Ireland can’t fill 1,200 jobs in biomedical sector, Engineers Ireland head

Posted in Teaching on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“There are currently 1,200 engineering vacancies across Ireland in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sectors which companies can not fill, according to John Power, director general of Engineers Ireland …” (more)

[TechCentral.ie, 30 March]

Tags:

The Science of Science Policy

Posted in Governance and administration, Research on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“I recently discovered the Science of Science Policy website, affiliated to the United States (US) Office of Science and Technology Policy …” (more)

[Martin Ryan, Geary Behavioural Economics Blog, 30 March]

Tags: ,

Education role for top journalist

Posted in Governance and administration on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has recruited long-serving Irish Independent journalist John Walshe to be a special advisor. Mr Walshe is currently working as the newspaper’s education editor but is set to take up the high-powered role in the coming weeks …” (more)

[Kevin Doyle, Herald, 30 March]

Tags: ,

Haskins back in college following Dail bid

Posted in Governance and administration, Life on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“He was the unexpected poster boy of the election but quiff-haired Dylan Haskins is back in college. Since losing out in the election the 23-year-old has returned to the halls of Trinity College to ‘catch up’ on his workload ahead of exams next week …” (more)

[Kevin Doyle, Herald, 30 March]

Tags:

More on the AHRC

Posted in Research on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“Protests against the willingness of the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s decision to join up to the Government’s Big Society idea in order to safeguard funding are gathering pace …” (more)

[Iain Pears, Future Thoughts, 30 March]

Tags:

Thoughts on the future of the Trinity College Library

Posted in Governance and administration on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“At the heart of every great university is a great library. My vision for the library is that it becomes the central ‘beating heart’ of academic information – for the University community as well as for the wider public …” (more)

[Colm Kearney, 30 March]

Tags: , ,

Legal challenge to tuition fees

Posted in Fees and access, Legal issues on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“Two students are taking legal action over the government’s decision to treble tuition fees to £9,000. Callum Hurley, 16, and Katy Moore, 17, are seeking a judicial review into the decision, which they believe breaches human rights laws by penalising students from disadvantaged backgrounds …” (more)

[Jessica Abrahams, The Journal, 30 March]

Tags:

Fundraising in higher education: ethics, transparency and the price of success

Posted in Governance and administration on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“At last, some good news for UK universities. At a time of funding cuts, turmoil over tuition fees and protest over changes to pensions, the latest data on philanthropic giving to universities is encouraging …” (more)

[Joanna Motion, Guardian, 30 March]

Tags: ,

Free school meals students ‘worse off’ under EMA change

Posted in Fees and access on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“Students on free school meals will get an average of £370 a year less under plans to replace axed study grants in England, a think tank has said. On Tuesday, the government announced £180m for bursaries for low-income 16 to 19-year-olds after cutting the £560m Education Maintenance Allowance scheme …” (more)

[BBC News, 30 March]

Tags: ,

Abramova and Croskery – updates

Posted in Legal issues on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“Burnett J’s judgment in Abramova v Oxford Institute of Legal Practice [2011] EWHC 613 (QB) (18 March 2011) – about which I blogged last week – is now available on BAILII. The Oxford Institute for Legal Practice successfully defended this case …” (more)

[Eoin O'Dell, Cearta, 30 March]

Tags:

NUI Galway acquires archive of acclaimed writer

Posted in Research on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“The James Hardiman Library at NUI Galway has acquired the archive of the world-renowned dramatist and novelist Thomas Kilroy. The recently acquired archive contains research notes, drafts and scripts of Mr Kilroy’s novels and play …” (more)

[Galway Independent, 30 March]

Tags: ,

Plight of postdoc researchers

Posted in Legal issues, Research on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“Madam, – In a letter on the plight of postdoctoral researchers (March 29th), Paddy Healy in his bid for Senate election blatantly misrepresents the career development for young researchers at UCD. Indeed, UCD has been to the forefront among Irish universities and has reformed the shambolic and ad hoc systems of the past to provide postdoctoral researchers with stable contracts of employment …” (more)

[Desmond Fitzgerald, Irish Times, 30 March]

Tags: , , , ,

Bid to stop free parking in estate near UL deferred

Posted in Governance and administration on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“A move by Limerick County Council to stop those travelling to the University of Limerick from parking in an adjacent private housing estate has been deferred following objections by local landlords …” (more)

[Jimmy Woulfe, Irish Examiner, 30 March]

Tags: ,

What do you do all day?

Posted in Research, Teaching on March 30th, 2011 by steve

What’s your job? I am a mathematics lecturer in the University of Glasgow. I teach maths to undergraduate and post-grad students and I do research in low-dimensional topology …” (more)

[Brendan Owens, Irish Times, 30 March]

Is the ‘public university’ doomed?

Posted in Governance and administration on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“In a post on this blog a couple of months ago I looked at the emergence of campaigns to protect the concept of ‘public’ universities. I noted at the time that the term ‘public university’ might not have as clear a meaning as some might think, and that as a society we are not really sure about how we want our higher education to be structured …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 30 March]

Tags:

University oil leak pollutes water supply

Posted in Governance and administration on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“NUI Galway has confirmed that weather damage to a fuel line at its Irish academy in Carraroe, Co Galway, has resulted in an oil leak into the public water supply …” (more)

[Lorna Siggins, Irish Times, 30 March]

Tags:

The working student

Posted in Teaching on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“… As financial pressures increase this is unlikely to get much better, and it may be time for universities to review how they structure their courses. The assumption that students are available without competing pressures during what one might loosely call office hours is not necessarily a valid one any more, at least for some student …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 30 March]

Tags:

Russell university backlash

Posted in Governance and administration on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“Scotland’s Education Secretary is facing a public backlash over his outspoken attack on the running of one of the country’s leading universities. A senior figure in higher education urged Michael Russell – and other politicians – to stay out of the day to day running of universities …” (more)

[Herald Scotland, 30 March]

Tags:

ECF – the Minister responds

Posted in Governance and administration on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“At the outset I have to declare an interest here. As a member of Dublin South East Labour for many years, I know Ruairi Quinn personally. I have campaigned on his behalf on many issues and argued with him on all sorts of topics at constituency meetings. We have shared more than one pint over the years …” (more)

[Pass Level Politics, 29 March]

Tags: ,

New Irish drug company targets €6m turnover by 2016

Posted in Research on March 30th, 2011 by steve

“NUI Maynooth has spun out a new company called Cerebeo, which aims to boost the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of the €1bn outsourced drug research and development industry …” (more)

[John Kennedy, Silicon Republic, 29 March]

Tags:

Switch to our mobile site