A terminological study about university-society relations: third mission, socioeconomic surroundings and the evolution of the role of academia

The relationships and interactions between universities and society that go beyond the teaching and research missions have been termed differently by various groups of scholars and in different countries and are more commonly known by the term “university extension”. The different views and interpretations of university missions relate to the development of the understanding of the role of this institution in society. In respect to this, the purpose of the article was to present, based on extensive literature review, the conceptualization of the main terms commonly used to express the university-society relations: third mission, outreach, extension, vinculacion, engagement-community and civic. The research results allow us to conclude that the terms studied arise from very similar situations and purposes, namely: teaching and research missions and responsibilities of the university vis-a-vis new visions of the social pact or contract between academic science and society.