After winning a huge legal claim against a Harvard University cancer centre, Eugenie Reich tells @jgro-the.bsky.social about the impact of the case, how universities ‘stonewall’ fraud allegations and why she quit journalism to help whistleblowers in science #research #fraud
https://ow.ly/rYoy50YKuN2

Excellent article from @jgro-the.bsky.social on the current "carnage" that theoretical physics and PPAN science in general are facing.

#UKRI must react and propose a solution. If not, the government and the SITC must step in.

Is striving for excellence a liability for Europe’s early-career precariat? In principle, permanent positions are awarded to the most deserving – but perceptions remain that, in reality, many universities value connections over merit. Phillip Haubrock describes his struggles ...

The year I won an ERC grant, I expected years of uncertainty finally to crystallise into something solid. A lab. Independence to pursue ideas. A future that can be planned in more than 12-month increments. Instead, I learned how fragile a scientific career really is." @timeshighered.bsky.social

UK university staff: a final chance to tell us your feelings about the redundancy wave Whether you have direct experience of redundancies or not, and whatever your role is (or was) in the university, we are still keen to hear your views

UK university staff: have you feared for your job at any point during the past two years? How confident are you that redundancies are less likely this year than they were last year? This is your last chance to let us know in our UK Redundancy Survey. @timeshighered.bsky.social

Have any of your colleagues been made redundant by a UK university? Have you? Do you fear losing your job? Whether you are an academic or professional services staff member, employed or unemployed, we are keen to hear your views in our UK University Redundancy Survey
https://ow.ly/b6BF50Yl6B3

UK university staff: please complete our survey about redundancies Whether you are an academic or professional services staff member, employed or unemployed, we are keen to hear your views

Do you work at a UK university? If so, have there been any recent redundancies of colleagues within or beyond your department or division? Do you agree that they were unavoidable? And whose fault were they? Please let us know in our UK Redundancy Survey. @timeshighered.bsky.social

That this even has to exist...

UK university staff: please complete our survey about redundancies Whether you are an academic or professional services staff member, employed or unemployed, we are keen to hear your views

UK university staff: if your department/division has lost staff recently, how much has it increased your workload, damaged morale and worsened the student experience? Please let us know your views in our UK Redundancy Survey. @timeshighered.bsky.social

Authoritarian regimes perceive many humanities and social sciences as useless and dangerous. But while their truths might be inconvenient, they are vital to preventing technological developments from tearing already frayed social fabrics, says Saikat Majumdar #AcademicSky
https://ow.ly/2YMB50YiIJn

Who or what is to blame for the waves of redundancies at UK universities? Whether you are academic or professional staff, still employed or unemployed, we are anxious to hear your perspectives in our UK Redundancy Survey #AcademicSky #HigherEd
https://timeshighered.survey.fm/uk-redundancy-survey

UK university staff: please complete our survey about redundancies Academic or professional staff, employed or unemployed, we are anxious to hear your perspectives

Have any of your colleagues recently been made redundant by a UK university? Have you? Do you fear losing your job? What has been the effect of redundancies on departmental morale? We are keen to hear your views

Quicker police response times would suit (and shirt) campus security As a first responder to thefts, attacks and student house parties gone wild, the prospect of faster emergency help sounds great, says George Bass

"As I watched him leave the grounds, I realised I was staring and that I couldn’t get my teeth apart. I spent the rest of the shift trying to work out whether I was high or whether I’d accidentally pressed “double shot” on the coffee machine." @timeshighered.bsky.social

India’s new caste bias regulations have resulted in turmoil The Supreme Court’s suspension of the regulations highlights contention about when equity efforts tip into reverse discrimination, says Mukhtar Ahmad

India, too, is in uproar over if/when diversity politicies tip into reverse discrimination. www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/indi...

