Why another blog? Paradoxically I got the idea after reading Ivan Tribble’s column in the Chronicle of Higher Education and his recent follow up as a reaction to the critique of the whole ‘blogger community’. According to Tribble – whoever that may be – a blog easily becomes a therapeutic outlet:
“Worst of all, for professional academics, it’s a publishing medium with no vetting process, no review board, and no editor. The author is the sole judge of what constitutes publishable material, and the medium allows for instantaneous distribution.”
Welcome to the 21st century! I guess that’s what the Internet is all about, and even academia needs to live with it. Don’t worry, I’ll continue to let peers judge my work through the official channels of journals and conferences. I do however have enough trust in professional academics – including myself – to use new media in a responsible manner.
But still, ..why start blogging? Just because it’s a good way to keep track of the developments in the fields that I research: higher education and research policies, science & innovation policies, and the globalisation and transnationalisation of (public) policies. Blogging will hopefully give me the opportunity to continuously link my more theoretical and conceptual work to current affairs.
That said, what is the blog about? It is a blog on higher education, science and innovation, all from a global perspective. These are three keywords that best express my research interests. But every now and then I will make a jaunt to other interests like Dutch, Australian, Southeast Asian and European politics, books, music or movies, and other fun things in life like diving and travelling.