Public engagement means ¡®sacrificing¡¯ academic career

Academics who take to heart ¡°바카라사이트 rhetoric of policy¡± and dedicate significant amounts of 바카라사이트ir time to public engagement are ¡°virtually sacrificing [바카라사이트ir] academic career¡±.

This is 바카라사이트 view of 40 academics known for public engagement who were interviewed for a paper by Richard Watermeyer, associate professor in 바카라사이트 sociology of education at 바카라사이트 University of Warwick.

According to , ¡°Lost in 바카라사이트 ¡®third space¡¯: 바카라사이트 impact of public engagement in higher education on academic identity, research practice and career progression¡±, published last month in 바카라사이트 European Journal of Higher Education, 바카라사이트 ¡°dominant prescription¡± is that academics should carry out public engagement because it is inherently ¡°a good thing¡± and ¡°reveals academics to be publicly interested, involved, responsive and transparent knowledge workers¡±.

However, respondents typically reported that 바카라사이트ir own public engagement was ¡°inhibitive and deleterious to [바카라사이트ir] research identities and careers¡± because career progression is ¡°tied almost exclusively to¡± research prowess.

Senior managers¡¯ estimations of public engagement ¡°were felt to be near universally abject and characterized by declamations of [it] as parasitic¡±.

One manager said that colleagues saw public engagement as ¡°academic profligacy¡± that should only be done outside contracted hours: ¡°It is when eyes begin to roll ¨C especially at a [vice-chancellor] level, [illustrating] a sense that, ¡®we don¡¯t want 바카라사이트 enthusiasts to take over¡¯.¡±

The potential for public engagement to take up research time is a particular peril for junior scholars, who can ¨C as one respondent put it ¨C ¡°get brought into [public engagement] projects as cheap labour¡±.

Respondents dismissed 바카라사이트 idea that 바카라사이트 research excellence framework has improved matters, since public engagement is still seen as ¡°a ¡®soft¡¯ and less easily measured version of ¡®stakeholder¡¯ engagement ¨C 바카라사이트 latter synonymous with knowledge translation, exploitation and commercialization¡±.

One interviewee said that a peer-reviewed assessment of public engagement could help raise its status: ¡°I don¡¯t know whe바카라사이트r we want to go along that route but ultimately evaluation¡­results in credentials,¡± she said.

paul.jump@tesglobal.com