The Guardian’s Higher Education Network has spent the past fortnight comparing universities in the UK and Australia. The series highlights the many similarities between the two countries’ higher education systems, while also exploring some of the contrasts and controversies, and areas of collaboration and competition. Take a look at the series summary below to find out how UK universities and Australian universities match up in some of the most pressing issues for today’s higher education providers.
《卫报》的高等教育网络已经花了两周时间来比较英国和澳大利亚的大学，凸显了这两个国家的高等教育系统的相似之处，同时还探索了一些对比和争议，此外还有不同领域的协作和竞争。以下是出国留学网为大家独家整理并且翻译的英国大学和澳大利亚大学的比较，一起来看看这两个国家的大学如何成为今天最顶尖高等教育的提供者，希望对大家有帮助。
Which country’s universities are more innovative?
Pointing out that the UK and Australian higher education systems owe many of their similarities to their governments’ tendency to mimic each other’s policies, the series started with an interactive timeline showing major developmental milestones – and which nation got there first. This is admittedly highly subjective, largely depending on your perspective; those who disagree with policies such as increasing the tuition fee cap are unlikely to view the first country to do so as the most progressive or innovative. However, it is a fun way to get a quick overview of major changes at UK and Australian universities over the past three decades, and track parallel developments in the two countries.
Continuing the interactive theme, the network challenged readers to guess the missing word in a series of quotes from the countries’ respective higher education ministers, commenting on their own and each other’s policies.
哪个国家的大学更具创新性?
英国和澳大利亚高等教育系统有很多的相似之处，他们的政府倾向于模仿对方的政策，两个国家的大学也是交互发展，这个日程表也显示了这两个国家大学主要发展的重要里程碑——并且哪个国家先做到了。这诚然是主观性太强，很大程度上取决于你看问题的视角;不同意一些例如增加学费收费上限这样的政策的国家，不太可能认为第一个这样做的国家是最前卫或者最创新的。但是，获得在过去的三十年里，在英国和澳大利亚的大学获得重大变化的快速概览是一个有趣的方式，还有这两个国家跟踪并行的发展。
Which country’s universities are more collaborative?
Focusing on the ever-growing emphasis placed on international collaboration, the series featured a blog post from Simon Marginson, a professor at the UK’sInstitute of Education and professorial associate at Australia’s University of Melbourne, who argued that the major difference between the two countries is the strength of Australia’s relationship with fast-growing Asian nations such as China, Taiwan and Singapore. In contrast, Marginson argued, “Among all the English-speaking nations, the UK has the lowest rates of research collaboration in dynamic Asia.”
The wide range of research collaborations involving UK universities and Australian universities was showcased in a photo gallery, with comments from participating academics highlighting some of the benefits and challenges of these kinds of cross-planet projects. Time zone differences definitely came top of the ‘challenges’ pile, though this was viewed in more positive terms surprisingly often. As the University of Melbourne’s Vanessa Teague put it, “we get twice as much work done in a week: one side works while the other side sleeps”.
This piece was complemented by blog contributions from two academics who have each experienced working within both UK and Australian universities. Interestingly, both viewed their home country as less successfully collaborative at a national level compared to their new host. Chris Elders, who moved from working in UK universities to join Australia’s Curtin University last year, said, “I am struck by the much greater sense of collaboration between institutions, compared with the more fiercely competitive atmosphere in the UK.” Yet Emily Hudson, who made the move in the opposite direction to join Oxford University in 2012, said she’d experienced a greater sense of collaboration in the UK: “I have found that the UK’s size and proximity to other countries makes it far easier to maintain connections with the broader academic community.”
哪个国家的大学更具协作性?
将重点放在不断增长的国际合作上，这一系列推荐一篇Simon Marginson的博客文章，他是英国教育研究所的教授，以及澳大利亚墨尔本大学的副教授，他认为两国之间的主要区别是澳大利亚与快速增长的亚洲国家如中国、台湾、新加坡的关系强度。Marginson辩称，相比之下，“在所有讲英语的国家中，英国跟亚洲是有着最低科研合作的国家”。
涉及英国大学和澳大利亚大学的范围广泛的的研究合作显示在照片库，突出这类跨星球项目的一些好处和挑战。时区差异肯定位居“挑战”的榜首，尽管这从往往从更积极的角度来看会有惊喜。正如墨尔本大学的凡妮莎蒂格说，"我们在一周内完成两倍多的的工作: 一方工作而另一在睡觉"。
这篇博客由两位在英国和澳大利亚的大学内都有工作经验的学者完成。有趣的是，两者都认为在国家协作方面，更另一方相比自己国家是较少成功的一方。Chris Elders，之前在英国大学工作，在去年加入澳大利亚的科廷大学，他说，"我深受大学之间的协作感动，相比英国的更激烈的竞争气氛，澳大利亚之间的协作意识更强烈"。但是，Emily Hudson，她做了相反方向的移动，在 2012 年加入牛津大学，她说她在英国经感受到了更强烈的协作:"我发现英国的大小，以及和其他国家的接近，使得它更容易与更广泛的学术社区保持连接。"
Which country has the better higher education funding system?
With higher education funding close to the surface of any debate in the sector, several contributions to the series explored funding choices already made by the two countries, as well as those looming in the near future. Deakin University’s Jane den Hollander argued that proposed cuts to higher education funding in Australia could lead to fewer choices for students unable to afford hiked-up tuition fees; potential job losses and cuts to academic salaries; and increased debt for the poorest students and graduates – meaning more student loans remaining unpaid.
Australian National University’s Ian Young explored the issue of deregulating fees, highlighting this as an example of the two countries’ tendency not to learn from each other’s mistakes. The UK government, he argued, should have known that almost all UK universities would charge the full £9,000 maximum rate when this was cap introduced, by looking at the Australian precedent. Concluding that the only way to ensure there is real price competition is to deregulate entirely, he suggested that this is the most practical – if not always popular – pathway for both countries.
But Gill Wyness and Richard Murphy, each holding positions at two UK universities, were keen to warn against following the Australian example too readily. While recognizing the appeal and apparent strengths of Australia’s higher education funding system, they argued that the Australian model demands higher taxpayer contributions, risks deterring lower-income students from studying certain subjects for which fees are higher, and has also raised concerns about a lack of quality control in entry requirements or completion standards.
哪个国家有更好的高等教育拨款制度?
凭借高等教育资金接近这个部分的任何辩论，探索由两个国家已经贡献的几个资金选择，以及那些即将在不久的将来提供的。迪肯大学Jane den Hollander 德认为在澳大利亚削减高等教育经费，为负担不起的学生上调了学费; 可能导致更少潜在工作的选择和削减学术的薪金;以及贫穷学生和毕业生不断增长的债务 — — 这意味着更多的学生贷款的剩余未付。
澳洲国立大学的Ian Young 探索开放收费问题，突出两个国家的倾向，就是不从别人的错误中学习。他认为，英国政府应该知道几乎所有的英国大学最多会收取全额9,000 英镑，通过看澳大利亚的先例。确保真实价格竞争的唯一方法就是完全解除，他建议，这是最实用的 — — 如果不总是那么受欢迎 — — 是这两个国家共同的通路。
但Gill Wyness 和Richard Murphy，分别在两所英国大学就读，急于警告不要太容易随澳大利亚的例子。虽然认识到澳大利亚的高等教育财政拨款制度的明显优势，他们认为澳大利亚模型要求更高的纳税人贡献风险，低收入学生学习的费用较高，也引起了关注缺乏入学要求或完成标准的质量控制。
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