By Jack Medlin, PhD student, HERE@Manchester, Manchester Institute of Education
It has been over 30 years since Tony Blair uttered the now infamous soundbite “education, education, and education” at the Labour Party Conference in Blackpool, setting out over the years the notion of 50% of the population gaining a tertiary qualification.
The politics of the modern day paint a very different picture. Both Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham have challenged how large of a role universities should play in the lives of young people, not far from joining the established scepticism of mass higher education from the right of the political aisle.
Marketisation has increasingly positioned higher education centrally as a private investment, where success is driven by your future salary or job title. An increased global market for higher education in the UK and the expansion of internationalisation has also shifted who higher education serves, and for what purpose. There are increasingly questions around whether the ‘good’ of higher education is simply to serve the national economic interest or whether there are broader societal and global benefits.
Across the sector there have been calls for reduction, calls for reform, and even calls to burn it all down and start again. The age-old question of what the purpose of higher education has yet to find its answer in the 21st century.
The value of Higher Education
This argument is at the heart of everything we do within HERE@Manchester. As a diverse group of researchers covering fields from access to outcomes and everything in between, we are exposed to every aspect of higher education. Maybe more importantly, as educators we see the transformative nature of higher education on an almost daily basis live and in action.
Unsurprisingly, we are strong champions of a narrative surrounding public good – even if we are perhaps a bit biased. We also acknowledge that academia can often look at situations in ideals and hypotheticals which might not always match reality. It could be said that policymaker and our regulator often fall into the same trap, but perhaps without the same acknowledgement.
To combat this, we find it vital to have honest and challenging conversations. We learn from our students as much as, if not more, than they learn from us. We work with practitioners to translate research into impact. We work with policymakers and civil servants to ensure they can be informed at the cutting edge. Despite this, we still feel that the hardest conversations still happen in silo.
We need to have cross-cutting conversations
This has led us to develop a new set of webinars. Bringing together people from across the sector – from staff to students, thinktanks to policymakers, we want to facilitate frank and honest conversations about our collective problems.
Our aim is to hear from key figures thinking about policy today, those working on the ground to change universities for the better, established and emerging voices in research, and from the very students we are here to serve.
The first set of webinars aims to tackle three big questions:
- Who is higher education for?
- What is higher education for?
- And what could higher education be?
Together we will hear from a leading set of individuals who will bring their own thoughts and perspectives, share information on current practice, and propose solutions. Make sure to sign up today and we look forward to welcoming you into this collective space for the betterment of our sector.
Webinar 1: Who is higher education for? Online [link to book]
Wednesday 21st October, 12.00-13.00 BST
The first webinar focuses on the purposes and practices of widening participation. Who should go to university and why, and how can we ensure that the people who might benefit from higher education can access it, succeed within it, and progress from it well?
Book your place here.
Webinar 2: What is higher education for? Online [link to book]
Monday 2nd November, 12.00-13.00 GMT
The second webinar expands from the previous discussion, to explore whether higher education should best be conceived of as a private or a public good.
Book your place here.
Webinar 3: What could higher education be? Online [link to book]
Thursday 19th November, 12.00-13.00 GMT
We finish the series with the most exploratory and ambitious session. How do we envisage a better higher education for the future – and how do we get there?
Book your place here.
This blog is cross-posted from Pure: What is the point of Higher Education in the 21st Century? – Research Explorer The University of Manchester
