Editorial — Reconfiguring Higher Education: Societal Relevance, Future Competences, and Institutional Transformation

Abstract

This editorial introduces the first of two companion special issues exploring the ongoing transformation of higher education in response to societal, technological, and labour-market change. Drawing on contributions from the 2025 Annual Conference of the German Society for Higher Education Research (GfHf), the issue focuses on societal relevance, Future Skills, artificial intelligence, and institutional and curricular transformation. Across six contributions, it highlights the need to understand societal relevance as negotiated and context-dependent, competence development as multidimensional, and institutional transformation as a process balancing continuity and change. Together, the articles provide conceptual, empirical, and pedagogical perspectives on how higher education can respond responsibly to changing societal expectations and uncertain futures.