History and Past Activities
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History and Past Activities |
Karoliina Snell
University of Helsinki
Department of Sociology
PO Box 18
00014 University of Helsinki
Finland
tel. +358 - (0)9 - 191 23 969
e-mail: karoliina.snell@helsinki.fi
Breaking the link between research and education in an entrepreneurial university
In an environment where universities' relations to industry and practical utility of research are emphasised, the position and the content of education are changing. New forms of co-operation between universities and industry in research do not take the educational responsibility of universities into account. Spin-off firms and commercialised research units contribute little to education. Undergraduate education becomes unprofitable and unattractive when researchers are competing for resources and optimising their efficiency. This can result in a US-type differentiation between research universities and educational universities and create inequality between different universities and their units. In this kind of race for prestige and resources, the losers offer education and are confined to funding from the state budget, while the winners concentrate in R&D with the help of external funding. The content of university education is also effected by the pressure to commercialise knowledge and to become an entrepreneurial university. If research is moving towards a Mode 2 type of interdisciplinary and problem orientated research this is also reflected in education. Practical problem solving and case analysis are becoming integral parts of education in a growing number of disciplines. Traditional research methods and theory are taught thoroughly only in postgraduate studies. This threatens the scientific basis of undergraduate education. It also complicates the production and reproduction of qualified researchers.
Sociology of Science and Technology NETwork - last update: April 2006