University dilemmas and challenges from the intersection of visions between teachers and students

Abstract

When voices are heard about the dilemmas and challenges facing universities, they come mainly from politicians, managers, academics, businesspeople and representatives of civil society. But rarely experiences and opinions of students are made visible. In this article we set out to bring young students into the conversation, starting with the question: how do young university students situate themselves and think of themselves in an institution that, in general terms, does not take their needs and expectations into account? An institution that imagines them as consumers of knowledge and skills that, in many cases, acts as a seller of diplomas and that does not consider who they are, how they learn and how they approach their present future. To this end, after giving an account of what allows us to think about the current situation of the University, we cross-reference it with what the young people say in the meetings linked to the research project TRAY-AP.