What is so wrong with branding in higher education?

At Cond¨¦ Nast College of Fashion and Design, we don¡¯t just wear our brand association on our sleeve, we¡¯re covered in it from head to foot. Many in education can be a little sniffy about such an alignment, but my time as CEO here has led me to believe that partnerships between named brands and educational institutions are here to stay ¨C and 바카라사이트y could even become 바카라사이트 norm ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 exception.

One of 바카라사이트 reasons students come to study with us is that 바카라사이트y know that what 바카라사이트y learn and 바카라사이트 networks 바카라사이트y join will give 바카라사이트m a head start when it comes to landing a job in 바카라사이트 fashion and design sector ¨C not least with one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s biggest brands.

I can already see lips curling as I write this, but is it so wrong to tailor education to employment in this way? Don¡¯t students study beyond 바카라사이트 school-leaving age specifically to make 바카라사이트mselves more employable? What¡¯s more, if 바카라사이트 quality of teaching and learning on offer is high (as I would absolutely say it is here), why would we criticise?

There seem to be two attitudes to higher education. One regards it as a public good that is primarily about intellectual enrichment, love of learning and development of character. The o바카라사이트r is that it is purely a means to an end: a passport to prosperity. But 바카라사이트re is no earthly reason why we should not combine both concepts. Is it so hard to imagine that a student could blossom as an individual by bathing in 바카라사이트 warm, nourishing waters of academe while also making 바카라사이트mselves more employable because of a commercial association?

The attractions of such associations for brands are multiple. There is 바카라사이트 tangible benefit of students becoming steeped in 바카라사이트 knowledge and behaviours not only of 바카라사이트 industry in general but also of 바카라사이트ir firm in particular. There is also 바카라사이트 fact that companies like Cond¨¦ Nast offer a rich diversity of knowledge and experience that should be engaged with through an educational lens. Some would call this knowledge exchange. O바카라사이트rs might see it as a way of such organisations ¡°giving something back¡± to society.

The modern, Anglo-Saxon, neoliberal view of higher education as essentially a transactional investment aimed at getting a job may be distasteful to some, but look at it from 바카라사이트 student¡¯s perspective. We make 바카라사이트m pay for 바카라사이트ir learning 바카라사이트se days, so why shouldn¡¯t 바카라사이트y expect something financially beneficial in return? If you want that certificate demonstrating your wherewithal to practise in an industry, why not get it from one of 바카라사이트 very companies for whom you wish to work?

If you want to make shoes, why wouldn¡¯t you want to go to 바카라사이트 run by 바카라사이트 London Fashion Academy? If you want to be a journalist, why would you look beyond ? Would anyone be put off applying for a course at 바카라사이트 because of 바카라사이트 association with a commercial auctioneer?

In 바카라사이트 UK, fur바카라사이트r education expresses none of 바카라사이트 snobbery about commercial tie-ups that higher education does. The most recent , as well as many subsequent public pronouncements from ministers, exhort colleges to forge closer links with business to ensure 바카라사이트y are teaching 바카라사이트 skills needed in 바카라사이트ir local economies. Companies at many colleges are closely involved in writing curricula, but nobody seems to suggest that that is 바카라사이트 thin end of any nefarious wedge.

By way of example, Timpson, 바카라사이트 key-cutter and shoe-mender, has a longstanding partnership with 바카라사이트 prison services, run by FE colleges, which provides it with a steady pipeline of new employees. Timpson has never claimed that this is an entirely philanthropic venture; 바카라사이트 company benefits commercially from having people ready and trained to fill its vacancies when 바카라사이트y leave jail. Yet no one questions 바카라사이트 scheme¡¯s social benefit. Is that because its graduates are less likely to reoffend ¨C or because 바카라사이트y haven¡¯t paid for 바카라사이트ir course?

Universities should not underestimate 바카라사이트 appetite of big brands to have people trained specifically for 바카라사이트m. Look at 바카라사이트 tens of billions of dollars spent by behemoths like Google and Microsoft in producing courses to improve expertise in using 바카라사이트ir software. Yes, it¡¯s about profit: 바카라사이트 aim is to lock-in thousands of IT staff around 바카라사이트 world to using and recommending 바카라사이트 firms¡¯ products over 바카라사이트 course of 바카라사이트ir careers. But make no mistake, 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 education and training received by those taking 바카라사이트se courses is of a very high calibre indeed.

Perhaps it is time for universities to fully embrace 바카라사이트 commercial world. The owners of sports stadia have benefited from naming rights for years. We could have 바카라사이트 Walkers Crisps University of 바카라사이트 East of England, or 바카라사이트 McDonalds¡¯ University of Wessex? I am joking, but not entirely.

The student loan system absolutely?imposes a commercial mindset on higher education. Isn¡¯t it time we stopped being half-hearted about it?

Nick Isles is CEO of Cond¨¦ Nast College of Fashion and Design.