🚨👀 A petition to apply to rejoin the EU just reached more than 100,000 signatures. This means the petition will now be considered for a parliamentary debate.

"[T]he possessions which matter most in a university are not its buildings ... but its ideas. Quality of ideas depends on quality of staff, and first-rate staff simply will not work under conditions fixed by those who are afraid of ideas“ (Eric Ashby (1962): Universities Under Siege).

Relieved to see more coverage of the grip Nous is getting on #UKHE. Thanks @privateeyenews.bsky.social! A million pound @cardiffucu.bsky.social alone. That’s a lot of money for the very same PowerPoint…

The irony that, as UKHE institutions like ours are being encouraged to upscale its academic/industry consultancy work, external consultants like Nous are skimming off the little cream left providing boilerplate bullshit. Not like most of us have global expertise in our business schools, for example

Honestly every innovation at universities for the last decade has basically been “what if we tried to embed elements of self help podcasts into the curriculum, create admin jobs to oversee its nebulous nature, and load more of the actual work onto a diminishing number of academic staff”

Just caught up with last week’s In Our Time on the Levellers. A good listen. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Cutting away your main resource bases does not suddenly make you miraculous successful. Who knew... None of the institution-hopping senior managers do, and yet they keep being rewarded with six-figure salaries at other places. isrf.org/blog/dispatc...

MAGA

Soft power

If I’m not evolved enough to understand it, then why did they have to steal my writing to train it?

🔥 Now just under 81,000

'The Russell Group university is looking to shed more than 600 roles – with 2,700 staff at risk – as part of a “transformation plan” that its leaders have said is necessary to prevent it “running out of money”.' 1/2

Putin didn't invade Ukraine because of NATO. He invaded because Ukrainians were proving democracy works. Anne Applebaum: "If they can do it in Ukraine, people could do it in Russia. So I need to crush this." That's the war. Not borders. Democracy next door.

Some 2,000 years ago, a Roman fresco painter transformed a room into an enchanting garden filled with lush plants, trees, and birds, all under a clear blue sky! 🌿🌳🐦‍⬛ 😍 House of the Golden Bracelet, Pompeii 📷 by me #FrescoFriday #Archaeology

I keep coming back to this masterpiece. A century of russian imperial mythology dismantled in a few words. 🙇🏻‍♂️ @darthputinkgb.bsky.social 👏

This stupid buffoon killed over 1 million Americans with his incompetent and disinterested response to the COVID crisis, hurt Americans on Jan 6, and recently had Americans killed in Iran to cover up that he is a pedophile who is all over the Epstein files. So you know where to find you, Donald!

Blackbird in Undergrowth, Sophie Grandval.

@mrjamesob.bsky.social is very well read. I wonder has he seen this new title?

I am currently locked out of my job at the University of Sheffield, without pay as punishment for missing two teaching sessions while on strike. #ucu #union #strike #UKHE @ucu.org.uk @sheffielducu.bsky.social 🧵1/7

new southampton fc merch just dropped

Nottingham VC Jane Norman called plans to cut 700+ jobs and axe 40+ degree programmes “exciting.” Staff disagree. Today a marking boycott begins. 62 days of strikes follow from June. We will keep fighting. www.ucu.org.uk/article/1450...

Who needs to understand the rest of the world?

I’m amazed anyone needs reminding of this, but local government spending power per person fell by 18% from 2010 to 2024 (would have been 26% but for increases in council tax). At the same time, social care pressures on local govt have grown a lot. The decay of the public realm is NOT a mystery

Edtech: the quicksand of the marking season. (So very many clicks simply to reach a script to mark or a mark to review). On the other hand, typed exams under closed browser conditions are a huge boon on the legibility and the AI plagiarism front.

I’ve read out the names at a graduation ceremony. It’s slightly terrifying and quite hard. It’s also the best thing I’ve ever done at work because it conveys respect. Handing it over to a machine conveys utter contempt for your students. Just like management sending us AI stuff, which they do.

We’re only ‘not allowed’ to go over the Brexit debates because the Brexiters were wrong on approximately 95% of them.

