How true is this for university academics?

[MyJawisFred]

If you had to be honest, would you say that the average lecturer/teacher/academic who provides education to students at Oxford or Cambridge University is better/more intelligent than their counterparts at a different university, especially the less prestigious the university is?

This is asked because if you look at the background of certain professors at Oxford for certain subjects they tend to have really illustrious academic credentials often having gone to Oxbridge themselves whereas professors teaching the same subject at some other university like Liverpool or Canterbury tend not to have gone to Oxbridge and have gone to less prestigious universities. Also, it seems like it is often the case that the head of a certain department at Cambridge has previously worked at Oxford whereas the head of a particular department at Birmingham may have previously worked not at Oxbridge but at Falmouth.

My experience (30 years an academic in a non-RG university) is that a few colleagues from my department later got jobs at Oxbridge. So to answer the OP’s first question, no I don’t think they became better/ more intelligent because of that move.
Also, it’s important to note that some lower ranked universities can have pockets of excellence ie departments that punch well above their weight within a particular institution and are well respected nationally and internationally.
I’ve also observed over the years that some of those people who are ambitious to work at Oxbridge or other highly ranked universities are willing to uproot their families and move around the country or even abroad. Others, including me, did not want to disrupt my children and partner, so did not chase any ambition to work in a more prestigious place. I don’t think that makes me less intelligent or competent at my job. I’d like to think it makes me a more well rounded person, considerate of other people’s needs as well as my own.

Better

more intelligent

quite tricky words to work with

likely to be top of their game within a very narrow academic discipline - I think that’s what the oxbridge background tells you

there is a bit of a club going on as well - they do look after their own

I have had some bad experiences with oxbridge guys getting promoted because “oxbridge” not becuase they could do the job, them failing ND kids, arrogance and in turn a narrow
mind

not all - but above average

complicated by the privileged background that many come from

tech fields

I agree there should be a defined, more respected place for good leadership and admin when it comes to promotion.

Is this not more likely to be something to do with the networking/“old boys”* network, rather than actual intelligence or university history?

*sorry can’t think of the actual phrase, but hopefully you’ll know what I mean.

I work in the Humanities and have held various leadership posts, including HoD for most of the last 25 years. My research is world leading according to the European Research Council.

Oxbridge doesn’t teach my current discipline so it’s not feasible to teach there, although I have examined DPhils/PhDs in both universities.

I think @MyJawisFred doesn’t really understand how the profession works. It’d be like me saying that if my solicitor doesn’t work for a magic circle firm, they are not intelligent or a good lawyer. And that would be rubbish.

Yes. 😂

How outstanding they are academically will make a difference to their research. It will make far less difference to their teaching - what matters there is that they know the stuff they are teaching and that they are able to communicate it. It also helps if they have some interest in teaching.

I remember watching one lecturer at Cambridge (it wasn't actually my lecture) who was the leading expert in his field. He was teaching the third year course in this field, because his inability to teach would do less harm there than elsewhere. He copied out of a textbook onto the blackboard, mumbling into his beard. At one point he said "I don't like the way he does this", and continued copying it out. Most lecturers were (fortunately) better than this, but there were few who were genuinely good teachers.

You might get better teaching at a "lesser" university.

I have one YP at Oxbridge at one at an RG, both same A level grades and GCSEs, both in STEM. I would say that this is pretty hard to answer as sometimes you get PhD students teaching undergrads at Oxbridge and excellent professors teaching at RG. They are at different stages of their careers and varying abilities. Perhaps it would be easier to compare outcomes of graduates studying accredited degrees across different universities such as psychology and medicine and dentistry to get a better feel for this.