Nick Petford’s recent post on Guardian Professional, comparing higher education to football, is certainly thought-provoking. Think league tables, competition for talent and internationalisation, to name just three similarities. Is it because he points out that football clubs nowadays are businesses that just happen to be engaged in sport? So far, so undeniable.
No, it’s when he poses the question: Is public higher education in England now first and foremost a business that just happens to be education-based?
Just before the final whistle, he knocks in an unexpected swerve ball:
‘…Irrespective of the true nature of the current higher education business model, there is one thing that universities could do far more easily than football teams (if they really put their minds to it). That is to drop self-interest and collaborate around shared objectives.”
Read the full post on Guardian Professional.
