<p>The future of academic institutions of craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgery will be characterized by chances and opportunities, but also by challenges and risks. The discipline will benefit from a&#xa0;strong presence in fields of both human and dental medicine. Beyond the established coworking within medical fields, there will be many options to collaborate with other partners, for example in technical industries and engineering. Such cooperations will become more relevant during the course of mechanization and digitalization processes in the medical sector. It will be necessary to reform the specialist training for CMF surgery, taking into account the changes in medical healthcare networks and optimally preparing future CMF surgeons for their field of work. The collaboration between teams working in university hospitals can be expected to become more dynamic, with more flexible working time regulations and individualized working conditions.</p>