‘Bizarre’ linguistics paper on water retracted by Springer Nature Jordanian professor’s free-wheeling study is pulled and an editorial board member sacked after linguists criticised ‘extremely strange’ article

“Bizarre” linguistics paper claiming ancient Greeks forbade reference to water as “H₂O” retracted by Springer Nature journal amid disbelief “rambling” and “methodologically weak” article was ever published www.timeshighereducation.com/news/bizarre... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

REF 2029 downgrades research culture, restores five output limit Several planned reforms to the UK’s Research Excellence Framework scrapped or partially rolled back after three-month pause, bringing exercise closer to 2021 audit

Breaking: REF 2029 downgrades research culture weighting, reinstates five outputs per academic limit www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ref-202... via @jgro-the.bsky.social #REF2029

We're hiring at @timeshighered.bsky.social! A great opportunity to join us as a reporter and to lead our coverage of European higher education. Closing date 23 November careers.timeshighereducation.com/jobs/6737419... #journalistjob #journojob

Actually, you can pretty much any edition out of the archive and there's any number of pieces that still feel very current (we did a piece on that once too!) - a reminder that policy development is more cyclical than linear over the longer term. It's all a bit disheartening really!

An article from a year ago but still extremely relevant www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/it-tim...

Skills White Paper: Clarity and coherence or confusion and complexity? To understand the government’s approach to education, we must await more announcements. Let’s hope they go further, says Nick Hillman

"At the recent Labour Party conference, we were told to expect “clarity and coherence”. It is only a slight exaggeration to say, when it comes to the provision of skills, that the White Paper is more likely to create confusion and complexity," says Nick Hillman @timeshighered.bsky.social

Skills White Paper: Is extra oversight a fair price for sector stability? Questions will be asked about the Office for Students’ fitness to take on extra powers over quality, agents and franchising, says Diana Beech

"The OfS will now have greater authority to intervene where courses are deemed to offer poor value – raising questions about whether the regulator is truly equipped to make such judgements, especially after recent criticisms of its own poor performance", says Diana Beech. @timeshighered.bsky.social

Will superuniversities save UK HE? The quasi-merger of the universities of Kent and Greenwich has raised questions about how many other higher education institutions might see an opportunity – or a necessity – to team up as financial p...

Will superuniversities save UK HE? Six experts share their views www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/will-s...

Where now for the REF? The Research Excellence Framework has been postponed for three months ‘to take stock and ensure alignment with the UK government’s priorities and vision for higher education’. But how radical should t...

Where now for the REF? Five very different views on how radical the changes should be www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/where-...

The REF’s postponement raises hopes that sanity will prevail on PCE The three-month pause to re-examine the assessment of ‘people, culture and environment’ could prelude a welcome reversal, says Alice Sullivan

Opinion: The three-month pause in the Research Excellence Framework to re-examine the assessment of ‘people, culture and environment’ could prelude a welcome reversal, says Alice Sullivan
#academicsky #REF

Universities failing on research culture could lose funding Research England to use REF pause to consider whether institutions must meet baseline performance measures as a condition of receiving funds

Another bombshell REF announcement: radical change of direction at UKRI re research funding seems on the cards www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers...

At UUK conference Patrick Vallance announces 3-month pause in REF process to make sure it is ‘properly aligned’ to national priorities. Still on for 2029 but want to avoid it measuring the wrong things. Story soon at @timeshighered.bsky.social

IoT also a great advert for academia. See this 2017 interview we did with Melvyn Bragg: "I just wanted to talk to academics on one subject and see what happens”. www.timeshighereducation.com/features/nev...

Raygun: ‘I don’t go on campus much. When I do, I try to keep a low profile’ Cultural studies academic Rachael Gunn’s breakdancing performance at the Paris Olympics went viral for all the wrong reasons. One year on, she tells John Ross that although processing the ridicule has...

Academic Rachael Gunn one year on from the Olympics: “Things settle down and then some other crazy thing happens. I’m the number two Halloween costume in the world, or everyone’s wearing a T-shirt with my face on it. I live in a totally different reality”
www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/raygun...

The UK’s immigration hall of mirrors is making me reflect on my future If the UK doesn’t want skilled migrants any more, maybe my contributions would be better appreciated in the Global South, says Meron Wondemaghen

"The HO’s behaviour and policies make it obvious that the UK no longer wants even legal skilled migrants. And the constant recalibration required to stay compliant with shifting regulations leads to perpetual uncertainty and fatigue." @timeshighered.bsky.social

I am pretty sure those are the lyrics of a Talking Heads song.

Where would ‪@retractionwatch.com‬ be without the late Tom Lehrer's advice for academics?

Plagiarize!
Let no one else's work evade your eyes
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes
So don't shade your eyes
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize
Only be sure always to call it please "research"