It’s all kicked off at Cardiff University…!

Given recent news from Cardiff University I had to quickly put pen to paper…

You would have had to be hiding under a stone not to know that the UKs Higher Education (HE) sector was facing some serious financial challenges. A challenge it seems to me exacerbated by two things:

1. Brexit and then the VISA restrictions that have negatively impacted the number of foreign students coming to the UK and which most HE business models are dependent on
   
2. The need to service the large debts established to deliver major capital building programmes over the last 15-20 years.

I have also been concerned that we have “commoditised” too much of HE activity and lost sight to an extent, of its core function, that being high quality research and education. We have become too dependent on numbers of foreign students which the VISA restriction has exposed.

Now I don’t normally write about HE and/or its corporate middle but seeing Cardiff University as the main news item for all the wrong reasons has given me a jolt. As a one day a week part time Professor of Practice in Connectivity at the School of Geography and Planning, I am often insulated from most university activities and tend to focus on my Metro and transport interests. This includes supporting student projects and giving lectures and seminars; attending and/or running events related to transport, planning, development, etc; and perhaps most relevant I use my “title” as leverage to continue my ongoing engagement (and media appearances) with politicians and senior officials in Cardiff Bay and Westminster/Whitehall on matters like rail funding in Wales. On the latter, it seems my contributory efforts are starting to bear fruit given the UK Government has now acknowledged the reality of rail enhancement underfunding in Wales.

However, I have just returned from a meeting with colleagues at the School of Geography and Planning. I felt the need to attend to show solidarity following yesterday’s bombshell announcement that could see Cardiff University lose 7% of its staff – 400 people! As stark, the School of Geography and Planning and its staff numbers could be reduced in a merger with the School of Social Sciences. Understandably, given the lack of forewarning, people are frustrated, angry and worried about their jobs and futures. I want to support them as this did not need to happen this way. I think Dylan Jones Evans recent musing on LinkedIn sums up the situation more effectively than I could. His article in the Western Mail is worth a read; as is the article from Sion Barry last year. Nor do I pretend this is easy to deal with at the corporate centre with a relatively new Vice Chancellor having to deal with issues that have been simmering for years and have now come to the boil.

The process at Cardiff University will now churn into action. I like many others had my letter this morning. Colleagues closer to the details will no doubt be making the case for alternatives to the proposals, and I will support them.

I want to ask a more existential question for Wales and the UK, as this headline news item makes this an overtly political and economic issue, not just a Higher Education management and leadership challenge.

I don’t think anyone would disagree we need to support and enable more sustainable economic growth in the UK (my reservations: re how we calculate the growth and especially the uncosted/unallocated externalises of our many of our economic activities duly noted). However, to do so there is clearly a need to invest in economic infrastructure: energy, transport, digital infrastructure, skills/training and Higher Education (both teaching and research).

Cardiff University is Wales leading HE institution and a Russell Group University. It has an international reputation and reach which it has used to attract students from all over the world, many of whom stay in the region and contribute to its economy.

It is, and needs to remain, a vital cog in our economy. More pointedly re: my school, Wales, England and the whole UK needs more, not less planners, urban developers, transport planners, etc. I am not sure the headlines this week are acting in a way that will help deliver them.

In 2008 the UK Government bailed out the banks with £Bns, last year Uk Gov contributed £Ms to Tata in respect of Port Talbot and Teesside. Clearly Government recognises the need to support essential economic activity. My challenge to them is to do the same to Higher Education, the UK economy can’t afford its HE sector to fail.

I have no doubt some HE institutions have some serious questions to answer (and actions they need to take on things like Estates), but governments (Welsh and UK) also need to step up here (as it has for other industries) to provide support where appropriate. We have to ensure we have a functioning economy where HE can play its vital role in a wider ecosystem that fosters new ideas generation, innovation, entrepreneurship and higher value economic activity.

In addition to financial support, for Cardiff and Wales there are other things the UK and Welsh Governments could do immediately. They could reverse the VISA restrictions, make it easier for young people to move/study across Europe and for Wales to receive properly devolved Research Council funding so Welsh HE, including Cardiff, can secure a fair share of the UK pot (which it does not currently).

I think we also need to engage in a broader debate about the role, function and shape of Higher Education in our economy. Given recent events I think this is unavoidable.