773 Friday 29th May - Felix

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Feature FELIX, Friday May 29th 1987 6 T h e A s h Interview Imperial College's Mr Big, press baron David Jones, takes time out from a crowded schedule to share a cup of coffee with the Rector, Professor Eric Ash FELIX: You've been involved in various accommodation for first year overseas FELIX: Just before Easter it was that, but that is my reading of the projects to raise money for the College. students going on to postgraduate announced that the Governing Body was situation. I do have my own favourite, One of these has been to make efforts courses. That promise is at risk. It really intending to axe 100 jobs from the I have to admit, but I don't think it's to contact the College alumni. How all depends on how rapidly we can College, throughout all departments going to make a first order difference. successful do you think this has been so acquire new accommodation. I would (including administration). What has I do believe that we will have to re-think far, and how much revenue do you think very much like to be able to sustain that been the response of the campus unions our role to a considerable extent, and will be raised from the project? promise, but I'm not absolutely sure that to this suggestion, and is there any certainly one of the pressures on we will be able to do so. Top priority indication yet as to whether any jobs will academic staff which is very evident Prof Ash: We have not so far attempted must go to first-year undergraduates. have to go through compulsory right here and now is that whereas we to raise any money from our alumni. redundances? can still get adequate funding for our The exercise so far has been to try to FELIX: // the College finally settles the research, it is taking a larger percentage find out who they are, where they live, deal for the houses in Evelyn Gardens, Prof Ash: We are not at this stage of everybody's time and energy to and to determine whether they are in any is this going to alleviate the problem and considering compulsory redundancies. secure that funding. I see that problem sense interested in the College. I might enable us to meet these guarantees for We do need to lose something like 100 as a continuing problem and as a partial say that one of the people I wrote to the immediate future? posts out of the 2000 that we have in the answer we will have to get more efficient wrote back, said that he'd read between College at the moment; we expect that in the way in which we produce contract the lines, and enclosed a cheque for £50, Prof Ash: It would be an enormous help this will be achieved within a year or two proposals and research grant proposals which we have since framed in the in that direction. That is one of the most by people not filling vacancies as they and we will have to consider spreading Alumnus Office as the first contribution cheerful things that have happened in arise, by people taking early retirement our proposals to agencies and industries which has reached us. However, in the recent times, and I applaud the very and by people resigning to go to other which we would not previously have future I do very much hope that the constructive reaction we have had from jobs. considered. alunini will support the College in all ICU in enabling us to finance it. There sorts of ways including financial. is no way we could have done it without FELIX: Do you think the tension FELIX: You've expressed an interest in their cooperation. between aspects of an academic's life at student loan schemes; these have been FELIX: The College is trying to recruit Imperial will be increased as the resisted by most student bodies over the more to more overseas students to help FELIX: One thing you have expressed Government puts more strain on past few years. How do you feel a loan improve the College balance. Do you a commitment to, during your time at IC, universities through reduced finding; scheme could benefit undergraduate think there is any possibility that the is improving teaching standards in many will this cause IC to concentrate more students, and is there a possibility that College will need to do this at the departments. Do you feel there has been on improving itself as a research centre, students selecting a course would be expense of home students, particularly any perceptible change in the last two and do you think this situation is likely forced to go for ones which were in the light of the tightening years? to change depending on the result of the vocational, and, therefore likely to accommodation situation ? General Election? enable repayment of a loan as quickly Prof Ash: Let me start by saying that as possible? Prof Ash: There is no danger at all of I do not believe that teaching standards Prof Ash: Well, there is a whole series us supplanting home students by foreign at Imperial College were particularly of questions there. The first thing to say Prof Ash: The first thing to say is that students, indeed one of the things that low. On the whole teaching standards is that the universities are indeed under I'm not myself in favour of a loan concerns me is that for several years we are high, were high when I came, and pressure. Imperial College has been put scheme if there is in fact a good have under-recruited home students by academic staff regarded this as a very under pressure, perhaps particularly alternative. The second thing you've got something like 10%, and I regard that as one of the most important items on our agenda; to improve our performance in recruiting really bright home students. I believe that we would be able to absorb a modest additional number of overseas students. Our target at the moment is to go up to 1300 students—there are just over a thousand students at present. The accommodation business is extremely serious. At the moment we are able to promise first-year students accommodation in College-owned property of one sort or another, and we will be able to stick to that whatever happens. In the past we have been able to promise, even now we are still able to promise one year in College-owned serious commitment. Nonetheless, in any organisation where you aim at the highest possible standards in research as well as teaching, there is going to be a certain amount of tension between these different types of duty which make up the academic career. I believe that we have been able to put a good deal of increased emphasis on the importance of excellence in teaching. In particular the committee under Professor David Blow has been examining this from all possible angles, and has made a whole series of suggestions, some of which have been implemented, some of which we are about to implement, which I believe will make a very major difference. because we were allowed to enjoy a very to be very clear about is that you don't favourable student-staff ratio until a mix up the Rector with Her Majesty's couple of years ago. Becuase we no Government. I think we have to look at longer have this favourable student staff the loan scheme as something which is ratio, the financial provisions that we imposed by Government, and not really have had from the UGC have been less something going to be given the weight favourable than one would have which I think it deserves. Here, of expected in view of the world- course, we are making a judgement as recognised eminence of Imperial to what happens at the election; let's College. I might say that Oxford and assume for the moment that the same Cambridge have been hit by exactly the administration continues and that the same problem. I believe that we are committee set up by the Prime Minister, under the chairmanship of George going to be under continuing pressure; Balden, will report their findings on the my personal belief is that this will not loan scheme; they have not reported so change very much with whatever new far and it has been clear for some administration we will face in a few considerable time that they would not do weeks time. I know that some of my so before an election. I believe that some colleagues would disagree with me on
