The document discusses the purposes and roles of universities. It explores universities' roles in research, teaching, and service to society. Regarding research, it shows data on the rising research output of countries like China and India. For teaching, it examines universities' role in developing skilled workers and citizens. In their role for society, universities are meant to drive national economic advantage and meet the needs of their communities. However, there are pressures from massification of education and changing skill demands that impact universities' abilities to fulfill these purposes.

1. What are(n’t) universities for?
Professor Chris Husbands,
Director, Institute of Education,
University of London
Buenos Aries, October 2014
Professor Chris Husbands • Director, Institute of Education • www.ioe.ac.uk • director_ioe

2. Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

3. Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

4. Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

5. Country Number of universities
India 8407
United States 5758
Spain 1414
Mexico 1341
Bangladesh 1268
Indonesia 1236
Japan 1223
France 1062
China 1054
Source: UNESCO
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

6. The world’s largest universities
Indira Gandhi National Open University 3,500,000
Islamic Azad University, Iran 2,000,000
Anadolou University, Turkey 1,900,000
Alama Iqbal Open University, Pakistan 1,300,000
Bangladesh National University 1,000,000
Payame Noor University, Iran 820,000
Universitas Terbuke, Indonesia 650,000
Tribuvan University, Nepal 600,000
University of Mumbai 550,000
University of Pune 496,000
State University of New York 470,000
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

7. A complex system: the University of
California
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

8. One view….
“the unfettered pursuit of truth and excellence through
scholarship, research and teaching. Universities exist to conserve,
create, re-create and communicate information, knowledge, ideas
and their practical application in the form of inventions at the most
advanced level open to that society. Other institutions - think tanks,
consultancies, R&D departments etc – do some of this but not on
the sustained scale or level of universities. Only universities are
uniquely designed to carry out this role”
Ivor Crewe, Universities UK, 2003
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

9. Five purposes of the university
Research
(knowledge creation;
knowledge
improvement/refinem
ent);
Teaching
(knowledge diffusion;
knowledge acquisition,
knowledge creation);
Service to community
(local development,
consultancy, lifelong
learning, participation
to public debate, etc.);
Social screening
(identifying and
selecting leaders)
(Kimura, 2003)
Securing national economic advantage: the
returns to the knowledge economy
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

10. Participation rates i n higher education: percentage of age cohort entering higher education
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
UK
Japan
USA
France
Germany
Italy
Mass higher education goes global: the later 20C

11. Pressures on universities
massification of education and of demand for learning;
demographics such as diminishing numbers of young people, ageing
populations,
rapidly changing international skills markets;
new technologies of production, consumption and learning;
increasing private knowledge production and new forms of knowledge
management;
changing intellectual property rights regimes;
changing patterns of public management, governance and citizenship;
new forms of competence recognition, qualifications, and market signals;
social fragmentation and/or solidarity
changing value systems
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

12. Case 1
Research
and
Enquiry
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

13. What are universities for..the research economy
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Japan China India Korea
Research papers per year, 1995-2009: China, Japan, India & Korea

14. Case 2
Universities
and
teaching
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

15. The liberal ideal?
“for Newman the purpose of a
university education is the
achievement of a particular
expansion of outlook, of thought and
capacity for social and civic
interaction”
F M Turner, on Newman
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

16. What are universities for: the return to skill….
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
World North Africa and
Middle East
Sub- Saharan
Africa
Latin America East Asia South Asia Europe and
Central Asia
Advanced
countries
Return to human capital (%)
An education century?

17. What are universities for…meeting personal demands
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

18. What are the outcomes of university teaching?
Focused on the
utilitarian and
practical
Focused on the
scholarly cast of
mind
Engaged with the
Community
Applied learning;
vocational mission
Focus on social
mobility
mission/widening
access
Withdrawn from
the community
Basic science
‘Monastic’
institution
Institute of Education, Univ1e8rsity of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

19. Case 3
Universities
and
society
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

20. What are universities for….securing national advantage
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

21. University ‘quality’
What counts…. …and what does not count
Research Teaching quality
Media interest Social mobility
Graduate destinations Services to business and the
community
Infrastructure Rural interests
International “executive”
recruitment
Other public services
Collaboration
The public interest
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

22. How it works: Shanghai 500 http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ranking.htm
Quality of Education
Quality of Faculty
Research Output
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk
Size
Alumni of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields
Medals
(10%)
Faculty of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields
Medals (20%)
Highly cited researchers in 21 broad subject categories (20%)
Articles in Nature and Science (20%)
Articles in citation index (20%)
Sum of the above divided by size of faculty(10%)

23. The University and Society: expectations
Traditional and innovative Autonomous and accountable
Conservative and radical Critical and supportive
Ceremonial and iconoclastic Certain and provisional
Excellent and equal Short and long term
Entrepreneurial and caring Ethical and Technical
Competitive and collegial Nimble and normative
Charitable and commercial Local and international (and in
between)
Monastic and marketised Private and public
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

24. PolyU [stays] close to the practical needs of
our community and our country. Our motto
is “to learn and to apply, for the benefit of
mankind", and we take pride in offering a
wide range of quality programmes which
nurture professionals and leaders for our
society.
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk 2
4
Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore
Royal Scottish Conservatoire of
Music
Zaha Hadid’s new Hong Kong
Polytechnic University building
Harvard University
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a new-model
conservatoire. Students and staff are inspired to generate
truly innovative work. Everything we do is underpinned by
our desire to achieve routes to mastery. Our students
enjoy intensive tuition, professional partnerships,
performances and the creative space to co-create across
the disciplines
Veritas
IISc Bangalore is one of the premier post-graduate
institutions of research and higher
learning in India. The institute offers
postgraduate and doctoral programs to over
2000 active researchers from aerospace
engineering to molecular biophysics to
management. IISc was the first in India to offer
Masters' programs in engineering and
Integrated PhD Programs in Biological,
Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences

25. Implications
Universities have always been a source of skilled workers, starting
with priests and lawyers. They play this role for ever-increasing
proportions of the economy, including large parts which do not
‘need’ graduates but increasingly choose them.
This role is combined with a role as educators in a broader sense,
producing citizens.
In a society committed to free enquiry there is no necessary conflict
between the two. Critically trained minds are also likely to be more
economically productive ones, especially for rich societies in a
global economy.
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

26. Implications
Universities are expensive, even though per-student spending has
plummeted.
The financial rewards of a degree, for individuals, are a mix of
‘returns to skills’ and sorting. The extent to which students gain real
skills at university depends on how much actual teaching, and
learning, occur.
Successful economies need innovation and invention. The need is
for excellence in teaching as well as in research.
The globalisation of higher education does not reward excellence in
teaching.
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

27. …and who are universities for?
Who ‘owns’ the university? Who holds the risk?
Politicians To whom are universities
accountable?
Employers
Neighbours
The media Who pays?
Partners? Clients?
Academics?
Administrators?
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk

28. What are(n’t) universities for?
Professor Chris Husbands,
Director, Institute of Education,
University of London
Buenos Aries, October 2014
Institute of Education, University of London • www.ioe.ac.uk