Good news for PGRs here (who need it this week, given worries over biomedical and physics funding), but as @kirstygrainger.bsky.social points out, it's hard to tell if higher stipends will come at the cost of fewer UKRI‑funded doctoral students

Some more details in here about changes to the Global Talent visa route, with govt promising further reforms through 2026 Still very little detail on what Rachel Reeves said at Davos about reimbursements for some Global Talent visa holders And a 👎 to staggering immigration health surcharge payment

Nature sums up 3 elements of UKRI funding changes: MRC/BBSRC grant pauses; STFC cuts; infrastructure deprioritised. Shame there's no credit for @resprofnews.bsky.social which first revealed all three! Stellar work by @francesjones.bsky.social @robinbisson.bsky.social @isaacbarbosa1.bsky.social

This piece has been updated with some additional comments from MRC executive chair Patrick Chinnery, who also confirmed: "We unfortunately expect to make a reduced number of awards to applications currently being assessed by our four research boards and developmental pathway funding scheme" ...

Hmm, a par in this Nature story that refers to "media reports" summarises a string of recent stories broken by RPN, but no attribution given Story also gets the cost reduction figure at STFC wrong. It's £162m, not £60m - another figure revealed by RPN reporting

As mentioned in another thread, four UKRI leaders spoke to journalists this morning about changes to research council funding They addressed stories broken by RPN that STFC has to find £162m of costs savings by 2029-30, and that major physics infrastructure projects have been shelved ...

Four senior UKRI leaders appeared at a press briefing this morning in the wake of RPN stories over the last week about a shake-up to research council funding Our story that the MRC is expecting to fund fewer grants through applicant-led calls that closed in September last year was confirmed ...

There was a lot in Ian Chapman's appearance at the Commons science committee yesterday Easy to miss that he said the UK "may wish to explore" only joining one part of FP10 (the next Horizon Europe) and that "we don’t know the detail yet to be able to say that [association] is good value for money"

Last week, RPN broke a string of stories on significant changes to funding across a number of research councils (see thread below) This morning, UKRI chief executive is appearing at the Commons science committee, where he is being asked about them by MPs Here are some key moments so far 🧵

Today, UKRI published a letter from its chief executive, Ian Chapman, which follows a week of reporting on concerns about funding councils by our news desk. Scroll down for our agenda-leading coverage.

The leaders of four major physics infrastructure projects due to receive over £280m from UKRI were told in December they have “not been prioritised” for funding The projects include an upgrade to the LHC at Cern and a new US particle accelerator ...

Another big exclusive from @francesjones.bsky.social on cuts to UK physics funding

Further impacts from UKRI "period of transition" as it shifts more to "national priorities" after spending review. MRC tells grant boards to cut funding rates; BBSRC pauses applicant-led calls By @isaacbarbosa1.bsky.social @robinbisson.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

The MRC has asked each of its grant review boards to recommend no more than 3 applications for funding, RPN has heard from multiple sources Normally, boards recommend an average of 12-13 bids, so the success rate this year will be tiny This affects applicant-led calls which closed in 2025...

Well...we have attempted to activate the Cox. Sadly no tiktok vloggers in our address book, yet

Nobel winner and senior scientists slam cuts to UK physics “These cuts are the inevitable consequence of the government’s choices,” Nobel winner Andre Geim tells me www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Big development with some major consequences for British physics research STFC is asking asking leaders of projects it funds "to identify how their project would respond to flat cash and reductions of 20 per cent, 40 per cent and 60 per cent" Major UK science facilities are also facing cuts

The UK isn't doing that well in the bits of Horizon Europe that don't fund basic research That, plus the financial strain on British unis, means qus are starting to be asked on the logic of the UK joining the full-blown version of the next Horizon programme From @johnwomersley.bsky.social:

The reforms to UKRI under Ian Chapman are only just starting, but there are already worries about what they mean for the bread and butter, applicant-led funding calls at research councils While UKRI insists comparisons with previous years are impossible, figures from December suggest...

It's a *travesty* that RPN's image requirements chopped off most of the celebratory croissant, so here it is in all its glory

Last item on Today about Aphex Twin outstreaming Taylor Swift tickled me. Nick Robinson introducing it with an incredulous "I've never even heard of Aphex Twin!", and a guest repeatedly referring to 'The Aphex Twin' Hope he makes a track out of it Fair play to the Today prog for running it though

The highest paid staff member at the Alan Turing Institute got >£300k last year, while in 2024 the top pay was ~£220k For comparison, the chief exec of UKRI got ~£265k last year The Turing's chief exec, Jean Innes, left in December after a very rocky year

Not many details yet, but this is a genuine shift after *years* of campaigning by research sector to lower visa fees Treasury release mentions AI, quantum, semiconductors, life sciences and clean energy (i.e. industrial strategy sectors) But which fees? NHS surcharge, the big one, seems doubtful