of the fears you express are real, I believe that the intention of the Government is to be more dirigiste than any Government has been so far in higher education, that there will therefore be a tendency to increase the number of students in the sciences and engineering. To some extent, as long as this trend doesn't go too far, I think one can see a certain amount of sense in it. The country can make a great deal of use of applied scientists who are competent, but perhaps not particularly brilliant at their work, whereas the use you can make of people who have gone through a degree in the arts, and who are fairly average, is really very limited. Up to a point some of this funnelling of talent in to the sciences is not entirely a mistake; what worries everyone is the extent to which this will be pushed, and the extent to which the universities will lose control, and the extent to which the people who want to study will lose control over what they are able to do. FELIX: Do you feel there is a danger also that, as universities strengthen their ties with industry, education will have to move too far towards what is demanded by big industrial sponsors? Prof Ash: I think that danger exists, I believe it can be resisted; I believe that we can resist the tendency to go too far towards developmental types of research. It has always been fairly easy for elite research teams to get money. The trick is to get money to do what you want to do in any case, and I believe that we will be able to do that. FELIX: A recent Board of Studies meeting minuted that, due to a shortage of space, some departments might need to introduce 8.30am lectures. Do you see this as a definite possibility? Prof Ash: I do see it as a possibility and I believe that it will be less unpopular than you might think at first sight. It's hard to get out of bed for a 9.30 lecture; it is actually no harder to get out of bed in time for an 8.30 lecture. It's purely a matter of putting the alarm clock one hour earlier. Moreover if you have to commute, as some of our students do, it is actually much "more comfortable to commute in time for an 8.30 class than a 9.30 class. What I think is needed is something like the American universities provide, and incidentally an early class in America is 7.00am, a medium starting time is 8.00am and a late class is 9.00am. I believe that the essential companies that people within Imperial requirement is to have a vat of coffee College would like to set up can start available and I think that that is the their existence in a kind of sheltered initiative that Departments should take environment. I believe that, in the when they schedule lectures for 8.30. fullness of time, the College will indeed benefit. This Science Park within FELIX: Few IC students know very Silwood Park has been set up by starting much about the Technology Centre a company called Impel. Impel is not which is being set up at Silwood Park. meant to make a profit, but it is meant Could you first of all tell us a little bit to return funds to the College as an about that, and is it likely to affect the excess of funds accumulate. I believe College budget? that in time it will have a positive impact on our budget, but quite apart from that Prof Ash: Well it is first and foremost I also think that it will provide a better an attempt to provide an interface interface between ourselves and industry between the research at Imperial College and will lead to indirect benefits which and the outside world. It is, amongst may in fact be very much larger than other things, a place where small those direct benefits. FELIX, Friday May 29th 1987 7 part of your question; do I find the job frustrating? I would say about two thirds of the time, yes. The problem is not just administration; I do believe that universities are intensely conservative places, and there is a reluctance to change both at the strategic and at the tactical level. In this respect Imperial College is no exception. I think my other frustration has been the great difficulty of communicating with the academic staff. The students have a good communications medium in FELIX, there is nothing that corresponds to that for the College as a whole. There was such a thing; it got axed some years back as a result of one of the earlier cuts; I intend to reinstate it; we hope to have a first issue of a new College journal sometime in the fall. As to what I've achieved since I've been here, I think it's very hard to point to anything very much. I believe that we are well on the way to getting a better structure for interfacing with industry, and here the arrival of Dr David Thomas has made an enormous difference. I believe that we've made a good start at communicating with our alumni; the culmination of that first phase will be Alumnus Day on 7th July. I believe that we are well on the way to agreeing the merger with St Mary's Hospital Medical School. I'm very enthusiastic about that particular development. The stage it has reached is that we have the enthusiastic support of the Board of Studies. The final stage will be to obtain the agreement of the Governing Body on June 19th, and I am confident that that will be forthcoming. Can I make one further comment? FELIX: Certainly. Prof Ash: I'd like to say something about FELIX. I think FELIX is a very good journal. I think it really does serve its primary role of communications between the students and particularly between the officers of the Union and their constituents. I believe that it tends to be too inward-looking. There is just a little too much by way of jokes about the officers and things which really are not likely to be of enormous interest to more than about five percent of the students. I do think that opportunities for looking at the role of Imperial College in the country at large is something that one could with advantage develop. There's one specific thing which I would really wish to urge on the Editor of FELIX, this year's and next year's, and FELIX: After eighteen months in the job that is never again to accept annonymous of Rector, what do you feel have been letters. I think they are diabolical, even your major achievements and do you if the name is supplied to the Editor. find the job frustrating in that the This is a free society; I really do not administration is cumbersome and it accept that any student needs to have any takes a long time to get anything into fear of the consequences of writing what practice. he or she firmly believes to FELIX. I believe that they should do so over their Prof Ash: Let's start with the second own signatures.
Page 1 and 2: The Newspaper Of Imperial College U
Page 3 and 4: Editorial FELIX, Friday May 29th 19
Page 5: Featura For those of you who found
Page 9 and 10: Reviews FELIX, Friday May 29th 1987
Page 11 and 12: What's On FELIX, Friday May 29th 19

773 Friday 29th May - Felix

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