Here’s one way it’s relevant: universities are structured according to a philosophical opinion about the nature of the universe (or at least the nature of knowledge about the universe). That set of decisions in turn steers, at a very fundamental level, the path and velocity of scientific inquiry.
Did you get much exposure to the philosophy of science during your masters? I imagine the answer would be yes, but I am surprised that concept doesn't ring a bell as it sounds quite similar to what Kuhn describes in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, although not necessarily with universities as the institutions upholding scientific paradigms
