🧵🚨 The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news. Today our report is published! www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n... 1/11

Academic authors, here's a peek into the black box of journal publishing from an journal editor if you can bear it:

Ooh we've opened our call for small research grants. £10k for any humanities or social sciences research. Open to independent scholars. We use partial randomisation to allocate the funding: random allocation between all that meet the quality threshold www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/ba-l...

I can't quite believe that @seatsixtyone.bsky.social was on the same Eurostar and sat next to us in the bar in Brussels before boarding different night trains.

Going to work after a lovely weekend. Glad S. doesn't know this was left in my coat pocket by accident...

JOB : Join RoRI as a Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow in Metascience https://researchonresearch.org/join-rori-as-a-research-fellow-senior-research-fellow-in-metascience/ Closing 9th of July, based in London/hybrid. Full time, fixed term until 31/12/2027 (apologies for late notice, full […]

Our ballot results are in! -63% of members voted -84% of voting members said YES to action short of strike -72% of voting members said YES to strike action Which means our call for industrial action has passed and we have a mandate to fight back!

Thanks to Fidesz banning Pride, the 30th seems to have become the biggest celebration to date 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ 444.hu/kepek/2025/0...

I'm delighted that my #Leverhulme research project exploring the long-term impacts of student debt is live! If you started an undergraduate degree between 2012-2015 and want to share your experiences, contact [email protected]. Please share @uniofnottingham.bsky.social #WeareUoN

Last year we ran a survey on UK HE redundancies. Based on 349 responses, the UNIVERSITIES DEGRADED REPORT uncovers awful conditions, targeting of marginalised groups, & far more cuts than estimated. People's stories matter. We can hold leaders to account. Please share widely tinyurl.com/48nzf7ew

Fabulous week and a bit in Scotland, visiting our lovely friends along the way. First time S. has been and we managed to see dolphins too 🐬

#MiniHungarianLanguageLesson: to be or not to be the "be" verb is never straightforward, just look at the unbearable lightness of being in english, i can "am", you can "are", and he can "is", but not only do they not look like they're the same word, they definitely don't look anything like "be"

You are warmly invited to join us in Nottingham to discuss internationalisation of higher education in challenging times; with an amazing line up of speakers 👇🏼 attendance is free with lunch provided. but please register for catering purpose: www.eventbrite.com/e/internatio... @m

This really is the 'high point' of the neoliberal experiment, where everything is reduced to income streams and the public good aspects of a university, such its anchoring role in local regions, are no longer considered important if they don't make money. And the government does/says nothing.

Superb days in Hungary with colleagues, friends, and most importantly, family. Probably the longest time I have spent away from S., and can't wait for a hug now... Otthon / Itthon

Legislating away independent media is apparently the next on the to-do list... insighthungary.444.hu/2025/05/14/o...

Great piece from @sallygimson.bsky.social highlighting the conflict of interests between @timeshighered.bsky.social ‘s reporting & ranking functions in view of their contract with the Hungarian government to get a university into the top 100 by 2030. www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/05/hung...

And because it's bad and wrong to treat people like threats just because they're foreign. We could lead with that occasionally.

It's been a pleasure to work with Zihao throughout these years and amazing to have witnessed a supportive viva discussing his research. Congrats! 🎓

... poverty didn't exist in the socialist era either, just ask SZETA. The weaponisation of admin data; as seen elsewhere, the next step is to just stop collecting info

*sigh*

Fascinating, partial answer to one of my recent questions...

...now it's just 2 weeks to go! Join us in December in Nottingham for the SRHE conference. Our network on Student Access and Experience looks forward to your submissions too! @ddubdrahcir.bsky.social @soniailie.bsky.social @mannymadriaga.bsky.social #SAEN

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🚨🚨 @ec.europa.eu is now examining to what extent Hungary’s plan to deploy facial recognition technology to identify people attending #LGBTQ+ #Pride events is illegal under the EU's AI Act. 🧵 www.politico.eu/article/hung...

Welcome - follow Educational Review now on here too!

Watching the situation with international students in the United States from afar, I found myself writing this piece: 'Where is the field's voice against the erosion of international students' civil liberties?' researchintlstudents.com/2025/04/22/w...

Using preprints in higher education / education research - yay or nay? Any thoughts welcome!

