The world of higher education is in a state of flux. Developments such as digitisation, globalisation and privatisation are having a major impact the education sector.

Students and academics will travel ever more, and institutions will continue to expand their international partnerships. Knowledge will become more accessible to the public through new technology and easier access to higher education. Campuses may be transformed as technology is changing the way we teach.

Tighter public budgets and new legislation is putting pressure on universities to attract more external funding.

The Conference addresses three crucial issues:

1. The university of the future
Increased competition between universities will lead universities to seek formalised partnerships with partners outside the sector, such as industry and schools. This has inevitable consequences for our universities. So what will universities be like in 2020? And, what will this demand of us who work there? How will this affect how universities are organised and run, ‒ for the structure of academic staff, for the student population, for funding and for the university’s public profile?

2. The marketing and communications department of the future
Universities and everything around them are changing. With MOOCs, social media and citizen journalists, marketing & communications departments are facing a new landscape of stakeholders. Big data make it possible to track and communicate with stakeholders even more effectively. How will the marketing & communications departments need to evolve in order to fulfil its role effectively? Will there even be a separate marketing & communications department in the future, or will the universities organise this function differently?

3. The marketing and communications professional of the future
As organisations change, so must the individuals working within them. What demands faces the marketing & communications professional at universities of the future? Will still we need all-round professionals? Or, will specialists play a more important role in the future organisation of marketing & communications function at universities? What future specialist areas can we identify?