(1) The lecturers' dispute in UK universities continues apace, with threats from employers and student groups against industrial action and pay offers being rejected.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4759879.stm
http://www.aut.org.uk/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4983898.stm
(2) Higher Education is worth £45 billion a year to the UK economy according to a recent report, putting it ahead of major industrial sectors such as pharmaceuticals.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4757497.stm
Thursday, May 11, 2006
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2 comments:
Iain, that UUK report can be found here: http://bookshop.universitiesuk.ac.uk/downloads/economicimpact3.pdf. It's pretty timely coming both in the midst of the dispute between the AUT and the universities, as well as the very recent Council for Industry in Higher Education report on international competitiveness. There are powerful voices arguing for a more clear-cut role for UK universities in the economy - it will be interesting to see what happens.
Is there any feeling on how much Irish universities contribute to the national economy? It would be interesting to see how changes in your system have impacted on business.
Thanks for that. Nothing as explicit in Ireland, but there have been similar statements from the Irish Universities' Association about the importance of the sector.
Of course, as Alison Wolff and others have raised it is important also to make the case on the basis of the civic and cultural role, but I take your point in the current context of pay negotiations, etc.
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