Digital ubiquity has disrupted the traditional university model. The internet has shifted the balance of a tension between control and disorder in knowledge production, with many of the opportunities the web brings leading directly to many of the challenges we now need to address. Lucy Montgomery and Cameron Neylon advocate for the idea of universities as Open Knowledge Institutions, which […]
Category: universities
Resist? Welcome? Co-opt? Ignore? The pressures and possibilities of the REF and impact
The increased focus on impact in research evaluation represents a range of possibilities and pressures to those academics whose work is being assessed. For some it offers an opportunity to progress social justice causes and engage in participatory, bottom-up research approaches with less powerful groups; while to others it is further evidence of the managerial audit culture that is corrupting […]
Book Review: A University Education by David Willetts
In A University Education, former Minister of State for Universities and Science (2010-14) David Willetts sets out the changes he fostered during his four-year ministry and his views on what still needs to be transformed, alongside a scholarly appreciation of how the current higher education system and its particularly British (mainly English) features have evolved. In this review, Ron Johnston critically […]
Book Review: The Toxic University: Zombie Leadership, Academic Rock Stars and Neoliberal Ideology by John Smyth
In The Toxic University: Zombie Leadership, Academic Rock Stars and Neoliberal Ideology, John Smyth offers a critical reading of the pathological state of higher education today, diagnosing this as the effect of commodification, marketisation and managerialism. While those looking for a minute analysis of the crisis of the university may at times wish for more nuanced and detailed insight, this is an outstanding synthesis […]
What do universities want to be? A content analysis of mission and vision statements worldwide
Universities’ mission and vision statements serve as public pronouncements of their purpose, ambition, and values. So what does analysis of worldwide institutions’ statements reveal to us? Julián David Cortés-Sánchez has conducted a large-scale content analysis and found a trend towards global influence, an unsurprising emphasis on research and teaching, certain geographical patterns, and a noticeable focus on either the individual […]
How to start dismantling white privilege in higher education
Racism is still alive and well in US and UK academia, with many from black and minority ethnic backgrounds less likely to gain access to universities or occupy decision-making roles. Kalwant Bhopal argues that to address this problem requires radical action from universities, which must start by acknowledging the existence of institutional racism and white privilege. Despite many claims to the […]
2016 in review: round-up of our top posts on the impact of research / research evaluation
“A soup of different inspirations”: Co-produced research and recognising impact as a process, not an outcome Co-produced research involves external partners from start to finish, builds lasting relationships and is actively involved in generating impact. Yet co-production sits uncomfortably with how impact is currently understood. Rachel Pain and Ruth Raynor explore how the process of co-production has the potential to […]
Research data management in France: DCC and Jisc MRD programme suggest possible approaches
ADBU, the association of French academic library directors, held a study day on research data management (RDM) as part of their 43rd Annual Congress on 19 September 2013 in Le Havre. A DCC colleague and I were invited to speak about recent developments…