DIES Perspectives

The Role of Universities in Society:
Opportunities and Challenges for Higher Education Management

Wednesday, 14 October 2026, 14:00 – 16:00 (CET) / 13:00 – 15:00 (UTC)

Higher education institutions are a vital part of society, playing a key role in generating new knowledge, training skilled professionals, driving economic and social innovation, and developing solutions to pressing future challenges. However, the relationship between universities and society is not without its tensions, and higher education institutions worldwide are currently facing increasing pressure to prove their societal value. Based on universities’ focus on study, teaching and research, addressing regional and local needs is therefore of particular importance for the relevance and societal acceptance of higher education institutions. Higher education management plays a pivotal role in this endeavour, which extends far beyond the mere transmission of knowledge.

This web seminar aims to explore the relationship between universities and society. What are the major expectations and how can they be addressed most effectively? What strategies can be employed to foster fruitful and mutually beneficial collaboration with local and regional communities, and who are the relevant stakeholders? What is the role of higher education management in this context? Based on different examples of how universities develop this special relationship, the session will encourage an open discussion about current societal needs and demands, specific challenges and how these can be addressed in a constructive way.

Recording of DIES Spotlight

DIES Spotlight, 15 July 2026

Equity, Partnership, Impact: Rethinking Internationalisation in Higher Education

Moderation

Björn Müller-Bohlen

Organization: Reflexionsinstanz

Björn Müller-Bohlen designs and moderates international online and offline events in the fields of education, civil society and science. He has a background in media as well as cultural studies, works as a facilitator and supports organizational development processes. Björn is passionate about open space formats and co-creation.

Welcome

Iris Danowski

Deputy Head of the International Department of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK)

Iris Danowski studied Spanish and French Language and Literature and History of Art at the University of Cologne and the University of Seville, Spain. In 1991, she started her career as ERASMUS coordinator of the University of Cologne. In 1994, she changed to the German Rectors’ Conference as Head of Section for Europe. In the second half of the nineties, she started building up the cooperation with Latin American partners for the HRK and has been coordinating that field since then. Iris Danowski is member of the Steering Committee of the DIES-International Deans’ Course for Latin America, HRK’s Audit team “Internationalisation of Universities” and Steering Committee of the CUAA/DAHZ.

Tobias Wolf

Head of Section, Development Cooperation – Higher Education Management (P32), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Tobias Wolf joined the DAAD 20 years ago and possesses extensive experience in the field of higher education management, university cooperation and quality assurance in higher education. He currently works as Head of Section “Development Cooperation – Partnership Programmes, Alumni Projects and Higher Education Management” at DAAD headquarters in Bonn. Tobias Wolf coordinates one of the DAAD flagship programmes in the field of higher education management “Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies” (DIES). Moreover, he is actively involved in the implementation of various EU-funded projects. Tobias Wolf holds a Magister Artium in Spanish and Latin American Studies, Literature and Sociology from Bielefeld University, Germany. He spent one year of his studies at the University of Cádiz, Spain.

Keynote speaker

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Howaldt, TU Dortmund University

Director of Social Research Centre at TU Dortmund University

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Howaldt is the director of Social Research Centre Dortmund, TU Dortmund University, and professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences. He is an internationally renowned expert in the field of social innovation and co-founder and chair of the European School of Social Innovation. In recent years, he has provided important impetus for the development of social innovation research and the formation of a scientific research community. He has published a number of books and scientific articles and has been involved in a number of European research projects on this topic in various roles.

Panelists

Dr Mary Mwadulo

Department of Computer Science, School of Computing and Informatics, Meru University of Science and Technology, Kenya

Dr Mary Mwadulo is the Dean of the School of Computing and Informatics at Meru University of Science and Technology, Kenya, and a senior lecturer with over ten years of experience in teaching, research, and academic leadership in computing. Her academic interests include machine learning, predictive health systems, and responsible computing, with a strong emphasis on the ethical and impactful applications of artificial intelligence. In academic leadership, Dr Mwadulo has served as Chairperson of the Department of Computer Science and has led several key university committees. She currently provides strategic leadership as Dean, with responsibilities in curriculum development, quality assurance, strategic planning, and institutional development. Her research leadership includes serving as Principal Investigator for a Mozilla Foundation Responsible Computing Challenge grant focused on integrating ethical and responsible AI practices into computing education. She is also a Co-Principal Investigator for an IDRC-sponsored project examining the intersection of artificial intelligence and the labour market. In addition, she actively participates in various forums advancing frameworks for the responsible adoption of AI in higher education.

