University

Higher education is known as one of the “least digitised and most people-intensive economic sectors”. [1] While many other industries have been disrupted in their dominant logic of value creation, [2] the education sector has experienced few changes. It continues to pursue its historical ideal of ‘educating autonomous individuals’ [3]. The world is changing rapidly: Recent geopolitical challenges, social polarization, pandemic-induced disruptions, the exponential growth of knowledge and simultaneously increasing scepticism towards science, as well as evolving work modes in a global economy are indicators of that change. At the same time, new digital technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) highlight the necessity and opportunity for transformation of the entire higher education sector.

Preparing is high on the agenda: Universities play a crucial role in preparing the ground for the future. They must prepare their students to be collaborative and, therefore, competitive. This requires new skills and, very importantly, a new mindset. Universities must prepare and educate the next generation for huge global challenges. They must also prepare themselves for a world where not only information but, increasingly, knowledge is becoming a commodity. This CASE is to be understood as a shortened version of the Joint White Paper of the HSG/St. Gallen Symposium 2022 (Gassmann et al. 2022): Rethinking the Role of Universities in the Future of Work and Learning.

Entitled Tracing World-Class Universities in the Global Public(ity) Sphere, the overarching aim of this thesis is to unpack the concept of “reputation management” in the higher education context. Specifically, it intends to make sense of the representation and reputation of the globally-ranked “world-class universities”, the changes observed in their external communication, and the mediatised environment that influences the external and internal communication, or even the governance, of such universities.