Mandelson takes HE reins in new department

The government’s Department of Innovation, Universities, and Skills has been disbanded in Gordon Brown’s cabinet reshuffle, and replaced by a new Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The change sees Lord Mandelson take the helm of BIS, and former Universities secretary John Denham moved to the post of Communities Secretary.

Responsibility for administering the higher education system at a governmental level has been taken over by the new department.

While the government claims the new department puts higher education “closer to the heart of government thinking about building now for the upturn”, critics worry that the department focuses excessively on business interests rather than education.

The University and College Union (UCU), which represents lecturers and professors, told the Guardian, “The fact [universities] have been lumped in with business appears to be a clear signal of how the government views colleges and universities and their main roles in this country…. We need experts in education at the helm, not business interests.”

Ken Flint, head of the Warwick branch of the UCU, said that he had “no reaction” to the new department’s creation, because “it hardly seems to matter who looks after Universities.”

Regarding universities’ links with business, he said, “Universities should be involved both with business interests and in academic research for research sake.”

Though the UCU spoke out against the change, the National Union of Students (NUS) did not comment about its opinion on the reshuffle.

NUS president Wes Streeting said in a statement, “NUS would like to welcome the opportunity to work with Lord Mandelson…. We hope that he will be bold in his approach to the forthcoming review of higher education funding and ensure that students have a genuine voice in the coming debate.” The NUS press office was unavailable for further comment.

Bahram Bekhradnia, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, told Times Higher Education that, in his opinion, “the real danger is that [higher education] should simply be regarded as another instrument of business development, and that its non-economic benefits will be neglected and disregarded.”

Responding to reporters’ questions after his first speech as head of BIS, Mandelson said, “Universities contribute as much to the character of our society and the development of individuals in society as they do to the competitiveness of the economy. Those things are not mutually exclusive. I don’t see why they should regard them as alternatives.”

In his speech, Mandelson reiterated the government’s commitment to encouraging scientific innovation, a goal that is to be pursued by BIS. It is unclear whether this focus will have detrimental effects on the provision of non-science courses at universities.

In an editorial for the Guardian, Mandelson also outlined his ideas for the new department and the role of universities within it, saying that “the mission of the new department is to build Britain’s resources of skill, knowledge and creativity.”

“There is a need to make sure we set the right overall strategic direction … that we will need to excel in a global economy. But we also need to recognise that universities and colleges understand best what their students need and how to deliver it.”

Peter Dunn, the University of Warwick’s Press Officer, said only that the University had “no concerns” about the creation of the new department, as long as Mandelson adhered to the vision he outlined in his Guardian editorial.