ABSTRACT
The first chapter introduces the reader to the situation and contemporary challenges facing higher education institutions (HEIs) in the context of their functions. It also defines the concept of the third, social mission of the university and tries to place it in the contemporary reality of the functioning of HEIs. This chapter further presents what inter-organisational cooperation is and explains how HEIs cooperate with their environment and stakeholders – most often business organisations. In particular, it presents determinants, motivations, forms and benefits of cooperation between universities and private, public and non-governmental organisations, as well as its expected and unexpected consequences. Finally, based on the literature on the subject, selected models of the university's cooperation with the environment are presented.
