It's all a little disturbing, isn't it? I went to university in Ireland and the UK, and am now back in Ireland - and while we have issues in the 3rd level sector here (and where doesn't?), conversations with my UK colleagues (with a few exceptions) - even in the Russell group universities - pretty consistently indicate a level of unhappiness and disenchantment that is surprising to me.
What seems to me to keep the show on the road is loyalty to colleagues, the ideals of a university, and loyalty to their own institutions.
Imagine a world in which the REF and other exercises in bureaucratic cruelty were simply done away, and academics could concentrate on research and teaching (with a small bit of unavoidable admin on the side).
I've no solutions to offer: there is a broader cultural issue to be addressed regarding the role of the universities in the UK. At the top end, they are truly world-class, and are a significant national asset with considerable international soft power. The sector needs to be recognised as such.
Interesting to hear the outside perspective. I think you make a good point about loyalty - a sense of duty to colleagues and students seems to be the only thing sustaining things from the academics I speak to. When a sector can use 'working to contract' as a form of protest, you know things have gone seriously wrong.
It's all a little disturbing, isn't it? I went to university in Ireland and the UK, and am now back in Ireland - and while we have issues in the 3rd level sector here (and where doesn't?), conversations with my UK colleagues (with a few exceptions) - even in the Russell group universities - pretty consistently indicate a level of unhappiness and disenchantment that is surprising to me.
What seems to me to keep the show on the road is loyalty to colleagues, the ideals of a university, and loyalty to their own institutions.
Imagine a world in which the REF and other exercises in bureaucratic cruelty were simply done away, and academics could concentrate on research and teaching (with a small bit of unavoidable admin on the side).
I've no solutions to offer: there is a broader cultural issue to be addressed regarding the role of the universities in the UK. At the top end, they are truly world-class, and are a significant national asset with considerable international soft power. The sector needs to be recognised as such.
Interesting to hear the outside perspective. I think you make a good point about loyalty - a sense of duty to colleagues and students seems to be the only thing sustaining things from the academics I speak to. When a sector can use 'working to contract' as a form of protest, you know things have gone seriously wrong.