The value of university armed service units

本研究将调查大学武装部队（USU）的价值，重点是他们的价值USU毕业生谁不继续在武装部队服役，以及英国军事机构。USU包括大学皇家海军部队（URNUs），大学军官训练团（UOTC）和大学空军中队（UAS），分别拥有皇家海军，英国陆军和皇家空军作为其母体服务。USU对英国和英联邦学生开放。USU为学生提供了军事生活和训练的味道在他们三年的参与。学生毕业后没有义务从事军事职业。USU由国防预算提供资金，附属于一所大学或一个区域财团。轶事证据和我们的试点研究表明，USU对许多不同的选区都有价值。然而，对于这一价值究竟意味着什么以及如何体现，几乎没有共识。这就是这项研究的重点。这项研究将解决USU价值的问题：* USU的毕业生谁可能（或可能不会）看到他们过去的USU经验的价值，在个人属性和可转移的研究生水平的技能，他们的USU参与可能已经灌输。USU毕业生的雇主可能（或可能不会）看到USU经验的价值，在员工开发的技能和属性方面，并由求职者带到劳动力市场。大学可能（或可能不会）看到主办USU的价值，无论是为学生提供发展毕业生就业能力的机会，还是为主办USU可能带来的形象和营销效益。在USU的学生参与者谁可能（或可能不会）看到他们的USU经验的价值，通过他们的可转移技能的发展和他们的简历和他们的就业前景，参与可能带来的增强。三军和国防部可能（或可能不）看到资助USU的价值，用于招募目的，并为USU提供机会，让更广泛的公众了解英国武装部队的角色和精神。其中第一个是，很简单，确定USU对上述五个选区的价值。因此，这项研究具有应用的成分。与国防和高等教育部门的主要研究用户合作，我们希望对这一价值问题进行独立和严格的评估。值得注意的是，我们正在以非货币的方式看待“价值”。我们没有进行成本效益分析，而是非常明确地关注价值，因为价值不一定需要量化，而是可以定性地判断为个人和社会组织的利益。反过来，我们将与我们的研究用户（我们曾与他们合作开发此应用程序）一起，将我们的结论纳入高等教育和国防的未来政策和决策层面。第二个目标是学术性的。该研究团队在军民关系以及军国主义和军事化方面的概念性工作方面享有学术声誉，这些工作塑造了社会学，人文地理学和政治学的研究议程。这项研究将通过探索和概念化这种不太明显的军事存在和影响的表现来继续这项工作。通过提供对USU的独立，批判性的评估，达到最高的学术标准，这项研究有望为未来的高等教育和国防政策辩论做出独特而有价值的贡献。以及关于军事组织与更广泛的公民社会之间关系性质的学术辩论。

This research will investigate the value of the university armed service units (USUs), focusing on their value to USU graduates who do NOT go on to serve in the Armed Forces, and to the UK military establishment. The USUs comprise the University Royal Naval Units (URNUs), the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) and the University Air Squadrons (UAS), which have, respectively, the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force as their parent services. The USUs are open to British and Commonwealth students at UK universities. USUs provide students with a taste of military life and training over their three years of participation. Students are not obliged to proceed to military careers following graduation. USUs are funded through the defence budget, and affiliated to either a single university or a regional consortium.Anecdotal evidence and our pilot research suggests that the USUs have value to a number of different constituencies. However, there is little consensus as to what, exactly, this value means and how it is manifest. That is the point of this research. The research will address the question of USU value for:* Graduates of USUs who may (or may not) see value in their past USU experience, in terms of the personal attributes and transferable graduate-level skills which their USU participation may have inculcated.* Employers of USU graduates who may (or may not) see value in the USU experience, in terms of the skills and attributes developed in employees and brought to the labour market by job applicants.* Universities which may (or may not) see value in hosting USUs, both for the opportunities units provide to students in developing graduate employability, and for the profile and marketing benefit which hosting a USU might bring.*Student participants in USUs who may (or may not) see value in their USU experience, through development of their transferable skills and the enhancement of their CV and their employment prospects that participation might bring.* The three Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence which may (or may not) see value in funding the USUs, for recruitment purposes and for the opportunities the USUs present for informing a wider public of the roles and ethos of the British Armed Forces.The research will achieve two core objectives. The first of these is, quite simply, to establish the value of the USUs to the five constituencies identified above. The research therefore has an applied element. Working with key research users from the defence and higher education sectors, we are looking to provide an independent and rigorous evaluation of this question of value. Significantly, we are looking at 'value' in non-monetary terms. Instead of a cost-benefit analysis, we are focusing quite explicitly on value as something that need not necessarily be quantified, but instead can be judged in qualitative terms as benefit drawn to individuals and social organisations. In turn, and in conjunction with our research users (with whom we have worked in developing this application), we will be feeding our conclusions into future policy and decision-making levels in higher education and defence. The second objective is an academic one. The research team have an established academic reputation for their conceptual work on civil-military relations and on militarism and militarisation, which has shaped research agendas in sociology, human geography and political science. The research will continue this work by exploring and conceptualising this less-visible manifestation of military presence and influence.By providing an independent, critical evaluation of the USUs, to the highest academic standards, the research promises to make a distinct and valuable contribution both to future higher education and defence policy debates on the future of USUs, and also to academic debates on the nature of relations between military organisations and wider civil society.