Universities: what are they for?
Is is worth getting an education if you won't get a job at the end of it? (Which begs the question, is knowledge only worthwhile if it's a marketable skill? and is research only valid if you know before you start what it's going to be useful for? Perish the thought)
ANyway. This evening Michael Buerk and panel members Claire Fox, Melanie Phillips, Clifford Longley
and Matthew Taylor will debate the following:
Higher education is more popular than ever; universities are crammed
to the rafters as they struggle to achieve the aim of 50 per cent of
young people getting a university education. The increased popularity
of vocational degrees has changed the culture of academia. But students
now have to balance the increasing cost of getting a degree with
uncertain job prospects when they graduate. So there's no better time
to ask the question, 'what are universities for and who are they for?'the panel is often the least interesting part of this programme; the people they interview are worth a listen. Tonight's are Professor Dennis Hayes,
Professor of Education, University of Derby. Founder of the campaign group Academics for Academic Freedom (AFAF); Professor John Coyne – Vice Chancellor, University of Derby and chairman of skills and
enterprise Think Tank CFE, which is an independent specialist in skills
employment and economic development. Greg James – University of Nottingham medical student, anti-tuition fees campaigner, and Andrew Long –
Young entrepreneur and CEO of Ten, named one of the top 100 fastest-growing companies in the UK by the Sunday Times.
Wed 21 Oct 2009 20:00 BBC Radio 4
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
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