It would be inappropriate to talk about the state of funding for postgraduate study at this point - the subject is deserving of much scrutiny elsewhere — but there are one or two points I would like to raise concerning the appropriateness of today's lecture.

The first concerns the audience Professor Evans presented his lecture to: in the room, there were probably some 50 postgraduate students, comprising MRes and MPhil students. The majority of these students would have started at the beginning of October and, for the main part, have undertaken postgraduate study because they believe in the pursuit of knowledge and enjoy the academic challenges that postgraduate work offers them. To have it drilled into them that their work is important in the main for the financial benefits that it lauds upon the university is to ignore the individual's position within the entire structure of the university and — to my mind, at least — reveals a stunning lack of respect for said students.

The second point is a much more general one. An article in the London Review of Books (which is available here if you have a subscription) considered two recently published books that considered universities in the market place. It had a resounding resonance for me because it articulated all that I had suspected of UniS and made me feel quite disheartened by the whole prospect of research. I am not so ignorant to believe that research should not and is not concerned with practical applications that can benefit "society" (if you will), but I do believe that the pursuit of knowledge by individuals should be encouraged even if it's practical applications are not immediately obvious. The marketisation of the higher education system as a viable source of products ahead of knowledge (and, as a secondary benefit, skills [which themselves seem to be the whole point of it for the latest generation of undergraduates]) is to neglect the desire of the individual and their pursuit of that which has gone before them.

There was a hint of everything that was to come at the induction day, what with the confidentiality disclaimers and focus on the reputation of UniS as a technological leader, but today made the point of money a little too explicit for my liking. I suppose the only saving grace is that, as a member of the maths department, I am fortunate to be in an atmosphere that encourages the advancement of knowledge over any financial considerations.