Exportación a Italia del concepto renovado

Universities exist in almost all countries of the world and they are the centres of knowledge and research. A university is an institution that offers higher education,

57 participates in research and grants academic qualifications to learners in different subjects. A university provides both undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Historically, the word university came from the Latin phrase “universitas magistrorum et scholarium”, which describes a "community of teachers and scholars” (Chisholm 2009:1). It appears that “the medieval Madrasahs known as Jami'ah ("university" in Arabic) founded in the 9th century” are the first examples of a university because they were institutions of higher education and research and they offered academic degrees at all levels such as bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate (Bump 2008:2). These madrasahs represented the highest level of education in the formal education system just like today’s university does.The oldest university in the world is believed to be Al-Azhar, founded by the Fatimids in 969AD or 970AD (Smith quoted in Kasozi 2003: xv; Assie- Lumumba 2006: 26). Al-Azhar still exists today and awards both degrees and diplomas. Therefore, universities started to gain shape in the 9th and 10th centuries. They existed as centres of higher learning and creating, preserving and disseminating knowledge and skills.

During the mediaeval period, many universities were founded in Western Europe with the support of the Catholic Church and, in some cases, kings. In Europe, the first universities included the University of Bologna in (1088), the University of Oxford (1167), the University of Cambridge (1209), the University of Salamanca (1218), the University of Montpellier (1220), the University of Padua (1222), the University of Naples Federico II (1224), and the University of Toulouse (1229). Many universities were former high schools that got elevated to university status by the monasteryauthorities or other powers.

After the 14thcentury, the modern university started to gain shape. Universities transformed themselves into modern research institutions. Many external influences, such as the eras ofhumanism, enlightenment, reformation, and revolution shaped the research that universities carried out during their development. By the 18th century, universities were publishing their own research journals and by the 19th century theyhad

58 gained a lot of influence and independence (Chisholm 2009:2). However, the basic structure and aims of universities remained constant over the years.

Until the 19thcentury, religion played a significant role in university curriculum development. However, the role of religion in research universities decreased in the 19th century, and more so by the end of the 19th century. Universities concentrated on science in the 19th and 20th centuries and became increasingly accessible to the masses. For example, in Britain the move from the Industrial Revolution to modernity saw the arrival of new civic universities with an emphasis on science and engineering. The British also established universities worldwide, and higher education became available to the masses not only in Europe but elsewhereas well. The university remained the centre of knowledge creation and the torch bearer of research, innovation and national transformation. Gradually, university system transformed itself from the mediaeval university to the modern one.

The modern university

Today’s university can be public, private-for-profit or private-not-for-profit. A public university is one that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or local government (Chisholm 2009:1). Private universities belong to individuals or private organisations and, therefore, depend on private resources to run their affairs. Some countries keep public universities under the full control of government; while others grant them reasonable freedom to manage their own affairs. Some African countries, for example Uganda, allow private wings to be established in public universities. Students admitted toa public university under the private arrangement pay full or slightly subsidised tuition and share the same classes and other learning resources with fellow students under the publicly sponsored scheme.

A modern university brings men and women to a high level of intellectual development in a wide range of disciplines ranging from the arts and sciences to the traditional professional disciplines. A modern university also promotes a high level of research among the lecturers and students. A university is, on one hand, a community of persons

59 engaged in study and research and, on the other, a source of highly trained manpower for the professions (Abdalla 1977: 32-33). The role of the university in affecting society affairs is further explained:

The university is that place in our society where we come to an understanding of ourselves as individuals committed to specific projects within a community having a recognisable culture and a shared identity. This is the role, not so much for which the university was created, but which it created for itself. From its origin in medieval society the university enacted a place to theorise the contingencies of the human situation, to assemble theory into the coherence and unity of science, and to initiate the next generation of scholars and citizens into the discourse appropriate to the engagements of society(Crawley 2000: 29).

Crawley’s statement presents a university as a centre for reflection where people meditate and rediscover themselves, and where people theorise and document their theories. This statement depicts a sophisticated image of a university as an institution of highly intelligent and analytical individuals. It also explains the university as a practical and culture-oriented institution, in addition to its theoretical focus. According to Waghid (quoted in Assie-Lumumba 2006: 46), the university can also serve as a ‘community of reason’ as well as an actor in the process of nation-building. From this viewpoint, a university can be strong in both intellectual matters and in outreach to the social ‘real’ world. Hence the university playsa double role of being internally effective and externally socially responsive. To this end, university education can deliver graduates with education capabilities (see also 4.5).