Ninth Level Ireland

“Examiners will be expected to enlist the help of at least 20 British universities when drafting exam syllabuses and test questions as part of a major drive to raise standards, the Telegraph has learned. All new qualifications will require a formal ‘sign-off’ from universities – particularly leading research institutions – before being sat by sixth-formers …” (more)

[Graeme Paton, Daily Telegraph, 18 June]

“Romania’s new government, still reeling from a misconduct scandal that forced its research minister to resign last month, has been hit by fresh allegations of plagiarism that strike at the very top. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has been accused of copying large sections of his 2003 PhD thesis in law from previous publications, without proper reference …” (more)

[Quirin Schiermeier, Nature News & Comment, 18 June]

The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin has been shortlisted for the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) Public Choice Award 2012 …” (more)

[Trinity College Communications Office, 18 June]

“I listen to Adrian Weckler, partly for opinion and partly for trend analysis. Yesterday, he dismissed two technologies we have used in our third level curriculum. We use QR Codes and Google Hangouts to improve access third level students have to supplemental material and guest lecturers …” (more)

[Bernie Goldbach, Inside View from Ireland, 18 June]

“A university tutor described by the Daily Mail and London Evening Standard of having a key role in violent anti-cuts protests in London has begun a landmark libel action against the two newspapers …” (more)

[Josh Halliday, Guardian, 18 June]

“Oxford University has confirmed it will be extending its student financial support package, which is the most generous in the country for low-income students, to students from Northern Ireland as well as English students …” (more)

[Belfast Telegraph, 18 June]

“Last week, David Dudley did something that surprised his colleagues at Georgia Southern University. He sent all of them an open letter in which he described – in detail – the extent of dysfunction he sees at the university …” (more)

[Scott Jaschik, Times Higher Education, 18 June]

“… What does this mean for Universities in Ireland. If the best and the brightest of their potential undergraduates can now go overseas as easily as getting to Dublin or Cork, why wouldn’t they? NUIM or Notre Dame? CIT or Cornell? It’s ok. There’s be plenty of students. You can get along fine with the ones who don’t have the pluck to go abroad …” (more)

[Robert Cosgrave, Tertiary21, 18 June]

“How does the overall Irish track record on online freedoms stack up? Taken as a whole, it strikes me that the internet is generally quite free in Ireland, but this is a result of apathy rather than policy …” (more)

[TJ McIntyre, IT Law in Ireland, 18 June]

“Scottish universities are facing fines as a result of a legal loophole allowing students from Northern Ireland to seek free university education in Scotland. Under legislation affecting UK residents, students from Northern Ireland were expected to pay up to £9000 a year to attend Scottish universities. However, if these students take up their right to dual citizenship with the Irish Republic, they can apply as EU students and have their fees paid …” (more)

[Andrew Denholm, Herald Scotland, 18 June]

“There’s been a lot of talk recently about the pressures of higher education. Actually, says one postgrad student, university life is a joy …” (more)

[Katie Beswick, Guardian, 18 June]

“Size isn’t everything but does it matter for a university? I picked up an interesting blog post from Andy Westwood, CEO of GuildHE, in which he argues that the reduction in the required number of students for the award of university title is a good decision …” (more)

[Registrarism, 18 June]

“Reputations take years to earn but can be lost in a flash. I thought of this last week as I watched, with some dismay, as the Economic and Social Research Institute committed reputational suicide …” (more)

[Independent, 18 June]

“Sir, ­ – A number of statements in the article ‘Irish-trained surgeon given five-year sentence in Bahrain’ (Rowan Gallagher, Home News, June 15th) merit closer scrutiny …” (more)

[Eoin O'Brien, Irish Times, 18 June]

“Sir, – Minister for Arts, Jimmy Deenihan (Opinion, June 11th) cleared up a lot of issues regarding his thinking about the review of national cultural institutions …” (more)

[Virginia Teehan, Irish Times, 18 June]

“The trends we have encountered in exploring Future U — social tech, the Web, crowdsourcing, data visualization, new tools and old concerns, the classics and the cutting edge — all seem to dovetail nicely into the nascent discipline of digital technologies …” (more)

[Curt Hopkins, Ars Technica, 17 June]

“… Contrast the recent decision of the Labour Court, where despite it being clear that certain appointments in TCD were contingent upon the continued availability of external funding which had now ceased, the Labour Court nonetheless made a ruling which rendered mutually agreed termination provisions ineffective because of the Croke Park Agreement’s outlawing ‘compulsory redundancy’ …” (more)

[Irish Times, 18 June]