Mission of universities in the 21 st century. The Polish example

Abstract

The author, the rector of the University of Warsaw and the chairperson of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland, presents her thoughts on the mission of universities in the 21 st century and attempts to answer the following questions: (a) How can this mission be defined nowadays? (b) What kind of factors will determine whether a university functions well or not? (c) Do universities still have autonomy nowadays? In the finał section of the paper the author presents her own point of view on the current condition of higher education in Poland.