On September 14th, our Vice Chancellor participated in the Vice Chancellors’ Forum hosted by UMU under the theme, “Together: Advancing Higher Education for National Development.” Congratulations to UMU on a well-hosted meeting.
The Forum addressed several important matters affecting higher education. One idea stood out: universities must be managed as strategic business units that generate impactful solutions while remaining relevant, resilient, and financially viable. We keep reflecting on this because it is not always easy for universities. Higher education institutions carry a substantial public mandate: to educate, conduct research, preserve knowledge, promote critical thought and contribute to national development. Yet they must fulfil this mandate in an increasingly difficult environment: rising operational costs, constrained public and donor funding, pressure to keep education affordable, rapidly changing technology, growing competition and evolving labour-market expectations.
The challenge is that society expects universities to deliver excellent teaching, meaningful research, modern infrastructure, student support and community impact, often without providing the resources required to sustain them. A university may have an inspiring mission, but without a sound financial and operational model, that mission becomes difficult to protect.
But first, let's be clear: treating the university as a strategic business unit does not mean reducing education to a commodity or putting profit above purpose, an accusation private universities often face. Rather, it means applying the discipline necessary to sustain the university’s mission. The call to action is clear: universities must understand their costs, use resources responsibly, diversify revenue streams, invest strategically, strengthen accountability, and develop programmes and solutions that meet genuine societal and market needs.
The forum emphasised that universities must look beyond tuition as their primary income source, with research and innovation, consultancy, enterprise development, intellectual property, and purposeful partnerships becoming key engines of both impact and institutional sustainability.
This is a good conversation to have: ultimately universities cannot advance national development if they are themselves financially fragile. Yet remaining academically credible, socially responsive and commercially astute requires more than good ideas. It requires government support, partner commitment, community confidence, and universities' willingness to embrace innovation and responsible enterprise.