European Universities were developed by the Church for the discussion and dissemination of a set of beliefs. In the 19th century the Enlightenment reintroduced the ideas of Epicurus and the Socratic Method into the Universities. The European University model spread throughout the world and was strongly influenced by mass tertiary education in the USA.

 

A Professorial system dominated European Universities in the 19th and 20th centuries. Student/Staff ratios were small, student were disciples of a Professor (or the interests of the Professor). Development of discipline based departments/faculties around Professors supported in-depth study of a specific subject. However, discipline language developed, excluding non-specialists. In addition, students get jobs in their own discipline and accreditation and unionization further isolate disciplines, especially in engineering and medicine. Discipline boundaries are artificial.

 

The introduction of General Education enables the location of a discipline on the map of knowledge and reduces barriers, building bridges between disciplines. This enhances the flow of ideas between disciplines. Karl Popper concluded that because we know nothing for sure and disprove theory by experimentation or observation there must be a close relationship between teaching and research in Science. There is a role, however, for didactic teaching in instruction in beliefs (e.g. religion) and established rules and procedures (e.g. playing the piano, learning to speak a language). What is clear is that University Teaching and Research needs to adjust to the new realities of mass education at the tertiary level. 

 

Professor David Randall was the Professor of Zoology, University of British Columbia. He was also the Chair Professor and Head of Biology and Chemistry at the City University of Hong Kong before. Prof. Randall is well recognized as a world leader in comparative physiology and endocrinology, and he has received numerous international awards in recognition of his outstanding research achievements. One of his books “Animal Physiology” has been translated into French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Russian, and Greek and is the bestselling book in physiology world-wide.

 

Prof. Randall was elected as the President of the Canadian Society of Zoologists and also President of the Western Canadian Universities. He served on the grant review panel of Canadian Research Council as well as the Biology & Medicine Panel of Hong Kong Research Grants Council.