University funding through commercial companies
Kushara Navaratne | 15.12.2006 18:59 | Education
Universities are under continued pressure (financial) to maintain an educational establishment whilst the govenment continually reduces funding and introduce schemes that make the university a 'cost-effective' institution. The schemes involve key academic personnel from universities, potentially hindering the learning of the undergraduate/postgraduate student.
danr - removed (non)author's email address at request of (non)author
danr - removed (non)author's email address at request of (non)author
Recent government funding cuts to universities have only encouraged universities to introduce their own 'fund-raising' ventures and hop-on the bandwagon with the government sponsored Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (otherwise known as KTP's in the commercial world).
These ventures are promising the customer (or the investor) several benefits to get ahead of the market, with 'consultancy' from leading academics. These academics will be the professors' and lecturers' normally close at hand for the undergraduate/postgraduate students' guidance. Not only is the modern undergraduate/postgraduate paying for a 'service'. i.e. Education. The lecturers' that provide this 'service' are blunted by the forces that are driving the modern university into inventing the most cost-effective lift or escalator. It is not the purpose of this posting to discuss the justification of the inventions,as they can have a multitude of socially/nationally/globally beneficial uses such as sustainable energy/medical applications etc.
Performance targets (again a commercial term) and pressure on academic staff will only dent the knowlege dissimated to students. Commercial Institutions' will ebb their own ' policies' and 'procedures' and corporate culture in to universities. Companies' hold on the university (through funding) can potentially have a detrimental effect on the breed of graduates that they (University and Company) together foster.
These ventures are promising the customer (or the investor) several benefits to get ahead of the market, with 'consultancy' from leading academics. These academics will be the professors' and lecturers' normally close at hand for the undergraduate/postgraduate students' guidance. Not only is the modern undergraduate/postgraduate paying for a 'service'. i.e. Education. The lecturers' that provide this 'service' are blunted by the forces that are driving the modern university into inventing the most cost-effective lift or escalator. It is not the purpose of this posting to discuss the justification of the inventions,as they can have a multitude of socially/nationally/globally beneficial uses such as sustainable energy/medical applications etc.
Performance targets (again a commercial term) and pressure on academic staff will only dent the knowlege dissimated to students. Commercial Institutions' will ebb their own ' policies' and 'procedures' and corporate culture in to universities. Companies' hold on the university (through funding) can potentially have a detrimental effect on the breed of graduates that they (University and Company) together foster.
Kushara Navaratne