In an interview with Research Europe, Austria's research minister @eviholz.bsky.social warned that some EU politicians want to copy Trump in taking a "chainsaw" to university funding www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Not sure this is very public info, but the head of Goalhanger (which produces The Rest Is History/Politics/Entertainment etc) told the Media Confidential podcast that in November they are launching The Rest Is Science Wonder who the presenters will be... www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/med...

Looks like a scaling back of the people, culture and environment element part of the REF is all but guaranteed, the question is really what it will look like after the pause If it's a radical departure from previous plans, that's pretty tough to swallow for anyone who spent time on the pilot

Another delay to the research culture metric planned for next REF - may raise more questions on its future. PCE pilot results were due for publication by end of October - now not coming until REF pause ends in December. By @robinbisson.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

£10bn over a decade is a huge sum by any standard - half the UK's entire annual public R&D budget...at one (new) institute Oxford uni had a research income of £778.9m in 23/24. Not directly comparable, but shows what scale the Ellison is aiming for

The numbers are pretty ludicrous If the UK didn't insist on the immigration health surcharge being paid upfront it would be a very different picture

Levy would undermine inflation boost to tuition fees, MPs told Taxing international student fees would “waste” efforts to “stop boiling the frog”, says UUK head www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Push for specialisation in university research; potential for a “more focused volume of research"; REF reforms to "better incentivise excellence" - @robinbisson.bsky.social pulls out key parts of govt's research plan in post-16 education white paper www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Research funding and REF reforms ‘will drive specialisation’ Government says plans for university sector in its post-16 skills and education white paper could result in “more focused volume of research” www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Occasionally you get reminded that what's going on in the US is not normal Since when have UK institutions offered "sanctuary" to US researchers? Erica Nelson from @ids.ac.uk told @sophieatrpn.bsky.social that for health equity scholars “it’s likely to be a pretty scary time”

“On the one hand, universities are being urged quietly to see if we can get US talent…but at the same time, it’s getting more difficult,” UEA deputy vice-chancellor Steven McGuire tells @sophieatrpn.bsky.social Someone else called 10-year qualifying time for settled status simply..."bonkers"

Intriguing result in the 'should AI be used in the REF' debate: GenAI tools outperform citation data on matching expert quality assessments @mikethelwall.bsky.social says his research gets “very strongly positive reactions and also a very strong negative reaction” Quelle suprise!

The ministerial migration to AI companies continues...Rishi Sunak, no less, has taken roles with Anthropic and Microsoft Former PM joins a bunch of ex-DSIT ministers and officials in AI-land, as we reported last week www.gov.uk/government/p...

The govt is making much of the promise of AI-powered science (there's a strategy incoming) but will it primarily benefit the most research-intensive universities? Great piece from @sophieatrpn.bsky.social

Brilliant piece by @fionamcintyre.bsky.social Not just university leaders worried about the fee levy, the CBI thinks it's a bad idea too Even the NUS, which is "ecstatic" about the return of maintenance grants doesn't support it

Groundhog day

Groundhog day

Rocketing visa costs ‘squeeze university research budgets’. Research-intensive institutions forced to hike spending on immigration fees, freedom of information requests show. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Labour MP Alex Sobel describes government fee levy plan as “stupid”, and also says ministers should never have implemented free speech act. Meanwhile, Russell Group VC describes fee levy as “utterly bonkers”. Lively session at #Lab25. Full story: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Strong argument from @sanjushdalmia.bsky.social for basic research funding "As a doctor, I meet patients whose diabetes management has been completely transformed by drugs such as the weight-loss medication Ozempic. This has only been possible thanks to curiosity-driven research on lizard venom"

Anthony Finkelstein, president of City St. Georges, told me he's worried about universities cutting back on academics' research time “Don’t expect that you’re just going to see an incremental drop—you might see that you tip over a threshold and you just lose the capacity to do world-class research”

Patrick Vallance has made it clear the Turing is a "an independent legal entity" so any legal challenges to a swathe of cancelled research partnerships "are being handled internally within the institute" The Turing abruptly shut down over 20 projects, so plenty of scope for unhappy partners

Liz Kendall promises ‘clear set of science priorities’ for UK New science secretary looks for input from academia but warns some areas will be “deprioritised” www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

International student fee levy would push 14 more universities into deficit, MPs told. Sector slams international student fee proposal as education department promises further details in autumn budget. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Looks like Musk's speech at the far-right march in London could be the last straw for the Royal Society Adrian Smith has written to fellows saying the governing council will discuss on 1 October Great reporting by @francesjones.bsky.social

Nice to have Ian Chapman, UKRI's new chief exec, writing exclusively for @resprofnews.bsky.social. Here's analysis of his comments on UK research "trying to do too many things", calling for focus on world-leading areas, by @robinbisson.bsky.social. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Absolutely baffled by the guy who busks outside Liverpool Street station with a violin, whose hand movements are a total mismatch with the music coming out of his amp If you listen carefully you can hear a load of cronky notes underneath the loud Bach Maybe it's an art piece

