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What are Universities For?
“… today’s Western governments are also half-right. They are right that universities have a public responsibility but wrong that this responsibility amounts to little more than economic responsiveness....
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The Mission
“What are Universities for? Humans are tool using primates. What kind of tool is a University, and what sets it apart from the other tools in the box. There seems to be two answers to this …” (more)...
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What’s the point of universities?
“… However, the Little Review is back now and over the next few weeks in particular, the blog is going to address the ongoing crisis within Irish academia through a series of articles. What are...
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Philip Nolan at IGNITE Dublin #8
“Philip Nolan gives his talk at the IGNITE night at the Science Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin in December 2011.” (video) [YouTube, 15 February] [HT: Conor Houghton]
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What are universities for?
“Poor English universities. No one knows what they’re for anymore. But it’s so obvious! So here’s my handy guide to help you figure it out …” (more) [PhD Octopus, 17 February]
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What Are Universities For? by Stefan Collini – review
“The rhetorical question is a hollow-sounding device, much favoured by monologuising dons: asked for the sake of effect, it doesn’t feel obliged to provide an answer. Stefan Collini addresses the empty...
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Fragmented higher education needs to pull together to be competitive
“In a book published in 1968, two Belgian academics identified five different types of university models: Anglo-Saxon, German, American, French and Soviet. Their ideas can be reduced to the following...
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Education needs freedom from markets
“… But the funding crisis hides another, deeper crisis. What are universities for? At the same time as tuition fees were flagged, the HEA announced a number of reviews, including one to look at ‘how...
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Defining the University
“On Sunday December 2nd 1787, John Lettice rose to preach at the University of Cambridge about a subject close to his heart – the state of British universities …” (more) [Eoin Lettice, Communicate...
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U-Multirank and the brave new world of academia
“Last week I attended a conference run as part of the Irish EU Presidency. It had a rather obtuse name ‘Rankings and the Visibility of Quality Outcomes in the European Higher Education Area’ which for...
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The Practical University
“The best part of the rise of online education is that it forces us to ask: What is a university for? Are universities mostly sorting devices to separate smart and hard-working high school students...
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Review Symposium on Collini’s What are Universities for?
“Sociology, a leading journal of the British Sociological Association, has asked four sociologists – Frank Furedi, John Brewer, John Holmwood, and Michael Bailey – to review Stefan Collini’s book, What...
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Colleges must step up to meet our needs
“As it faces the ongoing challenge of economic and social progress, Ireland must be able to rely on an education system that is fit for purpose. Higher education plays a key role in developing the...
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When did university become a factory?
“What has happened to the places of free thought and experimentation, where minds expanded? Well done to all those who got the A-levels they needed to get into university, hopefully to study subjects...
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Innovation Talk
“Why do we have universities? What are they for and who are they meant to serve? It seems they are being pulled first in one direction and then in another, serving one master and then a second, with...
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The end of the university? Not likely
“Although the global apocalypse did not occur on 21 December 2012, the year 2012 was full of apocalyptic headlines about the end of the university as we know it …” (more) [Eric Beerkens, University...
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The Ronnie Munck Questions Answered
“Here are my ‘answers’ to the Ronnie Munck questions. Apologies for the length! 1. Is the university a public good and if so, what does that mean? What level of industry input in its teaching and...
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The university debate: academic expertise in the conversation
“If you are interested in how the university system is changing, or perhaps how it should change, there is plenty for you to read …” (more) [Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 15 October]
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Why ‘The University’ is not a useful concept
“I wrote last week about how the modern university has developed in recent years. The purpose of that post was to try to bring some sense of reality to ongoing discussions about the ‘The University’....
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Competency-based education?
“It would be nice to think that students entering a university – and their parents, teachers and counsellors – followed this route in order to broaden their minds, acquire knowledge and skills, and...
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