The issues with Academia in the 21st century
From my perspective, the issue in the sciences and engineering at universities is the seriously low quality of research that is tolerated, across the board. Don’t be fooled by a few supposed highlights here and there – the average is so bad that the whole sector would be better off dead.
This low quality is due to a number of factors;
1. The sheer volume of prior art behind which your lazy or incompetent researcher can and does hide. They don’t know or don’t bother checking the prior art when they embark on a new research program. Gone are the days when an academic had an encyclopaedic knowledge of their own tight little field.
2. Interdisciplinary efforts resulting in neither fish nor fowl, and a distinct lack of excellence in anything. This linked to problem 1.
3. The gap between invention and discovery. Funding has been pushed academics ever closer to invention, which they are universally bad at relative to the private sector. Discovery in the natural world gets ever harder as the shoulders of giants just gets bigger.
4. A general push for the appearance of results as opposed to actual results. Basically anything a university can market to the public will do, and who cares about the actual merit of the thing? Again this is linked to the sheer volume of info – everyone assumes that no one will ever do a prior art search or come back in a year’s time to see if the pronouncements ever came true.
5. University rankings which are based on research outcomes and then used to create education market opportunities. Has no one realised this is illogical? I once heard a plausible argument as to why better research leads to better education but for the life of me I can’t recall the argument. Its especially untrue for the vocational training that now seems to dominate universities.
6. The tyranny of citations, which must be the dumbest measure of quality ever. How has the sector allowed themselves to be enslaved to something so stupid?
7. Also the academic research leaders don’t do any research at all. They write grants, administer and educate and don’t have time for anything else. The role of organising the research groups is left to people who are themselves still in training; poorly managed in other words, with future leaders being taught by future leaders.
8. The unionisation of the places had lead to a situation where many highly paid academic staff take a permanent holiday after they get tenure.
9. The institutions are run by former academics, whose only claim to management capability is a will not to do any research or education, and to earn more money. Generally they exercise power by centralising all decision making upon their own person, because it feels so good to be constantly in demand. Essentially the pigs are running the farms.
It’s no wonder the sector is struggling for relevance.
My solution is to make all universities “for profit”. Not perfect and a few issues to iron out, but its the only option left.
offshore westerly 