Legover

In 2015 there was speculation amongst academic circles of a generous grant to establish a Professorship in the sphere of education, development and learning. This is now a reality.

No less than Cambridge University is to be the beneficiary of such an endowment.

The successful appointee will have to have an outstanding research record of international stature allied to vision, leadership, experience and enthusiasm in order to strategise policy which would ensure that children, globally, are equipped with the necessary 21st century skills.

I was brought up under the mantra, the all encompassing three discipline mantra of Reading, writing and 'Rithmatic but it appears that the emphasis now for the future of education is more on problem solving, team work and self-control.

The pool of candidates is likely to cover a broad range of specialisms in educational and developmental psychology, early years experience and from those working in the areas of play and playfulness. These latter two skill sets may sound a bit out of place in what seems, at first glance, to be a rather starchy academic appointment but then again, if the funding institution is the LEGO Foundation the appointee will have a great deal of fun and entertainment over and above the £84,000 per annum remuneration that goes with it.

The Professor of Lego, which will undoubtedly be the title used by the media, will have at their disposal a four million pound fund from the Foundation to meet the costs of the post and to support a play research centre in the Cambridge University Education Faculty.

The job description does understate the attractions of the position listing professorial duties as teaching, research, examining, supervision and administration but even faced with the prospect of such tedium I feel compelled to put myself forward as a candidate.

Here is an extract from my application submission ahead of the closing date on 18th January 2017.

To whom it may concern at Cambridge Uni Board of Electors, 

Reference JR10956- 

I would like to apply for the LEGO job as I have always enjoyed playing with the stuff whilst benefiting from becoming a thoroughly grounded and rounded human being through lessons learned about sharing and playing nicely.

At the moment I am a Chartered Surveyor but my interest in buildings and structures as a child did come from using LEGO bricks.

I have a detailed knowledge of the history of LEGO and have kept up to date with all of the latest trends and themed sets.

I am a champion of the LEGO ideal and have never knowingly vacuumed up or destroyed a brick in my life.

I feel that I would add a very personal approach to being Professor of Lego with the emphasis on "hands on play" and not too much of the academia that to my mind is a problem with education today anyway. I hope you do not think me too cheeky but I assume that the position includes a lot of freebies.

I do have some very good ideas on the future of Lego and how it can solve a lot of the problems in the world but I am not prepared to divulge these just yet.

In terms of my current research plans I have recently developed a large plastic sheet, in fact an old shower curtain, onto which loose lego bricks and pieces can be poured so that after becoming exhausted with play I can simply pour the whole lot back into the storage box with minimum spillage.

I have toyed with the idea of colour coding my Lego brick collection and would be pleased to discuss on a Departmental basis the merits of this. I would also like to research the revolutionary idea of producing lego bricks with an odd number of dimples as I have strong convictions that wholly even numbered dimples are elitist and, frankly, a bit prejudiced in what is, after all, an imperfect world.

I am pleased to see that recent Lego figures have attempted to be more inclusive and representative of social and gender roles but more work can certainly be done in this regard. 

I already have a few ideas of a Faculty Premises made completely out of Lego which should be affordable, practical and a lot of fun although I do not know if a 50 metre by 40 metre building plate is yet widely available.

As you can see I have a lot to offer the position. My current employer would require a months notice - no, only joking- I am self employed and so could start straight away.

As Professor of Lego and you can be assured of commitment and loyalty. Unlike others entering High Office with a reluctance to give up interests and numerous potential conflicts of interest I would be more than happy to put my Meccano( both plastic and metal) sets, Sticklebricks, Pennybrix, K'nex and even Jenga Blocks on E-Bay within a reasonable time scale.

Thank you for your consideration. I am sure that with me in charge of the toy cupboard everything, as they say, will be awesome.

 What my First Day as Professor of Lego would look like