CHALLENGES IN THE FUNCTIONS AND BENEFITS OF THE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The public university is a long-standing historical institution whose evolution, from the first forms of higher education to its contemporary configuration, allows us to understand its role in advanced training, the production of knowledge, critical deliberation and social transformation. This paper examines the emergence of the university, the development of its substantive functions such as teaching, research, extension, innovation and social interaction, and the importance of its physical and technological infrastructure, its university community, quality, evaluation and coverage. It also analyses structural tensions associated with funding, autonomy, academic-administrative organisation, university well-being, digital transformation and the relationship with the environment. It is concluded that the strengthening of the public university requires articulating quality, inclusion, sustainability, participatory governance, strategic planning and prospective vision, to expand its mission and its social effect in the region and in the world.