For the last two hundred years, research universities have been engines driving human progress and have paved a pathway of opportunity for individual students, citizens, nations and humanity as a whole. Advances in the learning sciences, digital technologies and global collaboration provide an unprecedented and historic opportunity to re-envision the research university in the new millennium. This session will focus on key trends impacting the research university, examples of alternative prototype curricular models and a new design intended to advance intellectual and creative freedom and to accelerate learning, discovery, creation and invention well beyond existing frontiers.