Today at 7 pm in the Trent LG Corridor, there will be a student-led exhibition responding to the closure of courses at the University of Nottingham, particularly Modern Languages and Music.

🗣️ Matt Taylor: My Exeter City story 🔴⚪️ MT talks about joining the Grecians as a player 2️⃣0️⃣ years ago, promotions, being made captain, coaching, becoming Manager, that promotion season and returning to the hot seat. 📺 Watch ➡️ youtu.be/QQu4SIGkIrA #ECFC #SemperFidelis

1️⃣8️⃣ years ago today! 🤯 Rob Edwards scored one of the most important goals in City's history, at Wembley Stadium ⬇️ #ECFC #SemperFidelis

3️⃣ days of work in just 9️⃣0️⃣ seconds! Take a quick look at the SJP pitch renovation works from last week ⬇️ #ECFC #SemperFidelis

Edinburgh University’s supreme academic body has warned of a “lack of transparency” over a £140m cuts drive Across UK higher education, decisions are taken by a small, unrepresentative circle, with scrutiny sidelined & rewards flowing upward 😉 www.heraldscotland.com/news/2611129...

Actually, SHAPE subjects cross-subsidise STEM subjects in most comprehensive UK universities annually through differential central charge or 'contribution' models. It's another reason we're all in the current HE crisis together, whether our own particular discipline is 'at risk' at present or not.

There’s definite plausibility to the idea that the critical thinking which can come from the humanities is in higher demand as AI gets better www.ft.com/content/c0ae...

In 1971 an entry level public school teacher on average made equal wages with an entry level lawyer. We see the arc of the collapse of society as those two wages vectored in drastically different directions.

UUK was corrupt in the way they used international recruitment as a cynical cash grab. But they were incompetent in the way they did absolutely nothing to prepare for the inevitable political backlash.

WANTED -- those who brought Nottingham University to its present sad state Financial problems arose from decisions under previous VC Shearer West Those responsible have moved on, leaving current staff to deal with consequences of mismanagement 21percent.org?p=3647

Is Farage the only person in Britain that gained from Brexit - he might be. This secret £5m bung, which was first claimed as security money - is now described as a reward for Brexit, the economic Tsunami that stripped £150 billion from our economy and cost all us over £2k every single year since.

If this isn't "designed to stir up hatred" against Jews, what is? Why are the Met not arresting them?

Academic departments deserve to be saved, supported, resourced, allowed to grow even if they're not "best in the country," "first in the REF," "top-ranked," "at a Russell Group uni," or whatever other austerity-brained nonsense senior managers have been using to flimflam you out of solidarity

How about 'right-sizing' the number of managers who decided to invest in a building scheme which then had to be sold at a significant loss?

💬 "There is a need for a reset. My part to play in that is on the pitch first and foremost and at the training ground, and that's a challenge I'm looking forward to." Matt Taylor reacts to being named City's permanent manager ⬇️ #ECFC #SemperFidelis

Nick Robinson clearly demonstrating on #r4today why using vox pops to report on anything, but especially elections, is the laziest form of journalism. Not just lazy, but massively misleading, and often used to persuade an audience rather than inform them.

'The key findings were said to be “surprisingly simple”: “a good student academic experience ultimately comes down to quality teaching, access to in person interaction with teachers and a strong sense of belonging”.' 2/3

There are simple remedies for this non-existent syndrome.

"Ultimately, the UK needs to review how higher education is funded and regulated. We cannot leave the future of essential teaching and research to a scramble for students and a race to recruit." #Skystorians

Yesterday Kier Starmer announced Labour will nationalise British Steel, and save 2700 jobs. Today, the Uni of Nottingham put 2700 staff at risk of redundancy. This is just one university. Across the UK 15,000 higher education jobs need saving. Where is the rescue package for our universities?

So the £85million+ spent (aka 'wasted') on a completely failed new city campus has dropped off this news altogether. This disaster was defended repeatedly in Senate by the VC who is now 'excited' by the opportunities presented by ending the careers of 100s of staff. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This seems oddly familiar.