Higher Education Futures Series

Higher education will be at the heart of the island’s recovery from the pandemic but will also create and offer new ways to invest in our people and local communities, our world-leading research, and creating a more equal and sustainable future for the next generation.

The Royal Irish Academy Higher Education Futures Taskforce has published a series of discussion papers outlining how higher education can lead the way when it comes to creating new opportunities, developing and supporting talent, research, skills, sustainability, equality on the island of Ireland in the years to 2035. 

The series of discussion papers from the Academy each focus on a priority area within the HE system; vision and values, research and innovation, regions, the future landscape and issues related to equality, diversity and inclusion. 

The Academy sets out a vision of a resilient, sustainable, creative and inclusive higher education sector, serving the public and underpinning the economic, social and cultural needs of the island. It envisages a future for higher education in Ireland and Northern Ireland which nurtures and supports the potential and talents of students, staff and researchers, which is recognised for the excellence of its research across the full spectrum of inquiry, fosters creativity and innovative mind-sets, is actively engaged with local communities, civil society and business and industry, and anticipates and responds to global challenges.