Glasgow Changing Futures

Towards the University of the Future

What kind of university do we need for the world ahead? 

Universities have long played a vital role in shaping our world. But today, the questions that matter most for our shared futures cannot be addressed from any one academic discipline. Climate change, technological transformation, global inequality, and the futures of how we live, learn, work and care for one another all demand more creative, connected, and innovative ways of thinking and collaborating. This means working across academic and professional roles, disciplines and methods, and with communities, organisations and partners beyond the university. 

Towards the University of the Future (TUoF) starts from the belief that collaboration across difference is central to the future of universities but cannot be left to chance. 

At the University of Glasgow, collaboration already happens in many forms: across Schools and Colleges, between academic and professional services colleagues, and with partners in policy, industry, and our local and global communities. At the same time, our traditional academic structures remain strongly discipline-focused, with career pathways, resource allocations and systems of recognition shaping what kinds of collaboration become possible, valued and sustained. 

TUoF builds on these existing strengths while asking what needs to shift. It explores the everyday and institutional conditions that make collaboration across difference possible, visible and sustainable — and what this can teach us about the future of universities more widely. 

Aims of the project

• Develop and share the conditions that enable collaboration across difference to flourish and endure. 
• Use the Advanced Research Centre as a living lab to observe, test, and model new ways of working collaboratively. 
• Strengthen institutional support for interdisciplinary research across the entire research lifecycle. 
• Inform how University systems - from funding to recognition and reward - can evolve to better sustain collaboration long‑term. 
• Build networks, methods, and communities of practice that embed change across roles, Schools, and Colleges. 
• Contribute sector‑leading thought leadership on what an equitable, collaborative, future‑oriented university can be. 

To meet these aims, the project will: 

• Map existing practices, strengths, gaps, and infrastructures that support or hinder collaboration. 
• Prototype and test new tools, workshops, and future‑focused practices - from speculative writing to “Tomorrow Parties” - that rehearse new forms of collaboration. 
• Embed and enable change by translating findings into practical guidance, policies, communities of practice, and leadership development. 
• Disseminate and sustain learning through digital outputs, films, podcasts, publications, and a major 2028 University Futures Summit. 
• Operate with continuous project management and cross‑University engagement, ensuring coherence, alignment, and long-term impact.