Introduction

Higher education has undergone and still undergoes a number of major structural changes and reforms that affect the academic profession and the academic work. The emergence of the knowledge society projects academics into the front line of socio-economic development and innovation as being a ‘key profession’. For a long period, both in the EHEA context and the ASEM context, we have addressed many issues of higher education but with little attention paid to the academic profession and to the human side of higher education and research. The past 7 to 8 years a substantial number of studies on the changing face of academic work and the academic profession in a comparative perspective have been conducted. Now it is time to bring some of those studies to the attention of the broader academic community and policy makers.

Aims of the policy seminar

• To bring together higher education researchers and policy makers at national and at institutional level;
• To discuss the key findings of the research that has been carried out during the last 6 to 7 years with regard to the changes of academic work and the changes of the academic profession and professional live within the Higher Education Institutions;
• To discuss how policy makers evaluate those research outcomes and may make use of those research outcomes;
• To learn from each other how policy makers address those changes and challenges.

Target groups

a.    Public authorities responsible for tertiary and higher education;
b.    Higher education institutions: senior academic management;
c.    Higher education researchers.

Desired outcomes of the policy seminar

• A better understanding of the key research findings and of the way policy makers could make use of the them in their policy design;
• To have identified whether there are cross regional (institutional, social or cultural) differences or distinctive approaches in the way policy makers evaluate the impact of changes and challenges on academic work.