In Between Matters of Concern and Matters of Care. Rethinking the Third Mission of Higher Education

This article introduces the notions of ‘matters of concern’ and ‘matters of care’, developed in the field of social studies of science and technology, into the debate about the Third Mission (TM) of University. These notions are employed to problematize the assumption that tends to see the social and the technical as discrete and stable entities, uncovering a view on TM as a domain in which interventions are essentially separated from knowledge and research practices. Joining the growing body of literature in education that underlines the mutual entailment of human and non-human actors, the paper provides examples taken from an EU sociotechnical project on how research, knowledge, politics and public advocacy are co-constituted as matters of concern and matters of care. Ultimately, it is suggested that understanding TM as ‘matters of concern’ and ‘matters of care’ can provide novel insights on the epistemological tensions derived from the neoliberal transformations that are investing higher education, thus becoming an important field of action for the affirmation of university in society and for the remaking of the academic profession.