I think this college rivalry thing could should be used to benefit science. I'm from Finland, country of good PISA grades for 15 year old kids. Also a country

I think this college rivalry thing could should be used to benefit science. I'm from Finland, country of good PISA grades for 15 year old kids. Also a country with lackluster universities according to Shanghai rankings. Our universities are plenty, as it was political decision to have one university in each "county". And then there is the idea "we are small country, we need to direct our resources". As a result there are two big technical universities Aalto and TTY, 200km apart. Which do not compete in anything scientific. If TTY studies steel casting, Aalto studies aluminum casting. Now this divide is getting worse as result of political decisions. There are student rivalries. The mechanical engineering students compete with electrical engineering students in pranking and drinking alcohol. Aalto students and Helsinki university students sneer at each other. And TTY, Aalto and various other students meet every year in kyykkä sport competition. While students don't have much to do with actual research, the attitudes probably effect pretty much everything. Currently the most competitive and talented students try to get masters degree as fast as possible and then make career at the private sector. You could compare this to Oxbridge. Two universities specifically trying to maintain comparable scientific know-how in every field possible. The compete on everything while being only 100km apart.