Students are revolting on knowledge transfer

While earlier generations of students took to the streets to protest about apartheid, miners’ wages and even student fees, today’s undergraduates, in the UK at least, seem to get hot under the collar about the commercialisation of academic research.

In a story, Protesters disrupt business-link conference, the magazine Times Higher Education reports on student disturbances, scuffles even, at a knowledge-transfer conference, organised by the Association for University Research and Industry Links.

The title of the event, “Knowledge Transfer: Delivering a Route to Growth How HE Institutions can add value to the UK economy!” doesn’t seem likely to bring them out on the streets. But THE quotes a statement that protesters read out at the event: “The organisers of this conference want to use our collective resources, our public services, to prop up an unfair system. Financial crisis has shown us that we can’t trust the profit mongers … Don’t give our education system wholesale to business.” The magazine quotes one delegate as responding “Don’t they want a job after graduation?”

Then again, the students’ line is not far removed from some of their teachers. Some of whom are dead against any hint of public influence over their freedom to spend taxpayers’ money with little regard for its possible value to society.

The funny thing is that the academics who rail against turning academic research into an R&D arm of business don’t seem to talk to companies. Were they to do so they would find that most businesses agree with them. They don’t want academics involved in product development.

Companies have given up on basic science and want academics want roaming around on the frontiers of the unknown. They do, though, want to know what the ‘boffins’ find there, and a bit of help in exploiting it, which doesn’t seem to be a lot to ask of people who depend on money from taxpayers.