Increasingly, universities are being asked to prove their contribution to society. Many citizens, aided by social media, have become more overtly critical of science and the democratisation of knowledge has challenged higher education as the sole proprietors of knowledge. Just as important are doubts about the legitimacy of the university that are coming from within. Emerging critiques have questioned the priorities and pressures of the neoliberal university, with some denizens wondering if the university has become too insular, too unmoored from – particularly local – society. The call to become more socially engaged has become more pronounced.
