“Around four of every five first-year students expected to get a grant this year are already being paid or have had their payments approved, latest figures reveal …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 30 November]
“Sir, – It is that time of year when we are treated to the publication in the national newspapers of lists purporting to represent the latest ‘school league tables’. And they are – in a kind of Eurovision song contest sense – a source of momentary entertainment …” (more)
[Susan Weir, Irish Times, 30 November]
“Two former Labour leaders – Ruairi Quinn and Pat Rabbitte – are facing the axe in next year’s Cabinet reshuffle as the party looks to freshen up its line-up going into the general election …” (more)
[Fionnan Sheahan, Independent, 30 November]
“The government has suspended all funding for overseas EU students at private colleges, and for Bulgarians and Romanians at public universities …” (more)
[John Morgan, Times Higher Education, 29 November]
“Abstract: Technology has the potential to assist us in our role as teachers, but the overwhelming amount of technology can make it difficult for new practitioners to know where to begin in the process of selecting fit-for-purpose technologies …” (more)
[Is this going to be on the exam?, 28 November]
“In 2010 the UK government announced 100% cuts to the funding of most teaching at universities. To fill the gap, students’ contributions to fees in England trebled widely to £9000 a year or close to that …” (more)
[Luke Martell, British Politics and Policy at LSE, 29 November]
“… I have always been intrigued by the touchy relationship between the mentor – someone with the power to make or break a PhD student’s career – and the student, who is entirely dependent on the mentor for success and a positive experience in the lab …” (more)
[Steve Caplan, Guardian, 29 November]
“Social media pages which were slammed for ‘objectifying’ both male and female students in NUI Galway and GMIT have been shut down following a storm of protest from students groups in both third level institutes …” (more)
[Jessica Thompson, Connacht Tribune, 29 November]
“University College Dublin is today officially opening what it says is Ireland’s first purpose-built university law school, following a €25m investment …” (more)
[Grainne Rothery, Business and Leadership, 29 November]
“Despite all the reports of teens leaving the network, Facebook remains the most popular social media platform in Ireland …” (more)
[Stephen Conmy, Digital Times, 29 November]
“Educators often bristle at the thought of evaluating universities as businesses, and incorporating business models into higher education, but Trinity College Dublin provost Patrick Prendergast is different …” (more)
[Pamela Newenham, Irish Times, 29 November]
“… I am thankful to the press for publishing these results, otherwise I would not have known where our school stands in terms of results. For what it is worth I would pay teachers double their salary if I thought they could enrich my children’s lives …” (more)
[Paul Doran, Irish Times, 29 November]
“A hi-tech engineering firm has claimed companies are being forced to look abroad to fill vacant job positions due to an ongoing shortfall in Engineering and Science graduates in Ireland …” (more)
[Independent, 28 November]
“It was described by one journalist simply as ‘the revenge of the Taoiseach’. The decision to merge the Seanad university panels into one giant graduate constituency will allow Mr Kenny, in one swoop, to claim credit for responding promptly to popular sentiment …” (more)
[Irish Times, 29 November]
“Can you hear a prolonged scream reverberating around the corridors of your university’s administrative building? If so, it is likely to be the sound of exhausted, caffeine-addled research office staff putting the final touches to their 2014 research excellence framework submission …” (more)
[Paul Jump, Times Higher Education, 28 November]
“The UK science base must be protected from poorly thought out and badly implemented English higher education reforms …” (more)
[Kieron Flanagan, Guardian, 28 November]
“Minister for Education & Skills, Ruairi Quinn TD has today launched the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) at Dublin City University. This new centre of excellence will pioneer major developments in online, distance and blended learning …” (more)
[CareersPortal.ie, 28 November]
“The world of academia has changed over the last forty years. In those far-off days university lecturers might write a paper every few years, and this served to sustain their position and reputation …” (more)
[John Hudson, Impact of Social Sciences, 28 November]
“Trinity College Dublin has unveiled a new strategy for innovation and entrepreneurship that will see more than 160 start-up companies emerge from the university before the end of 2016 …” (more)
[Pamela Newenham, Irish Times, 28 November]
“Sir, – Given that so many Irish-language schools are at the top of the league table for entrants to third-level education, what is the justification for the 10% bonus marks given for answering certain Leaving Cert papers through Irish? …” (more)
[Donal Flynn, Irish Times, 28 November]
