David Robinson, the Senior Consultant to Education International (the global federation of teachers’ unions) on international trade and higher education matters will be visiting New Zealand this month. He represents Education International at various WTO, UNESCO and OECD events. Mr Robinson is a world expert on the commercialisation of tertiary education. He is visiting New Zealand from 27 February to 2 March to give lectures in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington based on the theme Vandals at the Gate – the privatisation of education in New Zealand and around the world.

Mr Robinson is also the Associate Executive Director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) representing more than 65,000 academic and general staff at 121 universities and colleges. He is responsible for the association’s research and advocacy work. Prior to joining CAUT, he was the Senior Economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada’s leading progressive think tank and worked as a Lecturer at Simon Fraser University and Carleton University.

Mr Robinson’s three public presentations are:

1 Auckland 27 February at the University of Auckland

What are the international directions in tertiary education policy? What do they mean for vocational training and higher education?

2 Christchurch 28 February at the University of Canterbury

Lessons from Hurricane Katrina and other disasters – what happens when natural disasters are being used to radically reshape the tertiary education provision in a city.

3 Wellington 1 March at Victoria University of Wellington

GBLT1, Government Buildings Law School

6pm – 7pm, with drinks beforehand

The paradox – in New Zealand, like virtually every other nation, successive governments say tertiary education is one of the most important things to invest in. And yet the system itself and people who work in it are under more pressure than ever before.

For background information on Mr Robinson’s work:

1. Death Of The University As We Know It, New Matilda Magazine, 16 February 20122
2. Robinson’s abridged Vandals at the Gate presentation to TEU conference 2011
3. An op-ed piece for the Times Higher Education supplement a few years ago on commercialization of university research.
4. A short introduction to a study on higher education financing in Eastern European countries that tries to make the case for how the issues arising there are reflected in broader global debates. (Warning: big file size and some odd editing changes – e.g. signals becomes singles).
5. Two chapters to the Education International book on corporate taxation and quality public services.
6. A paper on university rankings that will be published by UNESCO in upcoming collection on the topic.
7. A report on the status of HE personnel in Anglo-American countries, including New Zealand. More recently, and far more controversially, Robinson wrote a similar study for Israel and Palestine.
8. A Vocational Education and Training package of materials that Robinson produced for Education International over the past few years.
9. A number of reports, documents  and briefing notes on trade in education can be found on the Education International website.

The Tertiary Education Union is organising Mr Robinson’s visit and we can coordinate time for an interview with him if you would like.  You can contact Stephen Day, at DDI 04 801 4792 or 021 2900 734.