There are dramatic shifts in contemporary advanced economies, that foster creativity move to centre stage. With this, delivery modes in education are being reshaped. Global cultures are spreading in the form of knowledge and research networks. Openness and networking, cross-border people movement, flows of capital, and new knowledge and learning systems are changing the conditions of imagining and producing and the sharing of creative work in different spheres. The economic aspect of creativity refers to the production of new ideas, aesthetic forms, scholarship, works of art and cultural products, as well as scientific inventions and technological innovations. As well digitization has reshaped delivery modes in higher education, reinforced the notion of culture as a symbolic system and led to the spread of global cultures as knowledge cultures. The international symposium will investigate those aspects of higher education in (and as) the creative economy with the objective of extending the dialogue about the relationship between contemporary higher education and the role of universities in the changing face of contemporary economies.

The international symposium adresses the topic of the “Creative University” from a discourse-analytical perspective and analyzes University as epistemic fields and organizational knowledge Cultures in Academia. The first contribution of Michael A. Peters from Waikato University (New Zealand), reflects the present situation of the University as a position of crisis and aims at understanding the conditions of its future possibilities. Problematizing the university as shifting from a public sphere into economization, - in order to reflect on qualities of creativity and future possibilities, the different notions of “public” have to be embraced.

The second contribution by Tina Besley, (Waikato University, New Zealand) analyzes the trends given in academia and reflects on academic creativity. The article claims universities to be creative institutions per se. Cuts and austerity programs shift the traditional role and function towards capitalizing talents , expertise of its employees and academic commercialization. Against those trends, a notion of “Design” Creativity of free speaking, intelligent environments and creative teaching and learning has to be encouraged.

The third paper, given by Susanne Maria Weber (Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany), she reflects on the developmental University, bringing about the “System-Designer” as a new academic Transprofession. Inter- and transdisciplinary programs contribute to shift University into a developmental function for society and use the model of Design of Creation for teaching (Social) Innovation

The fourth contribution by Mete Kurtoglu (Ankara, Turkey) adresses the nature of Innovation in Higher Education and analyzes Higher Education reforms in Turkey. The given global trends in Higher Education policy reforms and the conceptions of human capital and national innovation systems are to be analyzed – the new law of January 2013 shows the frameworks – the analysis clarifies the responses of universities and other stakeholders – and the innovativeness of the given legal frameworks and trends.

In a whole, the symposium addresses different notions of Creativity and Innovation of the University. The discussant Agnieszka Czejkowska (University of Graz, Austria) will reflect on those notions and comment on the papers discussed.