[Academics] University of Exeter and NTU Sign MoU; President Steve Smith Lectures on “The Role of Universities in a Time of Economic Uncertainty”

[Academics] University of Exeter and NTU Sign MoU; President Steve Smith Lectures on “The Role of Universities in a Time of Economic Uncertainty” (Chinese Version)

NTU Newsletter (Issue 985) Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter and President of Universities UK Professor Steve SMITH and President of National Taiwan University (NTU) Professor Si-Chen LEE signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Taipei on 10th-November. President Steve SMITH also delivered a lecture entitled “The role of universities in a time of economic uncertainty,” indicating how the future governmental operations would increasingly rely on universities' strong backing, and suggesting how universities against such a trend could develop their own core competence and carry out their ultimate concerns for the globe; specifically, it was stressed that universities have a decisive role in the socio-economic development in the future.

Professor SMITH quoted new statistics which showed the economic output of the universities in UK had reached more than 55 billion pounds per year since 2004 ; the students in the universities took 1 % of the labor force in UK, who nevertheless contributed 2.3 % of the nationwide GDP. The thesis about the economic output of universities was said to be worth promoted among the governmental institutes, sponsors and the public. On the other side, the man power and the intelligence of the universities was considered to give the universities advantage in the economic games. Hence it was believed that not only the quantity but also the quality of the universities should be emphasized in order for the universities to hold firmly the most influential role to the economic recovery and development in the long run. However, Professor SMITH also stressed that the reduction of academic budget was not acceptable; on the contrary, to confront the present economic crisis, more investment in education and research was needed.

Professor SMITH pointed out several primary concerns of which universities in present uncertainty should take account: 1. economic recovery: universities need to show their influence to the economic recovery; 2. quality, standard and reputation: universities need to produce faith in the research projects in the heart of the alliance of cooperation as well as the alliance in the stock market; 3. international cooperation: universities need to understand that the economic competence of a country is highly related to the vast enthusiasm in investment and R&D among various institutes and industries; 4. international competitiveness: universities should try to strengthen their contact network via the international cooperations and the alumni networking; 5. research impact: universities need to realize the importance to exhibit the influence of their research on the socio-economic development and be able to transfer the influence into real benefit; 6. study experience: universities need to provide high quality study experience for the students in order to make them adapt to the present global environment.


Further Information:
NTU Newsletter Issue 985 (Chinese)
University of Exeter Featured News



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THE UNIVERSITY IN RUINS
BILL READINGS
It is no longer clear what role the University plays in society. The structure of the contemporary University is changing rapidly, and we have yet to understand what precisely these changes will mean. Is a new age dawning for the University, the renaissance of higher education under way? Or is the University in the twilight of its social function, the demise of higher education fast approaching?

We can answer such questions only if we look carefully at the different roles the University has played historically and then imagine how it might be possible to live, and to think, amid the ruins of the University. Tracing the roots of the modern American University in German philosophy and in the work of British thinkers such as Newman and Arnold, Bill Readings argues that historically the integrity of the modern University has been linked to the nation-state, which it has served by promoting and protecting the idea of a national culture. But now the nation-state is in decline, and national culture no longer needs to be either promoted or protected. Increasingly, universities are turning into transnational corporations, and the idea of culture is being replaced by the discourse of "excellence." On the surface, this does not seem particularly pernicious.

The author cautions, however, that we should not embrace this techno-bureaucratic appeal too quickly. The new University of Excellence is a corporation driven by market forces, and, as such, is more interested in profit margins than in thought. Readings urges us to imagine how to think, without concession to corporate excellence or recourse to romantic nostalgia within an institution in ruins. The result is a passionate appeal for a new community of thinkers.

Supplement#2 2009-10-21 23:10:53
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/REAUNI.html
Supplement#3 2009-10-21 23:11:42
http://www.amazon.com/University-Ruins-Bill-Readings/dp/0674929535#sipbody

[Link: http://wenda.tianya.cn/wenda/thread?tid=1bf4113244960996 ]



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