"Universities are now battlegrounds" (Cornelia Woll, Hertie School at Civica Global Forum 2025)

"I’m not so worried about uncertainty—we’ve always had that. What I’m worried about today is that universities are literally under attack; universities are now battlegrounds. A lot of people want to control what knowledge is produced and how education is delivered. We have to teach people how to think, not what to think”, says Cornelia Woll, President of Hertie School (Germany), on 06/05/2025.

She is speaking at the Global Forum of the European university alliance Civica, of which her school is a member, held at IE University (Madrid). This year's theme focuses on how universities can navigate today’s global uncertainties, ranging from evolving geopolitical landscapes to the emergence of artificial intelligence, highlighting the belief that institutions must lead with intentionality and collaboration.

For Jeremy Perelman, Vice President for International Affairs at Sciences Po (France), "universities worldwide are increasingly under pressure—not only from ideological forces but also from growing public scepticism. This has led to three main challenges for universities: demonstrating…