The Current Crisis of Higher Education and the Necessary University Project (NUP): A Case Study in Evolutionary Systems Design

Higher Education is at an epochal turning point. And so are universities, which have been, for centuries, the core of higher education. In this article, we will argue that the university we need most for “surfing” this epochal crisis is one able to develop organic structures to cope with the dynamic and evolving systemic challenges that the crisis poses to higher education and, at large, humanity. Accordingly, in the following, we will present a case study in evolutionary systems design at the University of Ibagué. We will describe how, beginning with a project seed of a Necessary University, this project has evolved over the last ten years into an organic structure better fit to cope with the dynamics of the crisis. Moreover, this evolutionary approach to systems design allows the university board to have a more systemic comprehension of the crisis and better management of some of the current epochal challenges to Higher Education. © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

• Autores: López-Garay, Hernán; González López, José Jair
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2025
• Institución: Universidad de Ibagué
• Repositorio: Repositorio Universidad de Ibagué
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.unibague.edu.co:20.500.12313/5519
• Acceso en línea: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12313/5519; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01969722.2023.2175151
• Palabra clave: Educación superior - Crisis; Proyecto Universitario Necesario (NUP); Sistemas evolutivos - Diseño; Epochal turning point; Evolutionary design; Higher education; Necessary university
• Rights: openAccess
• License: © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.