"UK universities have shed more than 30,000 jobs in the past three years..." Why is every sector worthy of governmental concern except ours? Even pretend concern? www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/i-dont...

Walter Isaacson, famed journalist, biographer and Tulane professor, says technology can help scholars think creatively but all writing must be done by human hand. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #AI #journalism #highered https://ow.ly/ek6n50Z0c6r

Growing levels of questionable research practices have been overshadowed by a ‘moral panic’ over student use of AI, says education dean. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #highered #microcheating https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/micro-cheating-academics-endemic-no-one-cares

No fewer than 2 articles now on THE on the CranKing merger/takeover. 'Kapur, and Cranfield vice-chancellor Karen Holford, say the deal “is not a defensive response to pressures within the higher education sector or an exercise in institutional consolidation for its own sake”.' 1/3

Scientists applying to India’s leading research funding agency will be obliged to declare whether any of their publications have been retracted in the past five years, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #retraction #research #academicsky https://ow.ly/XA8I50YV5k8

“The coming redundancies will officially be called ‘voluntary’ but this is the equivalent of giving a condemned man a pistol in his cell prior to being led to the gallows and classifying him shooting himself as suicide”

'The researchers launched the tool after carrying out a study that looked at how nationality, gender and age can influence student evaluation scores...often used by universities to assess faculty performance and to inform decisions about promotions.' Or, just don't use these evaluations this way?

Amtrak is clearly not as good as British railways except for one important respect which is that they just announced firmly that if you are making a call or watching a TikTok video on your phone you MUST BE WEARING HEADPHONES.

After winning a huge legal claim against a Harvard University cancer centre, @eugenie-reich.bsky.social tells @jgro-the.bsky.social about the impact of the case, how universities ‘stonewall’ fraud allegations and why she quit journalism to help whistleblowers in science #research #fraud

A UK research council criticised for cutting support for postdoctoral researchers is releasing “top-up funding” to allow for further early career appointments, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #researchfunding #STFC https://ow.ly/mI7R50YJ45m

Brian Cox attacks ‘devastating’ STFC cuts as postdocs slashed, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #AcademicSky #physics #cuts https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/brian-cox-attacks-devastating-stfc-cuts-postdocs-slashed

Excellent article from @jgro-the.bsky.social on the current "carnage" that theoretical physics and PPAN science in general are facing. #UKRI must react and propose a solution. If not, the government and the SITC must step in.

Concerns abound that authors who publish on a weekly basis are cutting corners – with AI likely to make matters worse. But if incentives are misaligned, what can be done? And is the moral panic exaggerated? @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky https://ow.ly/EgOw50YyyBk

Most jokes attempted during scientific talks fall flat or earn "mostly quiet chuckles" - but male researchers are more likely to use humour, and more likely to get a laugh, reflecting "broader social dynamics" in academia - study www.timeshighereducation.com/news/most-jo... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Raises some important issues but also ignores the fact that many Humanities staff outside the magic circle are facing redundancy. They are naturally willing, indeed desperate, to apply for entry-level Oxbridge posts. The situation is grim. 1/2

www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/hiri... (def not defending the positions the authors here take so much as noting it’s hard to have a balanced conversation about this)

Will UKRI’s funding buckets shore up UK research’s sandcastle? Excellent long read from @jgro-the.bsky.social on the future shape of UK research funding www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/will-u...

'The biggest concern, for many, centres on the £2 billion annual allocation of quality-related (QR) funding in England, and its equivalents elsewhere in the UK. This has been assigned entirely to the curiosity-led bucket one'. 1/3

UCL will close its Institute of Advanced Studies this summer, stating the interdisciplinary research centre is no longer financially sustainable, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucl-axes-utopian-institute-advanced-studies

Great to see my friend Christina Pagel featured in the THE for her work on tracking Trump's authoritarian actions. "Scientist behind Trump Action Tracker uses skills in data collection to look for patterns in president’s seemingly scattergun approach"

University of Sussex High Court fight against £585K fine imposed by OfS for allegedly failing to uphold free speech in Kathleen Stock case starts today - it will attack regulator's decision as "irrational and procedurally unfair" www.timeshighereducation.com/news/sussex-... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

A metadata-only version of the British Library’s sorely missed PhD thesis repository will be a pale imitation of the service that disappeared more than two years ago after a cyberattack, experts have warned. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky ow.ly/H01r50Y4VAb

'A metadata-only version of the British Library’s sorely missed PhD thesis repository will be a pale imitation of the service that disappeared more than two years ago after a cyberattack, experts have warned.' 1/2

And in news that surprises exactly no-one...

