“… In any case, as nobody seems to have observed, there is already a distinct financial penalty for student non-completion. A student who drops out will cause an immediate financial loss, because his or her fees (as paid by the state) and their part of the recurrent grant disappears …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 30 October]
“It was the French philosopher René Descartes who said: ‘I think, therefore I am’. But devoting your days to thinking about life’s big questions hardly translates into an obvious career plan. No wonder philosophy has long been derided as a degree for drifters …” (more)
[Angela Foster, Guardian, 30 October]
“Bestselling author Terry Pratchett will join the staff at Trinity College Dublin next week as an adjunct professor in the School of English …” (more)
[Irish Examiner, 30 October]
“Parking disc operation hours are to be extended around UCC with immediate effect …” (more)
[Cork Student News, 30 October]
“Building work on a new €20m extension to a university library was today given the go ahead. Tánaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan approved the contract to almost double the size of the library at the National University of Ireland (NUI) in Maynooth …” (more)
[Independent, 29 October]
“Brazil’s recent high-profile investment in science is perhaps the first time that Latin American higher education has registered on the global consciousness. The region remains conspicuous by its absence from Times Higher Education’s recently released World University Rankings, but there is a growing sense both within Latin America and beyond that its days of being an academic backwater are fast drawing to a close …” (more)
[Paul Jump, Times Higher Education, 30 October]
“Advanced research has led to the creation of a new Irish spin-out firm from University College Cork with the potential for 30 jobs, UCC’s Technology Transfer Office said …” (more)
[Irish Examiner, 30 October]
“I thought about making the title of this post, ‘the coming war in academia’, but I decided that would be too over-the-top. Nevertheless, there is a battle emerging in the state of Texas over the best way to measure the academic performance of professors …” (more)
[orgtheory.net, 28 October]
“Celebrated science fiction writer Professor Sir Terry Pratchett has joined the staff at Trinity College Dublin as an adjunct Professor in the School of English …” (more)
[John Kennedy, Silicon Republic, 29 October]
“I promise I’ll stop going on about this soon, but Boole’s house still needs our support http://url.ie/80ah Spread the word #science #cork” (tweet)
[Eoin Lettice, Twitter, 29 October]
“Readers may or may not be aware of this report to the Irish Minister for Education and Science: Policy Options for New Student Contributions in Higher Education. The report dates from July 2009 but I have just found it on the website of the recently re-branded Department of Education and Skills …” (more)
[Martin Ryan, Geary Behavioural Economics Blog, 29 October]
“As the buzz of Science Foundation Ireland’s event to celebrate ten years of existence and growth last week dissipated, I found myself thinking back to an earlier period of science in Ireland. The contrast is staggering and seems to be from a different country and world. I returned to Ireland, for the first time, in 1981 …” (more)
[Frank Gannon's Blog, 29 October]
“The inappropriate spending by senior academics at NUI Galway’s Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) was exposed this week with revelations that more than €108,000 was spent on hiring private jets and €154,000 was used to send up to 50 staff to conferences at a luxury resort in Crete …” (more)
[Martina Nee, Galway Advertiser, 28 October]
“There will be no Christmas Day celebrations at Waterford Institute of Technology this year. That’s the stark warning being sent out to students by WIT Students’ Union President Conor Doyle …” (more)
[Kieran Foley, Munster Express, 29 October]
“The Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) has revealed it has secured €8.1m funding. The centre, based at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), received the funding that has come from Europe through a number of sources that include the FP7 Cooperation, Ideas and Capacities …” (more)
[Shane Hulgraine, Silicon Republic, 29 October]
“… George Hook said the same thing recently, saying that only 20% of students were thinking past graduation day. The debt (or opportunity cost, in countries where fees are state paid) is a problem for some arbitrary future version of them, not a real problem for them today. It’s imaginary money …” (more)
[Robert Cosgrave, Tertiary21, 29 October]
“A third-level college is one of the options being explored for the former EBS building in Dublin city centre. A planning application was lodged with Dublin City Council for permission to change the use of the block from offices …” (more)
[Cormac Murphy, Herald, 29 October]
“Building is to start on a new €20 million investment upgrade to the library at the National University of Ireland Maynooth. The project is expected to employ 200 construction workers at its peak with an anticipated 160 associated jobs supported over the period of the build …” (more)
[Irish Times, 29 October]
“The University of Ulster has issued a warning to students about their behaviour over the Halloween weekend …” (more)
[BBC News, 29 October]
“First, to my posts on grading and marking, I must add a wonderful post by not that kind of doctor applying the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross model of five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance – to the process of grading papers! …” (more)
[Eoin O’Dell, Cearta, 29 October]