Dr Mastura Azmi

Deputy Director, University Academic QA Center, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Mastura Azmi is currently the director for the University Academic Quality Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia. She is also a senior lecturer in geotechnical engineering at the School of Civil Engineering, USM. Prior to holding the director post, she was the deputy director of the office and was the deputy dean of academic, career, and international at the School of Civil Engineering and the academic manager for the same school.

She holds a doctorate from Kyoto University, Japan (graduated 2014), and a master’s degree from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under the geotechnical engineering specialization (graduated 2005). Her research interests include landslide risk reduction, unsaturated soil mechanics, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), engineering education, and outcome-based education. Her research interest aligns with her research grants and projects, which involve collaborations with CREAM-CIDB, Erasmus, MOHE, and universities.

Mastura Azmi is a qualified auditor for several authorities such as the Malaysia Qualification Agency, the ASEAN University Network QA, and the Board of Engineers, Malaysia, for the Engineering Technology Accreditation Council. She is a professional engineer under the Board of Engineers, Malaysia, and also a professional technologist under the Malaysia Board of Technologist.

Dr Ivón Aida Cepeda Mayorga

Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, Tecnologico de Monterrey

Ivón holds a PhD in Humanistic Studies with an emphasis in Ethics from the Tecnológico de Monterrey (2012), a Master’s degree in Political Philosophy from the University of York, UK (2004), and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Tecnológico de Monterrey (2001). She has been a member of the National System of Research in Mexico at Level 1 since 2014. Throughout her career at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, she has held both academic and management roles: she began as an assistant in the Humanities Department in 2006, later served as Program Director for two undergraduate programs at Campus Santa Fe, Chair of the Humanities Department (2011–2014), Research Professor at the School of Humanities and Education from 2014, coordinator of the Erasmus+ project Students4Change (2017–2019), and since 2022 she has served as Associate Dean of Faculty. In terms of research, she published the book La tolerancia, una virtud necesaria para la Convivencia (Editorial Porrúa, 2016) and has contributed articles and chapters to national and international journals and collective works on topics such as peace, the body, violence, and migration. She is also a member of the Editorial Committee of En-Claves del Pensamiento (indexed in Scopus), a member of the UNESCO Chair in Ethics, Peace Culture and Human Rights at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, and has coordinated the Research Group on Humanities for Sustainable Development since 2021.

Programme

"Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies" (DIES)

Universities throughout the world are operating in an increasingly dynamic environment characterised by global challenges. They face intense competition for students, highly qualified researchers and third-party funding. This holds true for developing countries too, where the demand for tertiary education has been skyrocketing over the last decades.

In light of these developments, higher education management in all its particulars is becoming more and more important in the field of international development cooperation. The programme “Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies” (DIES) has been jointly developed and coordinated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) since 2001. DIES is strengthening capacities in higher education management, both on individual and institutional level. It offers a wide range of tailored activities training courses, dialogue events and university partnerships. – These activities not only foster the competences of academic staff, but also contribute to the enhancement of institutional management at universities in developing countries. DIES focuses on three key partner regions: Africa, Spanish-speaking Latin America and Southeast Asia. Funding is provided by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

About

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

The DAAD is a joint organisation of German institutions of higher education and their student bodies, devoted to internationalising the academic and scientific research system. With its broad range of scholarship programmes, the DAAD enables students, researchers and university lecturers to take advantage of the best study and research opportunities. Since it was founded in 1925, more than 2.5 million scholars in Germany and abroad have received DAAD funding. Apart from the scholar ship programmes the DAAD supports the internationalisation of German universities, promotes German studies and the German language abroad, advises decision makers on matters of cultural, education and development policy and assists developing countries in establishing effective universities by means of special programmes.

German Rectors’ Conference (HRK)

The German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) is the association of state and state-recognised universities in Germany. The HRK currently has 269 member institutions, in which over 90 per cent of all students in Germany are enrolled. The HRK functions as the voice of the universities in dialogue with politicians and the public and as the central forum for opinion-forming in the higher education sector. The HRK cooperates with universities and corresponding organisations all over the world. Its aim is to represent the interest of German universities at an international level and to support German universities in their internationalisation process.