Wednesday, 5 January 2011

Humaniversity

That's the main theme of USM VC's annual address to the campus community this morning ... about one and half hours of it. The first hour was mainly a recap of what has happened the previous year.

The university is not a business. It is not a factory.

We need to return the university back to it's roots. To become once again a "community of scholars" with ultruistic ideals. Knowledge for the benefit of mankind ... for humanity.

The university has been hijacked by the corporate mindset. Where education is to get a good job, paying top dollar, so that all your materialistics needs and wants can be satisfied.

In the next few weeks and perhaps even months, I will reflect and engage in a dialogue, mostly with myself, but also with collaborators, on what Kampus Sejahtera should now mean.

I am supposed to work under the umbrella of the Centre for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS). What would be my role?

This could take a while. I took more than half a year sitting and reading and pondering when I first started in this office. Time to think again.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear Lik Meng, thanks for being in the crowded hall - not quite sustainable, I thought.

Pls see my column tomorrow about the same to aid your reflection hopefully.

Rgds, Dzul

Lik Meng said...

Found the article online http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/dzuu/Article/

Will comment and reflect on it.