Lecture: Universities and Socioeconomic Inequality – Equalising Access but Creating Elites?

Speaker: Dr. Toon Kuppens, Work and Organisational Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences (BSS)

About the lecture

In this lecture, Dr. Toon Kuppens explores the complex relationship between universities and socioeconomic inequality. While universities can serve as powerful tools for promoting equal opportunitiesparticularly for ethnic minority and first-generation students, they may also contribute to the emergence of social divisions.

Dr. Kuppens discusses how access to higher education can reduce inequality, but also how the possession of a university degree increasingly sets individuals apart, potentially reinforcing elitism and societal divides. What role does higher education play in the rise of populism and anti-science sentiment? And have universities inadvertently created a class of professionals perceived as distant or superior?

Join us for an engaging and timely discussion on the societal impact of higher education.

This lecture is open to all interested students and staff.