Recent years in Poland have been marked by a heated discussion on the system of education in place. A significant contribution to the discussion was the 2018 Law on Higher Education and Science Act, redefining the current operating model of higher education institutions. Tertiary education and the way it is organised are set in a global environment with an indefinite number of stakeholders. The turbulent nature and changeability of this environment has surfaced even more strongly in the light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. All this requires looking at the design of curricula and the delivery of the process of education from a broader angle, identifying the internal and the external stakeholders and determining their expectations as well as the capabilities to affect higher education institutions and the very process of education. The article points to the area of research made in the said domain, offering a description of the current state of affairs.