Petition for a vote of no confidence in Coventry University's vice-chancellor! Please sign! speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/vote-of-no-c...

Been a while since the pink beanie came out. Sheffield pickets here we come. Our message to management is simple: No redundancies. Stop the incessant restructures. Listen to your staff. There is no University of Sheffield without us.

All set up ready for the UCU Women's Conference. Looking forward to welcoming you all.

Dons #UCU HEC member hat. UK academics on teaching-focused/teaching-only contracts: how, if at all, does your employer support you in doing research? Are there any good local policies on this I should be aware of? My DMs are open and confidentiality assured. #UKHE #academicsky

ICYMI: our report from HEC, Friday 10 October 2025, which went out in yesterday's newsletter. #UKHE #UCU ucucommons.org/2025/10/31/r...

The latest issue of our fortnightly newsletter includes a report from the HEC held on 10 October. Also featuring @davehitchcock.bsky.social, @matildaf.bsky.social, @hagenilda.bsky.social and more! #UKHE #UCU ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

Keeping to time is an accessibility issue! People need breaks between sessions in conferences for all sorts of accessibility reasons - whether for cognitive load, to take medication, needing bathroom breaks, check blood sugar or anything else! Making an effort to keep to time is inclusive.

Hey #UKHE, #UCU: our members at Brunel have set up a petition against compulsory redundancies, please sign and share!

Hey #UKHE, #UCU: our members at Brunel have set up a petition against compulsory redundancies, please sign and share!

Thank you so much for your support!

It's worth adding that while the hack of 2+ years ago has been dreadful for British Library users, it is also been awful for BL staff, who cannot fulfil readers' requests and are then confronted by their consequent frustration. With no end in sight.

@pcsunion.bsky.social staff at the @britishlibrary.bsky.social are on strike for the next two weeks. As a @ucu.org.uk member who loves to spend time at the BL whenever I'm in London, I'm in full solidarity with the staff.

Remember guys, @pcsunion.bsky.social staff at the BL are on strike for the next two weeks. Please don't cross the picket line to go to reading rooms, attend exhibitions or anything else. They've endured so much on low pay since the cyberattack in 2023 and the least we can do is have their backs now.

We are in full solidarity with the @pcsunion.bsky.social members at the @britishlibrary.bsky.social who will be on strike for the next two weeks. Let's get out to their pickets and rallies to show our support, @ucu.org.uk members! Details below. @pcspress.bsky.social

It shouldn't take an FOI request to see grant success rates. UKRI has a duty of care to researchers to supply this from the outset. We are judged, compared, promoted (or not) according to unbelievably bad odds.

Unprecedented, potentially unlawful retrograde proposals made by @solentuniversity.bsky.social If you have a vested interest in HE, this concerns you. We must stand together to resist these outrageous proposals. #HE #TPS #LGPS #Pension #post-92 www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...

I missed posting about this yesterday but the second issue of our newsletter is out! Please subscribe to receive updates every second Wednesday. #UCU #UKHE

Commons newsletter #2 just dropped, feat. info on Commons, UCU & sector-wide matters. Subscribe to receive updates! #UCU #UKHE With @matildaf.bsky.social, @markpendleton.bsky.social, @choochod.bsky.social, @ucu-uws.bsky.social, @iwgbunion.bsky.social & more! ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

We are now on Bluesky! Show us some love and hit the follow button 💜 #UHI #ThinkUHI #UCU #UCUScotland @ucu.org.uk @ucuscotland.bsky.social

Delighted for the UCU branch at the University of the West of Scotland, who have called off planned strike action at the 11th hour when management ruled out compulsory redundancies. If you can I suggest donating to EIS’s strike fund as they were out for 8 days before action was pulled. #UCU #UKHE

Commons newsletter #2 just dropped, feat. info on Commons, UCU & sector-wide matters. Subscribe to receive updates! #UCU #UKHE With @matildaf.bsky.social, @markpendleton.bsky.social, @choochod.bsky.social, @ucu-uws.bsky.social, @iwgbunion.bsky.social & more! ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

Can student journalism survive and thrive? Tanshpreet Kaur and I spent part of the summer talking to student journalists and other interested parties. Our report focuses on Redbrick, the flagship paper here at Birmingham. You can read it here: drive.google.com/file/d/1QiJG...

My dudes in Government, this is the opposite of helpful. I think at this point that it’s hard to read the Government’s plan as anything other than “shrink the number of HE providers”. Whether they are also intending to shrink the number of students is perhaps slightly more open.

