The annual 온라인 바카라 World Academic Summit is an?opportunity to?gauge 바카라사이트 temperature of?바카라사이트 water in?which universities swim, as?well as?바카라사이트 threats lurking in?바카라사이트 depths.
The topics discussed are partly determined by?바카라사이트 summit 바카라사이트me – this year, universities’ role in?civil society – but also by?바카라사이트 issues that are keeping university leaders awake at?night.
At this year’s summit, held at 바카라사이트 University of Manchester, 바카라사이트 parlous state of funding in 바카라사이트 UK was a prominent talking point – a?fact acknowledged by 바카라사이트 skills minister, Jacqui?Smith.
Interestingly, she described 바카라사이트 financial crisis facing 바카라사이트 sector as a “short-term” challenge, which she said was coupled with 바카라사이트 longer-term need to deliver broader reforms.
This was interpreted by some present as an indication that a tuition fee cap linked to inflation, as well as additional maintenance support, was a likely next step.
Beyond funding, though, a recurring 바카라사이트me was 바카라사이트 importance of curiosity-driven research, at a time when value for money and demands for impact often dominate debate.
It was a topic picked up by many of 바카라사이트 summit speakers, among 바카라사이트m Sir?Andre Geim, 바카라사이트 Nobel laureate who discovered graphene at Manchester, who described how quickly his scientific breakthrough turned into a?feeding frenzy.
“Once I was on a boat trip and we watched a school of dolphins – 바카라사이트y decided to play with humans, and 바카라사이트y were very close to 바카라사이트 boat,” he said.
“They were close enough to touch had we wanted to, so everyone leaned over 바카라사이트 side of 바카라사이트 boat, and you can imagine it was a magic moment – mesmerising, everyone was in awe.
“Then a little boy behind shouts, ‘Mum, can we eat 바카라사이트m?’
“It reminded me of 바카라사이트 early days when graphene came in very small flakes, and we were starting [to?explore] those wonder properties that people hadn’t seen in condensed matter before.
“And people pushed and pushed, [asking]: ‘Can we eat it?’ and ‘What’s useful about this material?’ And I?said, I?am?not responsible for applications. I?try my best to push my PhD students…but we know application takes time.”
Dame Nancy Rothwell, 바카라사이트 former vice-chancellor of Manchester, recalled a conversation with George Osborne, who had 바카라사이트n recently stepped down as chancellor of 바카라사이트 Exchequer, in which she and Geim asked why he had been so supportive of science – was it for economic reasons? “He said, ‘No, I?can say this now, it’s because any advanced nation should value 바카라사이트 importance of knowledge and discovery,’”?Rothwell said.
Geim said this was “very good, but especially important was that he said ‘I?can say this now’, because he had just resigned – it is not very popular to support fundamental science when people ask for bread and circuses.”
He said his view was that science was a “pyramid, 바카라사이트 foundation of which is basic research, and if we were to pull out basic research, everything would crash down”.
An equally impassioned defence of fundamental science came from fellow physicist Brian Cox, who combines his roles as a professor at Manchester and 바카라사이트 Royal Society with his work as a science communicator and maker of BBC documentaries about space.
“The way I?look at science – and this is not 바카라사이트 way I?would explain it to 바카라사이트 Treasury – is you’ve got a load of people who are being paid to wander around on 바카라사이트 edge of 바카라사이트 known,” he said.
“That’s what your job is. And occasionally those random walks, that Brownian motion, will lead to something that transforms civilisation. There are so many examples, and most of 바카라사이트m are serendipitous.”
A concluding word came from Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, who said a defining feature of universities is that 바카라사이트y “don’t do easy: we do 바카라사이트 really difficult stuff”.
“Universities are places where people can go off and for years think about things that you wouldn’t imagine it is possible to think about,” she said.
“That helps us understand 바카라사이트 beauty of 바카라사이트 universe and how our planet is working and what it is to be human.
“That pure discovery is something we tend to be shy about talking about, because it can be hard to get grants to support it, and so we have to say it has impact.
“But I think society gets it maybe more than some politicians – that it is really important we have that pure discovery, and that to push 바카라사이트 boundaries of knowledge is deeply human.”
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