Kent, Essex and Sussex say they won’t renew Elsevier journal subscriptions amid concern about cost of nationally agreed deal www.timeshighereducation.com/news/three-m... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Three UK research-intensive universities have revealed they will not be renewing subscriptions to Elsevier journals amid concerns over the cost of a nationally agreed deal, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #academicsky https://ow.ly/Aaw750Y0I1u

Universities should face tougher penalties in national and international rankings if researchers lose papers due to suspected misconduct, the founder of an influential research integrity watchdog has argued. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky https://ow.ly/xFhw50XWLCQ

“Bizarre” linguistics paper claiming ancient Greeks forbade reference to water as “H₂O” retracted by Springer Nature journal amid disbelief “rambling” and “methodologically weak” article was ever published www.timeshighereducation.com/news/bizarre... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Eliminating funding for 3* research in next Research Excellence Framework would benefit Russell Group institutions by about £50 million a year, suggests modelling www.timeshighereducation.com/news/beware-... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

A British professor who has turned his latest book into a Europop dance album is hoping his genre of “academic trance” will engage new audiences with scholarly research, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social https://ow.ly/MyOU50XLvvj

Very sad to hear Dr Paul Ayris has passed away. He was a great champion of libraries and open access, hugely influential, and very supportive of us at #ebookSOS. A great loss to the library and research communities. www.leru.org/news/in-memo...

UK reclaims top spot for mid-career ERC grants www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-recl...

My thoughts on how UKRI might use the REF (QR funding) and grants to drive universities to specialise more - via @timeshighered.bsky.social @jgro-the.bsky.social

I'm sticking to my guns on not examining PhD theses when the fee is ridiculously low, but it really does feel crap having to reply to the query if you'll be an examiner with a coded version of "will this pay less than the minimum wage?"

The pause in the Research Excellence Framework should be used to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky #REF www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-ref...

Use REF pause to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars including @jennyrichards.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-ref... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Another bombshell REF announcement: radical change of direction at UKRI re research funding seems on the cards www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers...

UCU threatens to dock staff pay in row over working from home www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucu-thr...

Bits #4K Review – @sbjork.bsky.social revisits Phil Alden Robinson's 1992 caper SNEAKERS, available in a 2-Disc #4K #UltraHD #Bluray release from @kinolorber.com. @billhuntbits.bsky.social thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item...

I think we need to have EFEF - an Excellence Framework Excellence Framework - ratings to help us choose the right sort of Excellence Framework.

UKRI chief executive says universities might have to start doing “fewer things but doing them really well” in research, saying he is against a “crumbs for everybody” approach www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ukri-ch... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Using #REF to tackle research culture risks making it too ‘bureaucratic and burdensome’, university leaders warn as scinece minister Patrick Vallance rethinks changes to weightings. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky

“University education research was, and it still is, very abstract, not decipherable to policymakers and not of the quality that you saw with scientific research.” Nick Gibb speaks to @jgro-the.bsky.social #highered #EduSky

Nick Gibb on why university education faculties were sidelined during the 'quiet revolution' in English schooling over the past 15 years www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nick-gi... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Robust comments from veteran ex-schools minister Nick Gibb on why educational faculties were, he says, 'missing' from English schools 'revolution'. Likely to spark some debate at next weeks' BERA conference at Sussex University www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nick-gi... @beranews.bsky.social

Science minister Patrick Vallance has announced the next Research Excellence Framework will be paused for three months to review whether its allocation of £2 billion annually in block research funding will support the government’s economic and social missions. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #REF

Massive news from UUK conference:| Vallance pauses the REF. Read about why it's happened, plus commentary from Glasgow's Anton Muscatelli who has previously criticised PCE reforms www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick...

Massive news from UUK conference:| Vallance pauses the REF. Read about why it's happened, plus commentary from Glasgow's Anton Muscatelli who has previously criticised PCE reforms www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick...

UK universities risk being sued if they delay updating their policies on single-sex facilities following the landmark Supreme Court ruling that confirms sex means “biological sex”, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned vice-chancellors. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports

Breaking: REF 2029 paused for three months to review whether metrics are aligned with national priorities www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick... via @jgro-the.bsky.social