship

Abstract

While the university of today, as a significant institution whose appearance is associated with the Middle Ages, can be considered in the context of the emergence of classical university education, the modern age is facing this institution with new requirements and expectations. This paper aims to consider the changes in the concept of the university, which are accompanied by classical ideals (enlightenment) to all the major influences of the economy and the requirements for the development of innovation and entrepreneurship. The paper aims to concretize the following tasks: to analyze the classical model of the university and its philosophy of education, to analyze the model of higher education that is primarily based on economic criteria, and to consider the need for actualization and development of the third mission. It is concluded that in modern circumstances, the university is facing the challenge of finding a balance between preserving institutional autonomy, independent social criticism, and academic freedom of professors and students, on the one hand, and connecting with the world of work to become a relevant factor in economic development. Within this framework, discussions on the further direction of the development of higher education should be directed at examining the possibilities for the encouragement of humanistic values, for higher education institutions act as a generator of overall social development.