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The global franchise university: looking beyond bricks and mortar.
I recently read a book called The Myth of Development which follows the growing body of post-development theory charting the post-colonial growth of ‘non-viable states and the failure of development policies implemented by western nations. The sorry prognosis of much of the book like much of the literature of this kind concludes that these non-viable states are so far behind developed nations that a gap can never be bridged. The section which got me thinking was the disparity in levels of technological and knowledge advancement. The theory being that if say Burkina Faso decided to increase its levels of higher education and allocated 20% if its GDP to education, research and development that would still be far less than the UK allocating 1% as it starts from a lower technological base and 20% of Burkina Faso’s GDP is far less than the UKs 1%. Therefore any catch up is impossible and the knowledge gap continues to grow.
So why then do Universities in developed countries pluck the finest minds from these poorer countries while leaving the masses with no access to these standards of education? On the other hand, these same nations plough money into development projects such as health, infrastructure and primary education but keep the vast majority of technological expertise for themselves. And why in the age of unprecedented global communications and given the advancement of high-speed internet in the developing world are universities still rooted in bricks and mortar and tied down to geographical location. Why cant these be global university brands be catalysts for spreading global know-how? I have seen the value of these academic brands in the developing world, where 3rd rate copy-cat universities touting names such as Cambrindge University or Harvart College (trust me, they exist) spring up in cities for desperate growing middle classes to clamber into in hope of the best education.
So what exactly am I getting at. If we are truly sincere about enabling developing countries to advance their knowledge base we should be facilitating the spread of teaching globally, as there are less barriers to do so than ever before. As entire libraries can now be put online, and Teleconferencing allows people to talk face to face remotely your classroom and research library can potentially be anywhere. Of course there’s no way of replacing a test tube and Petri dish, for some disciplines you simply must have the hardware, but many disciplines can be taught without, and that would be a start.
Why cant say Oxford or UCL have recognised affiliate Universities or even actual ‘Franchises’ in developing countries.
So how could this work?
Top lecturers can record video which can be projected in lecture halls. Following lectures as with many undergraduate courses a post-grad/Phd student could take questions via a live link.
For classroom discussions you would need the technology to host a video conferencing in classrooms, not cheap, but far cheaper per student than the cost of relocating them to foreign lands. Postgrads can provide these classes remotely yet have full interactivity. Some of the Teleconferecing facilities being used for remote meetings by corporations are very impressive and can give attendees a feeling of being In the same room like never before.
This isn’t a lose lose situation for the University either. There’s no reason why they should give their years of expertise and outstanding faculties for free. They can earn revenues from tuition fees but without having to expand campuses. And then comes the benefit of a two way dialogue between students in different countries. Far easier during an Environmental Science class to get a picture of what the issues faced in different countries are if your classmate is sitting in one.
Anyway, perhaps this is being done already. And perhaps this isn’t the forum. But thought I’d put it out there.
So why then do Universities in developed countries pluck the finest minds from these poorer countries while leaving the masses with no access to these standards of education? On the other hand, these same nations plough money into development projects such as health, infrastructure and primary education but keep the vast majority of technological expertise for themselves. And why in the age of unprecedented global communications and given the advancement of high-speed internet in the developing world are universities still rooted in bricks and mortar and tied down to geographical location. Why cant these be global university brands be catalysts for spreading global know-how? I have seen the value of these academic brands in the developing world, where 3rd rate copy-cat universities touting names such as Cambrindge University or Harvart College (trust me, they exist) spring up in cities for desperate growing middle classes to clamber into in hope of the best education.
So what exactly am I getting at. If we are truly sincere about enabling developing countries to advance their knowledge base we should be facilitating the spread of teaching globally, as there are less barriers to do so than ever before. As entire libraries can now be put online, and Teleconferencing allows people to talk face to face remotely your classroom and research library can potentially be anywhere. Of course there’s no way of replacing a test tube and Petri dish, for some disciplines you simply must have the hardware, but many disciplines can be taught without, and that would be a start.
Why cant say Oxford or UCL have recognised affiliate Universities or even actual ‘Franchises’ in developing countries.
So how could this work?
Top lecturers can record video which can be projected in lecture halls. Following lectures as with many undergraduate courses a post-grad/Phd student could take questions via a live link.
For classroom discussions you would need the technology to host a video conferencing in classrooms, not cheap, but far cheaper per student than the cost of relocating them to foreign lands. Postgrads can provide these classes remotely yet have full interactivity. Some of the Teleconferecing facilities being used for remote meetings by corporations are very impressive and can give attendees a feeling of being In the same room like never before.
This isn’t a lose lose situation for the University either. There’s no reason why they should give their years of expertise and outstanding faculties for free. They can earn revenues from tuition fees but without having to expand campuses. And then comes the benefit of a two way dialogue between students in different countries. Far easier during an Environmental Science class to get a picture of what the issues faced in different countries are if your classmate is sitting in one.
Anyway, perhaps this is being done already. And perhaps this isn’t the forum. But thought I’d put it out there.
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