The modern university and urban transformation

The recent rise of the discourse of entrepreneurial science as a wider policy justification for higher education funding has overshadowed of universities’ wider societal missions. University modernisation process replaced freedom from outside interference by freedom of university senior managers to manage their institutions autonomously to deliver pre-determined policy goals. This quasi-marketisation and individualisation of the academy emphasise measurable activities that generate university surpluses. Entrepreneurial science has always been a problematic notion for those disciplines and activities not closely linked to the market, and especially for those engaged in creating policy- or even community-based knowledge. This paper reflects on how the modern strategic university can contribute to urban social transformation by internally valorising externally useful knowledges that contribute to social justice