“Cambridge University keeps telling us its admissions policy is not socially elitist. Who’s going to believe that now? …” (more)
[Melissa Berrill, Guardian, 31 December]
“2013 has been a busy year for the students and staff of UCD. New buildings have been added to UCD’s ever growing campus and the Students’ Union has received somewhat of an overhaul …” (more)
[Rachel Carey, College Tribune, 31 December]
“Alcohol use and abuse among university students is one of the most significant challenges facing those involved in educating and supporting today’s students …” (more)
[Michelle McDonagh, Irish Times, 31 December]
“The real truth is that it has been a bit of a working Christmas for me, apart from the day itself. I still haven’t finished the copy-editor’s corrections for my laughter book …” (more)
[Mary Beard, A Don’s Life, 30 December]
“Science, philosophy and technology run on the model of American Idol – as embodied by TED talks – is a recipe for civilisational disaster …” (more)
[Benjamin Bratton, Guardian, 30 December]
“I’ve just submitted this for the Higher Education Academy’s 2014 conference. It’s not contentious to me. But let’s see if it gets accepted … Short abstract: The University is broken. The game is up. It is conditioned by neoliberal politics through the tenets of growth, financialisation and securitisation …” (more)
[Richard Hall’s Space, 30 December]
“Show business is very old. Arguably, the first philosophers were in that business. If what you say is important, you need to ensure that as many people hear it as is possible. Socrates, for instance, worked in the Athenian Agora …” (more)
[McGarr Solicitors, 30 December]
“Université Paris-Dauphine, one of France top 20 best universities according to the 2013 QS World University Rankings – ranked globally at 358 – has announced in early December 2013 it will launch a degree in London …” (more)
[Stephanie Braudeau, QS Intelligence Unit, 30 December]
“The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has published a detailed set of profiles of Ireland’s universities, institutes and colleges, which include a breakdown of enrolments, disciplinary mix, participation levels, internationalisation, research and knowledge transfer performance, staff profiles and institutional funding …” (more, downloads)
[Higher Education Authority, 28 December]
“Almost 1,700 employment permits have been granted to non-European citizens in the tech sector so far this year to plug a skills shortage …” (more)
[Pamela Duncan, Irish Times, 30 December]
“The Irish Higher Education Authority plans to publish ‘data to compare third-level bodies’, explains Dick Ahlstrom in the Irish Times …” (more)
[Bernie Goldbach, Inside View from Ireland, 28 December]
“A tiny post here (30 words) linking to another blog on problems with the published scientific literature attracted lots of hits – and left me wondering about the vexed issue of replication and reproducibility (these are not the same things) in science …” (more)
[Shane O’Mara’s Blog, 28 December]
“From an imagined post-2020 perspective, Dr James Heaney, Lecturer in English and Irish Studies, considers how our current third-level education crisis might play out in the near future …” (more)
[TheJournal.ie, 28 December]
“Dozens of third-level students saddled with thousands of euros of debt are unable to graduate every year …” (more)
[Fiona Ellis, Independent, 28 December]
“The 14 institutes of technology have the smallest classes and most non-traditional students but universities have higher-qualified staff and generate far more research income …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 28 December]
“The performance of each of Ireland’s third-level institutions can be compared in unprecedented detail with the introduction of a new performance-profiling system published today by the Higher Education Authority …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 28 December]
“First-year students in institutes of technology (ITs) are up to three times more likely to drop out of their course than those in universities …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 28 December]
“The reason, or reasons, a student drops out of a third-level course during or after the first year are many and varied, and start long before entry to college …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 28 December]
“A chara, – Class sizes in Irish primary school classrooms have been the second highest in the European Union every year for two decades. The UK tops the league of shame, but at least there they employ a second adult in every classroom …” (more)
[John Boyle, Irish Times, 28 December]
“There is an argument in favour of allowing academics to pursue their own intellectual interests. Public policy-making in developed democracies is linked more and more to research findings about the impact and cost of particular policies, even though representative politics still determines overall priorities …” (more)
[Paul Gillespie, Irish Times, 28 December]
