From the very first discussions of Future UNILAB, reaching beyond academia and genuinely influencing society was a key theme. What is still missing from the debate is a simple point: the university exists for society — not as a teacher telling society what it should do or how it should understand democracy, but as a host. Universities should invite everyone to join them for a shorter or longer time, to enjoy education, research and the testing of ideas and problems. What is lacking today is a truly inviting environment for non-academics: not professors, not students, but ordinary people who may have no interest in university education at all.