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

Big REF news from UUK conference: Patrick Vallance pauses the REF for three months: "It needs to be a credible assessment of quality." www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick...

‘Business-as-usual’ offers from publishers raise walk-away fears www.timeshighereducation.com/news/busines...

Plans for a £10 million gambling research centre funded by a new government levy have been criticised by academics and campaigners amid fears researchers will be asked to tackle topics that play into the betting industry’s hands. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky

'The research themes and the initial conflict of interest policy could have been written by the gambling industry', says anti-gambling ads campaign group CEGA on UKRI call for £10 million research hub www.timeshighereducation.com/news/gamblin...

. @russellgroup.bsky.social says proposed 6% international fee levy would cost its universities £315m - more than half the sector total and more than they spend annually on outreach (£250m) www.timeshighereducation.com/news/real-te... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Northern England misses out entirely as 10 UK research universities get about £4.5m each from Global Talent Fund to attract international scientists www.timeshighereducation.com/news/golden-... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

A UK academic has criticised the suspected use of chatbots in peer review after he was given lengthy instructions on improving his statistical analysis – despite not including any statistics in his rejected paper, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #AcademicSky

Boris Johnson-era messaging about the UK as a ‘science superpower’ annoys and alienates potential research partners, warns @wellcometrust.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/drop-sc... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Nobelist Steven Chu: China ‘will blow us away’ if Trump destroys US universities. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky

A Nobel prizewinning neuroscientist who lost two research papers over irregular images has rejected Donald Trump’s claim that there is a “reproducibility crisis” in US research, arguing the use of “AI-powered software” on old images is erroneously flagging research misconduct #AcademicSky #LINO25

Devastating cuts to US science under Donald Trump’s presidency have been made possible by a pervasive complacency that scientific achievements will always be celebrated, a leading American Nobel prizewinner has said. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports from the Lindau Nobel Prize Meeting #AcademicSky

Chemistry Nobelist Frances Arnold says US science is 'paying the price' for not conveying importance of research www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nobelis.... Dispatch from #LINO2025

Oxford to review postgraduate admissions policies and scholarship support across all departments after approving graduate access strategy www.timeshighereducation.com/news/first-g... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

As Ottoline Leyser ends her five years as chief executive of UKRI, she warns that forcing all institutions and researchers to pursue a single definition of research excellence is impoverishing the research base on which the government’s ambitions depend. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports

'Early career researchers who narrowly miss out on funding should be encouraged to try again because their work is often cited more than those whose research is funded first time around, a major international study has recommended.' 1/3

Who's in the running to be @cam.ac.uk chancellor? - broadcaster Sandi Toksvig - ex-culture minister Chris Smith - former BP boss John Browne - Queens' College president Mohamed El-Erian - businesswoman Gina Miller And more... www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ten-can... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

'In Brussels, the EU is reviewing whether Israel should remain part of its flagship research scheme, Horizon Europe – a move backed by MEPs who see this threat as a powerful diplomatic lever to restore aid to Gaza.' 1/2

One for the Romantic Studies crowd...

More job cuts on the horizon in UK HE - this time at De Montfort University where 80 staff are set to go to save £8 million. Cuts come despite departure in a recent Voluntary Severance round www.timeshighereducation.com/news/de-mont...

Other government departments and public bodies beyond science could be allowed to set long-term research budgets over a 10-year period, the government has said. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #researchfunding

Extending pathway to UK citizenship to 10+ years could deter many international researchers from settling in the country, given the additional cost of visa and NHS fees, ministers warned www.timeshighereducation.com/news/decade-... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

'Thanks for all you do, here's a £620m bill just to finish you off'. Another miserable day in British Higher Education gets off to the usual miserable start. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/big-uni...

Worth noting the High Potential Individual visa accounted for about 0.2 per cent of UK immigration (4,500 in total) in past two years - mainly from US graduates www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uks-hig...

‘She also took aim at vice-chancellors for continuing to hand themselves huge salaries despite finances deteriorating across the sector.’ I know VC salaries annoy people as they are high, but it’s an unserious place to focus if you are actually wanting to sort university financial sustainability

Almost half of academics say they have been deliberately prevented from accessing research resources or career opportunities by “Gollum-like” rivals in their field, study suggests www.timeshighereducation.com/news/researc... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

A University of Helsinki researcher has triumphed in Science’s annual Dance Your PhD competition for a Eurodance pop video explaining how individuals perceive the hotness of chilli sauce differently. @jgro-the.bsky.social gets in the groove #AcademicSky #DanceYourPhD

“If Cambridge needs a high-profile chancellor to be noticed, we might as well rebrand the university as a reality TV show: ‘Keeping Up with the Cantabrigians’.” Astronomy prof Wyn Evans on whether Cambridge needs a celebrity to head university www.timeshighereducation.com/news/does-it...

Massive cuts to US research present a “real opportunity” for the UK to recruit leading American scientists, a Nobel prizewinning biologist has insisted, but low salaries and dwindling resources may tarnish efforts to woo those fleeing Donald Trump’s presidency. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports

Hi there. Universities make a loss on teaching home undergraduates, doing state-backed and charity-funded research, and also on PhD students. So that's it really, game over. What else are we supposed to do? www.timeshighereducation.com/news/phd-fee...

UK research council leaders are bracing for cuts to quality-related (QR) research funding of up to £100 million a year ahead of next week’s Spring Statement – a move likely to lead to a fresh round of redundancies at UK universities, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #AcademicSky #EduSky

'UK research council leaders are bracing for cuts to quality-related (QR) research funding of up to £100 million a year ahead of next week’s Spring Statement – a move likely to lead to a fresh round of redundancies at UK universities.' 1/3

Kingston University’s acclaimed philosophy centre is set to close under plans to shut the institution’s humanities department – a move that would also end English literature and modern languages courses. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports

Academics accused of sexual misconduct experience a significant decrease in research citations but the same effect is not seen for scholars facing charges of scientific fraud, new analysis suggests. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports