Academic Freedom

Today, I met the Director and Deputy Director of AIM.

I wanted to clarify my role as AIM's Lead Service Fellow. Each one of the 6 fellows have a contractual obligation to deliver what they promised in their research and I wondered what my role was as a Lead Fellow, given that everyone was responsible for their own work anyway. I also wanted to clarify to what extent I was allowed to speak in public and if I had to consult AIM before I made any public comment or statement.

On the former (leadership role), it was a simple brief. The whole should be bigger than the sum of its parts, so the collective AIM Fellows should have something to show for it TOGETHER. Either a white paper, some forum to inform policy makers and service industry etc. etc. Also, the whole should enhance the individual parts so individual AIM Fellows should be able to learn from one another and their individual outputs become that of higher quality. My role is to facilitate all that. When I asked what and how I should be doing it, the feeling was that I had to use my own initiative and provide 'leadership'. There were some best practices I could follow, but they didn't mind experimenting with new and creative ideas. There was quite a bit of autonomy for both myself and the cohort. The feeling I got was that it's left to the cohort (and me) to organize ourselves and how effective/successful we would be would depend on us (and me) with AIM providing guidance. It's really odd to be paid (extra 10% of my time), but have no clear performance indicators and to have such a level of trust. Such is the nature of academic fellowship appointments. And such a contrast from my past corporate and business life where the culture was that of 'command and control'....

On the latter (public statements), it was even more enlightening. First, it's good to know that, much like being an academic in Exeter, I have the freedom to say what I wanted and AIM would not seek to censor (or censure) me. I would represent my own views of course, but it is perfectly acceptable that my own view is also the AIM Lead Service Fellow's view. This was, at first, rather surprising. When I said - 'what if I criticized Gordon Brown and the UK government about the state of the service economy?' The answer I got was: 'Well, we would ask you why you would have such an opinion'. I was so tickled by the answer. I pushed further. I asked 'What if I was really condemning?' they said - 'we will ask you why'. And finally, 'If I had a really strong opinion, would that be AIM's view as well?'

I realised, as they clarified, that if I did have an opinion that is rather controversial, it would be my right. They may ask me why I had such an opinion, and they may agree or disagree with it, but it would not in anyway change the fact that I have the right to that opinion and that opinion would rightly represent the AIM Lead Service Fellow's opinion as it is who I am. AIM has no collective stand, which is really fascinating. Debate and discourse, it seems, is the natural order of things. This is something I really have to adjust to culturally. To not agree but still get along.... It is so refreshing and even after 5 years in the UK it still surprises me that academics can be so absolutely comfortable to be in a state of not having to agree with one another, and to be part of a collective entity (AIM) that is not some objective collective unit but a unit socially constructed by individuals with individual rights and opinions. Social constructivism at its best!

It also amazes the Asian in me (read: love of harmony) that they do not seek (nor do they want to seek) agreement just for agreement's sake.

I am also impressed that academics are also comfortable with a lack of knowledge in a certain area. I find myself in that position many times and it's so good to be an academic because not knowing is why we do research so it's perfectly acceptable to 'not know'.

On my train journey back, I reflected on how wonderful it is to be recognised as part of this club - an intellectual with academic freedom of speech and thought and to be amongst intellectuals who are not afraid of disagreement and debate but who thrive on critique and dissenting views for the growth of knowledge. My journey with AIM in the next 2 years is starting to be a fascinating one and one which I am sure I will learn a lot from.