Universities worldwide are facing a number of contradictory and competing pressures that range from under-funding to the very nature of universities and their roles in society. Pressures of the information explosion, the democratization of information through access to the Internet, and the advent of the knowledge-based economies have changed the educational landscape and universities are under threat. To survive universities need to reform. We must graduate citizens with a broader, interdisciplinary knowledge and an ability to take responsibility for their own learning. At the University of Guelph, we have turned the telescope around and are offering small group introductory courses during the first year of university. Through interdisciplinary, enquiry-based courses we help students develop critical thinking and research skills at the start of their university careers. We have charted the impact of this approach and document significant improvements in motivation, academic achievement, critical thinking, library and other resources use, and personal development. Contact time with faculty is reduced and students have a deeper and more sophisticated approach to learning. The presentation will explore how this approach can be used to create a different type of university education that is more relevant to our complex world.