What are the main tasks of universities: to offer students knowledge and skills
essential tor their future career,or to provide students with access to knowled
ge itself What do you think university education should contain
Universities around the world are now facing the problem of how to efficientl
y use their resources to serve a larger population of students that are more c
ulturally and socially diversified. To solve the problemuniversities should be p
erfectly aware of their main tasks: providing students with easy access to kno
wledge andat the same time encouraging them to make active contribution t
o the advancement of human knowledge.
Universities should first of all be learning communities where knowledge is no
t only disseminated but also advanced. As full-fledged members of this comm
unitystudents should not be information recipients who learn the knowledge i
n a passive way. Insteadthey should be challenged to achieve their potential a
ndindeedto excel. Thereforerather than focus merely on knowledge dissemina
tion and transferuniversities should contrive to provide learning conditions tha
t encourage students to remain curiousto value diversity in opinions and persp
ectivesand to think critically and communicate effectively. In this waystudents c
an gain problem-solving experience and confidence.
Furthermoreuniversities will never attain their goals if they tailor all their cours
es or programs to meet the needs of specific employers or occupational secto
rs. Today's social environment is more dynamic and turbulent than ever before
. Only those graduates who possess certain personality traits and can do well i
n diversified situations can distifnguish themselves from other job applicants.
In order to fulfill the main tasks of universitiesuniversity education should con
tain amply opportunities for independen learning which can cultivate student
s who are more likely to adapt to the changing society.Students can also learn
to exercise their autonomy more effectivelyand they may clarify their own pro
fessional interests while learning in an independent way.