The Third Mission and the Social Sciences and Humanities

Along with education and scientific research, universities are more and more involved in their Third Mission (TM) which has been broadly portrayed as the openness of academia towards the socio-economic system. The academic and policy discourse has mainly focused on the contribution of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to the TM, mostly in the domain of the business system via spinoff companies and patents. More recently, the spread of social, health and environmental challenges at global and local level, has reinforced the role of university TMs. Indeed, understanding and solving such challenges require an interdisciplinary approach, where the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSHs) can play a strategic role. This paper briefly reviews both the potential and the challenges of the TM, focusing on the emerging role of the SSHs. Italian TM policy is also presented. Drawing on the lessons learnt from the Italian case, some ideas are proposed to rethink the university and its TM as tools for increasing social justice, sustainable development, and quality of life in local communities.