🎙 Coming up next Thursday! UCU GS Dr Jo Grady will join Iain Dale live on LBC for a special phone-in. 🗓 Thursday 23 October, 8–9pm 📞 Call in. Listen in. Be there. Let’s make sure the public knows what’s really happening in higher education. #WeAreTheUniversity

Several Commons members attended the Academic Freedom conference, co-hosted by @ucu.org.uk and @eduinternational.bsky.social . Report forthcoming, but for now @matildaf.bsky.social and @drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social on 'Academic Freedom and the Knowledge Commons' (2024) ucucommons.org/2024/03/22/a...

UCU hasn't focused on university governance, but it should. Like their Australian counterparts, British universities are "profoundly undemocratic." @markpendleton.bsky.social is right we should learn from those in Australia who are taking the fight forward on this! ucucommons.org/2025/10/03/s...

UK-elected rep @markpendleton.bsky.social is bringing this discussion paper to HEC on 10 October 2025, about what we can learn from our counterparts in Australia, the NTEU, who are beginning to change the narrative about the future of higher education. #UKHE #UCU ucucommons.org/2025/10/03/s...

Congrats to Dave! We’re really excited about this 💫 #UKHE

A new initiative from @ucucommons.bsky.social - key updates from our work in UCU, the union more widely, and highlight news from our sectors. Expect it to drop every two weeks.

The first of @ucucommons.bsky.social new fortnightly newsletter bringing news and points of interest around the sector #ucu

Excellent newsletter ❤️💜🩷💜

I wrote something on my time on returning to Goldsmiths as an associate lecturer, 17 years after graduating with my first degree. It’s a plea to Frances Corner’s successor to learn from mistakes made over the last 6 years and change course. #UCU #UKHE ucucommons.org/2025/10/06/c...

The first issue of our fortnightly newsletter has landed! Featuring @markpendleton.bsky.social’s discussion paper to this Friday’s HEC, @hagenilda.bsky.social’s plea to Frances Corner’s successor and other interesting links and news. #UCU #UKHE #AcademicSky ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

#ucu: statement from @drjogrady.bsky.social on the Manchester synagogue attack: www.ucu.org.uk/article/1421...

If a university thinks it’s the ‘best’ it should take people with low or no prior attainment and prove it. Otherwise it’s just cherry-picking and claiming unearned credit.

If you use, or would like to use, the Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds, it is absolutely worth your time to respond to this consultation. www.hampstead-heath-bathing-ponds.commonplace.is

"International students left in limbo by UCL after university exceeds visa allocations"

academics who teach: is it just me who worries about not having enough variety in my small group sessions? Generally I think giving students a chance to discuss things in a dedicated environment is good in itself, but please can I have your activity suggestions to mix things up a bit? #academicsky

'University of Sussex leader Sasha Roseneil said she felt opposition to higher education was often grounded in an explicit rejection of the expansion of access that has taken place in recent decades.' 1/2

Great to have support from parliamentary allies ✊ Adam Thompson, MP and a proud UCU member is standing with us as we prepare to ballot for fair pay and secure jobs. #WeAreTheUniversity #ucu

Congrats to the wonderful @matthewbarnard.phd and commiserations to the others who ran. Having people who care is vital for the Union, and I know that Matt is one of those who truly do. #UCU

Thanks to @edi.bike and @edinburghminute.bsky.social for picking up news of the @workersobservatory.org workshop this week: We Deserve Fair Work - Workshop for Delivery Riders in Edinburgh luma.com/3r5hmptg

Two of our members, the brilliant @hagenilda.bsky.social and Ben Pope, have appeared on the Early Career Researcher Podcast recently talking all things neurodiversity and academia! Well worth a listen. #ucu

I've been privileged to be part of the @ucu.org.uk Women Members' Standing Committee since being elected in November 2023. Please consider registering to attend whichever Equalities conferences you self-identify with (I'll be attending the womens + disabled members conferences).

Equalities work is a great way to get more involved in UCU. It's not a big time commitment, and more members feeding in their diverse expertise and lived experience can only be a good thing! All registration and nomination is on a self-ID basis. Do let me know if you have questions. #ucu

Come to the @ucu.org.uk Equality Groups Conference/s this November! Handy details in this Substack from us 👇

New on our Substack: would you like to take part in UCU's extensive equality work? Here, we provide a breakdown of how to get involved in the annual Equality conference, and how to nominate for the Equalities Standing Committees. #ucu open.substack.com/pub/ucucommo...

Great piece by @georginaq.bsky.social on the cottage industry that's grown up around UK universities, which are paying agents to recruit international students for them www.ft.com/content/3f49...

Peter Kyle has spent this week wibbling about university graduates being too lazy to start AI businesses, rather than working on a response to a cyber disaster affecting a whole manufacturing ecosystem

I’m really blown away by this result. Being elected at all would mean a lot, so to have the support of over six thousand people and a majority of nearly 2.7k is overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who put their trust in me.