👀 UK Research and Innovation and its councils quietly quit X / Twitter. Funding agency has “been using alternative platforms” amid ongoing controversies over social media company. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Patrick Vallance reckons there's been a big culture shift towards young British researchers looking to start companies "When I was a researcher…[it] was not something that people talked about, or if they did, it was very unacceptable" “It feels very different, it feels much more like the US"

“The longer delays happen because of lack of clarity around what associated countries can engage in, the more risk there is that it will take longer for countries to associate,” said Paul Boyle, Swansea vice-chancellor This could repeat the slowdown in collabs with the UK in Horizon Europe, he said

Couple of quietly good news stories for a government-wanting-to-get-growth POV today 1. Patrick Vallance reckons he's detected a change among the mindset of young British researchers to being "more like the US" in terms of wanting to start companies

The MRC's decision to stop funding research units is biting Four out of five units at the University of Cambridge will run out of funding by 2027, and staff at risk of redundancty are considering action, @isaacbarbosa1.bsky.social reports An insider said Cambridge is in "an awful position"

Development on the question of what would happen if a uni went bust Jacqui Smith said DSIT would work with funders "to safeguard strategically important research as far as possible, including in-flight research projects and research assets", while students' interests would be covered by OfS and DfE

Multiple surveys have found big proportions of UK unis (30-40%) cutting research support because of financial pressures Saving up problems for the future? @steverop.bsky.social tells @sophieatrpn.bsky.social “foundational things...which then might form the basis for future research” are being cut

There were 29,300 student visa applications last month, 17 per cent less than in December 2024 "The Home Office will be pleased but pretty much everyone else will see it as the disaster it is—for university finances and the UK’s soft power," said Nick Hillman, director of @hepi-news.bsky.social

Early Jan is usually pretty slow for news (Trump notwithstanding) but RPN reporters have started 2026 with some great stories Today, @francesjones.bsky.social reports on researchers given access to UKRI funding applications to see if AI could help speed up grant review 1/

Sophie's original piece is now free to read btw

Officially announced today: new deals between UK unis and 'big 5' publishers will trial removing article-processing fees from some journals, effectively making them free for both readers and authors @sophieatrpn.bsky.social was well ahead of the curve on this www.jisc.ac.uk/news/all/lan...

Universities dropping publisher deals ‘could boost open access’. Advocates say non-profit platforms could become more attractive, but warn of accelerating redundancies in libraries. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

It's become a mantra that the govt are protecting curiosity-driven research It's still the biggest chunk of UKRI's budget But figures out today clearly show it will decline in real-terms, while spending on govt priorities and innovation will rise www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

BREAKING: Flat cash settlement for curiosity-driven research at UKRI up to 2030. UKRI has released a breakdown of how it will spend its £38.6 billion four-year research budget. Spending on government priorities will increase. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Cash-strapped universities face tough calls on publishing deals. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

Just out: Four major publishers agree deals with UK university sector after long-running talks. Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and Wiley have met "sector-agreed thresholds for acceptance", says Jisc. Via @robinbisson.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

BREAKING: Four major publishers agree deals with UK university sector Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and Wiley meet “sector-agreed thresholds” in long-running talks Free to read www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

Easy to miss, but Research England will now require "minimum standards" on research culture as a condition of funding Collecting baseline data was mooted as part of REF, but dropped "to keep REF focused on its core purpose" Instead RE will "establish rigorous standards” on culture in 2026

STFC leadership braces staff for more job losses. Around 80 employees to depart under first voluntary exit scheme, research council confirms, with more likely to come. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Kinda saying the quiet part loud this one... Interesting to hear it coming from DSIT though. Slow recovery will drain £££ from the UK's research budget Notable Jamie Arrowsmith of UUK saying that in the 3-year freeze-out there was “definitely a loss of expertise in things like research management”

REF after the pause: politics and a quiet retreat on culture. Changes risk reinforcing “extreme myopia” on traditional research outputs, write Simon Hettrick, Gemma Derrick, James Baker and Ola Thomson. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

Skills minister’s grip on university insolvency queried by MPs Education Committee questions claim by Jacqui Smith that insolvent institution could continue research and teaching www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Free to read this one, as is all our coverage on the REF reworking today 👇

REF 2029 changes: how the sector is responding. Responses from higher education and research organisations to reshaping of the Research Excellence Framework. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

🚨BREAKING🚨 REF 2029: Research culture metric overhauled (and weighting reduced). Research Excellence Framework reworked “to reduce burden”, with elements of 2021 exercise reinstated. All the headlines as the three-month pause ends. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

UKRI's new CEO wants shift from "transactional" short-term grants to strategic relations with universities, based on "continuity and commitment". Ian Chapman in his first sit-down interview - with @resprofnews.bsky.social @robinbisson.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...