ABSTRACT
Increasing attention has been given in higher education to the need for change in the type of education being offered and in the way it is delivered. The rapidly globalising world, the fourth industrial revolution, and shifting demographics, among other things, pose challenges to the higher education sector which must be met for it to maintain its relevance and continue to fulfil its role in society. Increasingly accountable both to society in general and to their students in particular, higher education institutions are caught in a tension between an endemic resistance to change, a quality agenda which often feeds inertia rather than instigating change, and social demands for innovation. In this chapter, on the basis of our experience in senior management at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, we reflect on the importance of institutional culture in the introduction of quality academic practices which are both innovative and sustainable. We will argue that a transformative institutional culture can be developed through an inclusive, persistent, and comprehensive approach, involving a range of multiplying elements. Such a culture should involve teachers, senior management, students, external stakeholders, and technical support staff in an on-going process of transformation which must be systemic and interconnected, and secured and supported within a network of local, regional, national, and international institutional partners.
