The future of the university. Reflections on academic freedom, education and innovative research

The celebration of 600 years of KU Leuven is an opportunity for the Leuven Institute for Advanced Study (LIAS) to focus the international and interdisciplinary reflection on the future of the university. What role does the university have to play today in a rapidly changing society, and what will that role look like in the near future? How can the university best prepare for that role, and what choices does that entail today? In December 2025, LIAS therefore invited various international fellows to reflect on these questions in a series of expert seminars and public lectures. The central themes were ‘academic freedom and activism’, ‘the future of academic education’ and ‘the role of university research in technological and social innovation’. Three topics, and for each of them two internationally renowned researchers came to Leuven. All six fellows reflected in a short text on these themes, expressing their wishes for the future of a broad university such as KU Leuven. In this collection, you can read what they wish for Leuven in the near and distant future.