After an increased diversity of applicants, universities and award holders, @britishacademy.bsky.social has extended the innovative partial randomisation trial for BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/partial... @annavignoles.bsky.social

Such an amazing scholar and kind colleague. She will be sorely missed

Usual (?) commuter whinge: WHY is it not feasible to provide usable and sufficient amount of bike spaces on UK trains? I'm looking at you, EMR trains!

🗺️ How do students studying sociology talk about their degree choice? New paper w Betül & Jenny compares Norwegian, Hungarian & English students' understandings of sociology focusing on oneself/others & it being a generic/specific discipline @uonsoe.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Just as I lurch into two weeks off (🇯🇵🌸 here I come😊), quick reminder of the @srhe.bsky.social event we're hosting as soon as I get back on the 29th of April: Campus Geographies of the Student Experience. Available in person or hybrid, details/registration available here: srhe.ac.uk/civicrm/?civ...

...the Welsh coast is 💓🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Some serious dam building going on here! The one with the rocks is S' own work, clearly inspired by his dad

... lovely afternoon with the board of Educational Review, superb colleagues indeed; I did my PhD with Becky & Nadia at UOB. (I finally walked through the archway of Old Joe without the fear of failing my degree...)

One day we'll get to go back again... ⛰️

💥🪧Happening right now in Budapest: 🇭🇺 Anti-government protesters have occupied four bridges, opposing Viktor Orbán’s crackdown on freedom of assembly under the guise of “child protection.” 🗣️ Though aimed at the Pride march, Orbán’s law threatens banning any kind of protests or rally.

📣 Call for Papers for #SRHE2025 now open! We welcome submissions for research papers, symposia, and posters from postgraduate students, researchers, and practitioners in HE research. Visit bit.ly/3CFqrHz to find out more. Closing date 15 May 2025. #HigherEducation #Research #Conference #CFP

Question to the #highereducation research community... Special Issue OR Edited Book? I have been thinking of ~2 topics that would lend themselves well to a deeper exploration through an SI or an edited book. What's your experience of either? Which would you recommend / not recommend and why?

Your reminder to register with ALCS, add your published works and get 💸

🇪🇺🚫🏳️‍🌈Hungary just became the first EU country to ban Pride events in Viktor Orbán's latest anti-LGBTQ crackdown, allowing authorities to use facial recognition to identify and punish disobedient attendees. Liberal opposition MPs (Momentum party) protested inside parliament by using smoke grenades.

Yesterday's protest in Belgrade was truly historic. I am still gathering my thoughts and emotions. It was beautiful and then it got very scary. If it wasn't clear until now, now it really should be: Serbian president is a monster, and he and his criminal gang must be stopped. Before it's too late.

I am pleased to share my new article on young people, cultural inequalities, representation, and activism. #museums #education #culture bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... @uomseed.bsky.social @uomsoss.bsky.social @uomsociology.bsky.social @educationuom.bsky.social

Having been through this in 2020, I am pleased to see there will now be more meaningful support through the option of leave and an acknowledgement of how miscarriages impact families 💔 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Pleased to have received hard copies of the latest book in our @srhe.bsky.social & Routledge series on Research into #HE Congratulations to @kalwantbhopal.bsky.social & @martinmyers.bsky.social! Do get in touch if you have an idea for a book in the series

We're pleased to share the completed report from the Newer Researchers Award project, Migrant doctoral supervisors learning to supervise in UK institutions – an inclusive perspective by Dr Bing Lu. Read the full report: bit.ly/4ha5y5x

📅Join our third & final seminar in the series: The research and teaching nexus from novel perspectives and hear from Nicola Dandridge, Helga Dorner, Paul Ashwin and Didi Griffioen Date: 3rd of April 2025 - 11.30-15.45 Location: London, @srhe.bsky.social offices Register: srhe.ac.uk/civicrm/?civ...

‘Most of us won’t find jobs in academia’. Staff share fears of brain drain and shrinking research time as cuts blight UK universities. Most-read on our site (sadly). www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

The crisis in British higher education is acute + painful right now. If you are in it you already know this, but for those who are not I want to share what is going on. As strikes start at Newcastle Uni + others will doubtless follow, now is a time for solidarity + resistance