Conclusion: What We Know About the Teaching-Research Nexus in the Knowledge-Based Society

The international comparative research “The Academic Profession in the Knowledge-Based Society” (APIKS) indicates that the belief among academics in a creative teaching-research nexus by no means has vanished. The “unity of teaching and research” had been considered to be a key concept of the “modern” university since the beginning of the nineteenth century, but actually had been realized differently across countries, institutional types, and academics’ socio-biographic characteristics – ranging from a clear conceptual dominance of research towards a clear practical dominance in teaching. According to the APIKS comparative survey undertaken in 2017/2018, academics noted – as compared to the academics surveys in two predecessor surveys – a growing political and managerial pressure in many, but not all, countries to pay increasing attention to research. This had some impact on their preferences, their time budget, impact of higher education, and on the visible results of their work, but has not called into question the conviction of the academic profession on the part of the majority of academics. A close link between research and teaching is desirable for the quality of academic work, can be strived for successfully, and is likely to be realized without major conflicts.