Transformation is the only way forward
In his Dies Lecture, Ioan Fazey lays out how universities need to radically transform to help address the unprecedented crisis the world is facing. Here, he talks to us about fear of the inevitable, impediments to change and what roles universities can play.
Ioan Fazey’s message is, he concedes, scary. We are facing a civilisational crisis which we won’t be able to solve by doing what we have done but then better. “We are seeing the end of the world as we know it, from the wide-ranging effects of climate change, of growing inequality, of states struggling to provide the care and support they used to. The scale and complexity of these challenges is unprecedented, and their cause is the way society is organised.” There are no quick fixes, no subtle adjustments to the status quo that can address the crisis.
Fazey differentiates three types of emergencies: manifest, conceptual and existential. The first is of an operational nature, that is what actions need taking to achieve a concrete goal; the second refers to mindsets and worldviews, whereas the third extends to our sense of who we are and why we exist. With the old order crumbling and a new one yet to emerge, we face a period of great uncertainty and existential doubt. This obviously ties in very neatly with the theme of this year’s Dies Natalis celebration around the purpose of universities in the 21st century.
Dies lecture: the role of universities
“It was great to be asked to speak at this special celebration,” says Fazey. “I’m really excited by the opportunity to get my ideas across and inspire people to rethink things.” According to him, there is a need for self-reflection in the academic sector. “Universities have been a significant driver of the phenomenal changes we have seen in the last 200 years or so. But that also means they have been complicit in this crisis, either directly by developing the technology that has led to it – arms, modes of travel, AI etc – or indirectly, just by being part of the process from which emerged, among other things, climate change.”
Change is a constant but to face this crisis, we will have to transform; to explain the difference, he relies on his zoology degree. “A common example is the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. The caterpillar, when turning into a chrysalis, disaggregates and reallocates its resources to become something fundamentally different, with a different function and purpose.” In doing so, it ceases to exist in its current form. Caterpillars, though, aren’t petrified by existential crises – to the best of our knowledge.

Dogmatically stuck
“As a society we are dogmatically stuck in certain ways of doing things. Becoming more efficient within the same paradigm won’t help.” Universities, naturally, suffer the same predicament. “We privilege problem analysis over teaching ways of getting things done. We deem science good when it considers its object in a disinterested, detached way. But that doesn’t equip you with the skills or the mindset to affect change.” Here, Fazey refers to Aristotle, who next to academic knowledge also cites procedural knowledge – how to do things – as well as practical wisdom, so the question what the right, the prudent thing to do is.
Unsurprisingly, Fazey is a fan of Maastricht University’s Problem-Based Learning approach. “It’s really unique to have an institution with that as its basis. It chimes with the action-oriented ways of teaching and researching that I’m calling for.” He dismisses the idea that universities are just inconsequential service providers tossed around by market forces. “A cultural shift can start on the individual level. Small-scale changes really matter – even a conversation or just a smile can make a big difference.” Accordingly, he also advocates for teaching students to be reflexive and understand their own emotions, e.g. through therapeutic counselling.
While Fazey doesn’t want to be prescriptive when it comes to the direction and outcomes, he thinks universities have to seize this opportunity to use the resources still available to transform themselves, to rethink their purpose in society. “The problem,” he concedes, “is that no one really has a mandate for radical transformation, which is very scary. Inertia and fear lead us to want to reinforce existing structures.”
“It’s really unique to have an institution with Problem-Based Learning as its basis. It chimes with the action-oriented ways of teaching and researching that I’m calling for.”
Ioan FazeyFacilitating transformation
Since transformation is inherently risky, there rarely is much appetite for it. “People see the old paradigms crumbling around them, but they are stuck in the existing systemic and incentive structures.” The implication is that decision-makers understand, to some extent, what is coming but feel unable to effect change. In his Dies lecture, Fazey will focus on how to facilitate transformation in organisations, what the challenges are and how different types of mindsets can contribute.
Initially trained as an ecologist and zoologist, Fazey realised that the traditional scientific mindset had limits. “I wasn’t really finding the answers I needed and realised that ecology was fundamentally a people problem.” He shifted to social science and studied how people understand complex problems, e.g. farmers and Parks and Wildlife staff in Australia, as well as the role of experiential knowledge among indigenous communities in the South Pacific. Since then, he has been working to build communities of facilitators to orient change in various communities.
Accepting we are already in a transformation is, according to Fazey, an important first step when considering how to renew our universities. While it is important to work resolutely to steward change, it is also necessary to let go of the attachment to our current paradigm and embrace the inevitable. “Yes, what we are facing is scary and quite possibly unpleasant, but it’s just another part of the evolution of our planet and human consciousness. Transformation is the only way forward.”
Text: Florian Raith
You can watch the Dies Natalis celebration and Ioan Fazey’s lecture here.

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