Universities face growing challenges to their traditional roles and societal relevance, driven by rapid technological development, artificial intelligence, environmental change, demographic shifts, and declining public trust in science. This Future UniLab visionary output explores how universities can rethink their purpose and adapt to an increasingly complex and uncertain future.

Rather than proposing a single vision of the university of tomorrow, the publication develops a creative toolkit for exploring alternative institutional futures. It introduces three complementary approaches: metaphors, thought experiments, and doughnut models. Through contrasting images of universities as classical concerts and jam sessions, the authors examine the tensions between institutional stability and flexibility, established procedures and creativity, and academic autonomy and societal engagement.

The report demonstrates how these methods can be combined to investigate challenges such as the growing role of AI in education and the changing relationship between universities and society. It advocates participatory reflection and continued experimentation, encouraging the Una Europa community to develop new perspectives on the functions, values, and future relevance of higher education institutions.