Some R&D policy watchers think it won't be easy tho Chapman "may not realise how tough the internal inertia in the current system is” says @johnwomersley.bsky.social “People follow the money but they follow the money whilst managing to do what they wanted to do," says @kieronflanagan.bsky.social

Ian Chapman, the new CEO of UKRI, telegraphs his intention to make the national funder more strategic (as Patrick Vallance has long pushed for) “We need to assess...where the UK can really lead globally, and then fund these areas with critical mass so that we give them the best chance for success”

“This deal is likely to help create new opportunities for cutting-edge research, matching American AI and investment with the UK’s highly capable talent and education system, especially in fields such as healthcare and the life sciences,” says Keegan McBride of the TBI Trump touchdown imminent

Peter Kyle's exit as science secretary might have raised doubts on whether his directive to the Alan Turing Institute to refocus on defence would be seen through Not so. The institute's chair Doug Gurr told staff on Monday it would plough on, reports @francesjones.bsky.social

Ministers "don’t want to be investing in areas of research where we don’t have the quality and we don’t have the scale", Malcolm Press, president of @universities-uk.bsky.social tells @harrietswain.bsky.social Significant when Research England is asking unis to detail how they use QR funding?

Visa applications to study in UK slump over summer. Recovery in student visas falters during crucial months, potentially spelling further trouble for university finances. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Calls to protect QR grow ahead of crunch budget decisions. Spending limits and high inflation weaken prospect of real-terms rise for university research funds. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Liz Kendall to replace Peter Kyle as science secretary. Skills moved from DfE to Department of Work and Pensions, under its new secretary Pat McFadden. By @robinbisson.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Big changes afoot after REF pause Explicit from Research England that the pause is to “ensure alignment with the UK government’s priorities and vision for higher education” Changes may include RE rewarding collaboration and specialisation - exactly direction of HE reforms expected in white paper

7. Labour MPs in university constituencies are unhappy about the proposed levy on international student fees, which they say will "further squeeze finances [and] limit investment in research and teaching for UK students" Skills minister Jacqui Smith met them this week Will the govt see it through?

6. Cracking exclusive by @francesjones.bsky.social on top UK universities losing £millions from science cuts in the US Medical researchers expecting tranches of NIH funding in August have been left scrambling to cover costs and keep their projects running Good to see the Times pick this one up

5. ARIA's top brass have defended the pace of its spending, after RPN reported £600m of the agency's initial £800m budget will be left over Matt Clifford said long notice periods for new senior staff have caused delays, and is “one of the single biggest issues for the R&D ecosystem in the UK”

4. Ministers are on expectation management about HE reforms in the delayed skills white paper Peter Kyle said work on financial sustainability "is taking time, and it will take more time" Jacqui Smith hinted at a move away from the marketised model: "we will say more about that in the white paper"

At the same event, Peter Kyle said he's worried about the trend of unis cutting back on research "It’s bad for discovery and scientific endeavour. It would also represent a tragic missed opportunity for our economy" Eyebrow-raising, given the radio silence from govt on fixing university finances

3. First public comments from UKRI's new chief exec As predicted when he was appointed, Ian Chapman wants to focus on delivery He also agreed with ministers that UK universities should specialise, saying the UK’s research sector has "tried to do more than our budget allows"

2. Jean Innes, CEO of the Alan Turing Institute, is resigning After effectively ordering the ATI to pivot to defence, Peter Kyle got what he asked for when he said new leadership was needed ATI said a new CEO would see it "step up its work on defence, national security and sovereign capabilities"

Back to school and back to a hectic news agenda (not that August was very quiet) Some highlights from this week 1. The REF has been 'paused' for 3 months. Vallance announcing this is 👀 given rumblings over summer

Revealed: Britain has an £800M Brexit border black hole www.politico.eu/article/brex...

Economists (@timjackson.org.uk , @jksteinberger.bsky.social) criticise ESRC head (@stianwestlake.bsky.social) Why? Westlake has said ESRC should set a “high bar against” awarding grants for degrowth-related research Jackson has described the move as “anti-scientific”

Latest from @francesjones.bsky.social on the Alan Turing Institute saga Phase 2 of its reform programme has put 50+ operational staff at risk of redundancy On top of the 143 at risk under phase 1 (focused on research programmes), that's nearly half the workforce No confirmed job losses yet though

ICYMI @sophieatrpn.bsky.social revealed on Friday that DSIT has returned £128m of its £337m global R&D fund to the Treasury, having failed to spend it in time Against expectations, though, the International Science Partnerships Fund will keep its ODA element, despite the govt cutting aid spending

Great scoop from @sophieatrpn.bsky.social here, with 2 parts: 1. More than a third of the £337m International Science Partnerships Fund initial budget got returned to the Treasury because DSIT didn't get it out of the door on time (Perhaps not surprising as the fund was somewhat cobbled together)

Uni leaders being briefed that the people, culture and environment part of @ref2029.bsky.social will shrink from 25 to 20% of overall scores Cue eye-rolling and teeth gnashing Big question is: why? Until now, Research England have been robust about how central research culture is to excellence