“Money is the most pressing concern for European doctoral students, according to the first Europewide survey of working conditions for young researchers, which is set to be released today. The study also found that many PhD students aren’t fully aware of their contractual rights and obligations …” (more)
[Barbara Casassus, ScienceInsider, 30 September]
“New pensions legislation which aims to cut the cost of the public sector pension bill by 35% has been described as ‘larcenous’ and illegal by the main unions representing teachers. The secondary teachers union, the ASTI, said it was considering challenging the measures in the courts …” (more)
[Paul Cullen, Irish Times, 30 September]
“In anticipation of the publication shortly of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the THE has invited Twitter followers to declare succinctly what makes a university great …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 30 September]
“Education Minister Ruairi Quinn is powerless to compel schools to reveal the number of unqualified maths teachers in Irish classrooms. He has twice ordered the Teaching Council to survey all second-level schools …” (more)
[Breda Heffernan, Independent, 30 September]
“The Teachers’ Union of Ireland has warned that any further increase in the pupil teacher ratio will have hugely negative repercussions for the teaching of maths in Irish schools …” (more)
[Teachers’ Union of Ireland, 29 September]
“I take issue with Mojgan Naghavi’s and Derek Walsh’s critique of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI; Nature 476, 399; 2011). Ireland has moved steadily up the country rankings of research performance and is now in the top 20, according to Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators …” (more)
[Graham Love, Nature, 28 September]
“Researchers at the CLARITY R&D operation at Dublin City University have been awarded €2m under the European Framework (FP7) for projects that includes research into video sensors on next generation CCTV tracking systems …” (more)
[John Kennedy, Silicon Republic, 29 September]
“Plans to develop a third-level horticulture college in the Skibbereen area are at an advanced stage and follow on a recommendation by local resident David Puttnam that the West Cork region would be ideal as a centre for horticulture development …” (more)
[Carol Gilbert, Southern Star, 29 September]
“When I try to entice third level students to take their creative multimedia course material home in their pockets, I discover a lot of them don’t have 10 euro extra each month for data charges. The single biggest impediment weighing against more extensive use mobile data is the simple issue of running cost and the price-sensitive region is 10 euro …” (more)
[Bernie Goldbach, Inside View from Ireland, 29 September]
“… The absence of legislative protection for academic freedom in the US led to the 1970 AAUP Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which has become the quasi-legal guarantor of individual academic freedom there. We examined the degree to which universities complied with the main elements of the AAUP statement in a sample of the 100 largest and most research-active private and public universities to discover the level of protection for academic freedom in the US …” (more)
[Terence Karran, Times Higher Education, 29 September]
“This week Labour’s announcement to back tuition fees at £6,000 has dominated the higher education agenda. But it’s drawn both praise and criticism, and so I’ve taken the decision to award it both a first and a fail, and look at its strength and weaknesses …” (more)
[Aaron Porter, Guardian Professional, 29 September]
“Last week the European Commission launched a reform strategy for the modernisation of higher education in Europe. The title is revealing: Supporting Jobs and Growth – an agenda for the modernisation of Europe’s higher education systems …” (more)
[Conor O’Carroll, Irish Times, 29 September]
“One-third of people teaching maths at second level schools are not fully qualified to do so, but schools fear the situation could get worse instead of improving …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 29 September]
“Open Letter to the Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn: The education of primary school teachers is of paramount importance. In this context it is disappointing that new and highly controversial proposals from the Department of Education …” (more)
[Members of staff from Mary Immaculate College, Irish Examiner, 29 September]
“Several presidential candidates made appeals for the young vote last night at a debate in University College Dublin. Fine Gael’s Gay Mitchell and Labour’s Michael D Higgins joined independent candidates Mary Davis and Seán Gallagher to argue for the motion: ‘This house believes the presidency is relevant to the young people of Ireland’ …” (more)
[Cían Nihill, Irish Times, 29 September]
“How long should a degree programme fit for the modern world be? Two years? Three? Four? More? This is an issue that is certain to be increasingly hotly debated, as both universities and governments search for ways in which public money can be saved …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 29 September]
“I am sure that much of the research is there in one form or another, but I am still surprised by how little has been made of the impact of universities on the cultural life of cities, regions, and nations, except in endless reports, prompted by the need to show universities’ mainly economic contribution to culture and the cultural industries …” (more)
[Nigel Thrift, Chronicle of Higher Education, 28 September]
“Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the schedule for fast tracking the application of Waterford Institute of Technology to full university designation. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the process involved and criteria that have been determined in order to assess the application of Waterford Institute of Technology as a university …” (more)
[Dáil Éireann Written Answers, 27 September]
“Mr John Travers, who has been acting-Director General of Science Foundation Ireland SFI for the past ten months, will, be stepping down as Director General in mid-October on completion of his term of office …” (more)
[SFI, 28 September]
“Prestigious US academic institution Princeton University has banned researchers from giving the copyright of scholarly articles to journal publishers, except in certain cases where a waiver may be granted. The new rule is part of an Open Access policy aimed at broadening the reach of their scholarly work …” (more)
[Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation, 28 September]
