[tariqali34]

>>" Freed from the pressure to teach industry-ready but highly transient skills, universities could be preserved as places to learn deep, ready for students who have a knack for academic work, or have become interested in the theoretical aspects of their practical work."

As a person who was immersed in academia (even to the extent of writing a peer-reviewed article and serving as an adjunct college instructor for a period of time), I had a slightly negative view of academia for that reason alone. It appeared to be a self-referential entity, where the only people reading your research papers are other researchers who are only interested in writing their own research papers. The 'outside world' doesn't quite respect your theoretical research fully (as you are not a productive member of society actually helping out other people), and the academic world itself doesn't quite care enough about you either (too obsessed with promoting their own theoretical research).

I think universities need to be more leaning towards vocational skills, or to make their research more "vocationally" relevant. That way, laymen will actually see a use for academics, instead of seeing them as prestigious eggheads. Theory has its place, but it has its place as a part of a vocational curriculum. Nothing more. I also support even more measurement of the quality of education, because without any level of accountability, you do not know whether what you're doing is actually working. I can write and teach all I want, but if I'm not sure if what I'm doing actually have any impact in the long term...then what's the point?

I left academia because I knew that adjuncting would be a dead-end job and that the administration prefers to hire them over that of full-time faculty, but it doesn't take a genius to suggest that low-paid teachers are definitely going to have a negative impact on a future curriculum, even on the measurable metrics. In fact, it is possible that adjunct instructors provide the "breathing room" that allows for the full-time faculty to continue to churn out research papers (although their replacements may wind up being more adjuncts). The fact that academia itself doesn't want to hire its own children suggest even further that academia needs to focus on vocational skills, so that academics can transfer out into a "post-academic" career.

As for me, I am still interested in the "theoretical aspects of [my] practical work". Maybe I may one day find a use for it. But I am unlikely to find an outlet for it within the the insular and corporate nature of present-day academia. For now, theory is just a hobby.

[jveld]

>> The fact that academia itself doesn't want to hire its own children suggest even further that academia needs to focus on vocational skills, so that academics can transfer out into a "post-academic" career.

Or perhaps it suggests that University administrators should stop treating their professorate as factories for research "products," who must continually publish to avoid being fired.

[tariqali34]

But "should" does not at all mean "will". We live in an imperfect world, and must deal with reality..or find some way to change that reality. Maybe the real solution is for us to create a "new academia" to compete against the "old academia".

[jveld]

I agree, thus my suggestion that we try and move towards apprenticeships. But I think we should avoid framing apprenticeships/bootcamps/whatever as a replacement for universities, and instead frame them as an alternative.

addendum: imagine how self-referential and masturbatory Turing's 1936 paper would have seemed from the perspective of the time, especially given that it was written during the depths of the depression.

I realize that it's a stretch to imagine university bureaucrats changing their ways. That's why I think that academics and educators should tenaciously promote the value of education for its own sake, rather than trying to attach the value of education to some economic measurement. It's the use of this kind of rhetoric by academics themselves that unsettles me - for bureaucrats it's simply par for the course.

[tariqali34]

I don't believe in "education for its own sake", though that may be because I still associate it with the "publish or perish"/mindless research attitude. I still like learning stuff for fun though, and I may eventually come around to supporting "education for its own sake", but I have to first believe it, and I cannot do so now. Practical knowledge is still better than theoretical knowledge.

I still think the solution lies outside "old" academia, though on a different track that can also run parallel to the "vocational" track of apprenticeships/bootcamps. Academics can simply publish their findings online, via comments, blogs, and open-access academic journals...and can also attempt to teach their ideas (also online). Even research grants could be replaced by Pateron and crowdfunding. A system where academics and educators slowly promote their ideas and gain followers/supporters is one that has the potential of being slightly more just than the old system.