^aCallan Building, Computer Science Department, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland. E-mail: jharpur@cs.nuim.ie

Abstract

From the first time that humans drew together in learned groups of scholars and disciples, questions have been raised about the purpose, sustainability and values of such gatherings. The development of information technologies together with mass participation in Higher Education has sharpened disputes between innovation and tradition like never before. Each party produces its own measures of dogma, which often trail institutional anxiety in their wake. The University is in a quandary. Whether the University as a manifestation of scholarly inquiry and scientific research is gaining from this dialectical tension is by no means clear, and its future is infused with volatility. Transformation of the University into an innovative entrepreneurial institution is proceeding, almost alchemically it seems. The primary question now is not whether this should occur but what checks and balances are necessary at a policy level to make it successful. How far down the corporate policy track must the University go?