Non-standard higher education recipients as an important area of the university’s third mission. Examples of good practices of Polish and German universities

• Main Authors: Daniel Kukla, Wioleta Duda
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Łukasiewicz Research Network – The Institute for Sustainable Technologies 2020-03-01
• Series: Edukacja Ustawiczna Dorosłych
• Subjects: third mission of universities; transit; good practices; activation
• Online Access: https://edukacjaustawicznadoroslych.eu/images/2020/1/01_1_2020.pdf

The article concerns the third mission activities implemented by universities, which activate local community and act on its behalf. The main goal of the article is to present current trends and scope of the third mission of universities through a critical analysis of domestic and foreign literature and presentation of relevant good practices. To this end, the concept of the third mission was discussed, i.e. various activities of universities dedicated to specific groups. The accompanying goal of the article is to answer the question about the importance of the third mission in management strategies of universities in Poland in relation to the traditional tasks of universities - education and research. Universities undertake initiatives for the benefit of the local community by involving various groups of recipients, including groups at risk of social exclusion. This is an important initiative from the social point of view because it changes the university into a place accessible to all interested, a building in which both a preschooler and an elderly person can feel good and develop. The third mission not only affects students and its employees, but also shapes the knowledge society, builds social capital, reaches economic and cultural benefits, and it allows the diffusion of knowledge.