“The college has abandoned plans for a €14 million development of sporting facilities on campus. The plans included a new 400 meter running track, a refurbishment of the existing Sports Centre, and a new multi-purpose facility extension onto the current sport centre …” (more)
[College Tribune, 31 January]
“Would you be fooled into thinking that the University of Devonshire existed? How would you like to own a qualification from the University of Wexford? Or does graduating from the University of Palmers Green appeal? These were all trading names of the University Degree Programme, set up with websites looking like they were licensed universities …” (more)
[Thomas Lancaster, The Conversation, 31 January]
“More than two-thirds of people believe the Government should do more to assist people seeking access to higher education, according to a new survey. The report, by Careers Unlimited, asked 1,500 people about their attitudes and experiences of pursuing courses in higher education …” (more)
[Sean Duffy, Independent, 31 January]
“The University of Limerick has confirmed that it has not received any complaints in relation to a house party in neighbouring College Court that was reportedly attended by upwards of 400 people and spiralled ‘out of control’. However, Gardaí at Henry Street have confirmed that they are investigating the incident, video footage of which is circulating online …” (more)
[Fintan Walsh, Limerick Leader, 30 January]
“Blame the parents. They may want the best for their children, but many end up directing them away from certain areas of study based on outdated notions of ‘acceptable’ careers. A major Government-commissioned report into the shortage of female graduates in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) found that parents are heavily influencing their daughters’ career choices in particular …” (more)
[Nora-Ide McAuliffe, Irish Times, 31 January]
“For those of us whose understanding of political and social values may have taken something of a battering over the past week or so, here’s an interesting intervention from an American university president …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 31 January]
“I banned PowerPoint in my undergraduate classes. No longer do I enter my classrooms and crank up the giant projection system to show my slides. Not any more do my students look up to see those bullet lists and standard templates on the screen …” (more)
[Paul Donovan, Irish Times, 31 January]
“Floods, ash clouds, and the recession were just some of the more challenging aspects of Dr Michael Murphy’s 10-year term as President which is due to come to a close tomorrow. Dr Murphy took office in 2007 when the Celtic Tiger was ‘in its last fling’ …” (more)
[UCC, 30 January]
“Ireland’s research community is preparing for changes that will come once Brexit arrives. There are overt efforts to coax leading UK scientists to set up in Ireland with the promise of research funding. Novel ways of bringing top scientists here on a part-time basis are also being organised …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 31 January]
“21% of Irish respondents to an EU-wide survey late last year think having sex without consent is acceptable in certain situations. Does that worry you? It should …” (more)
[Eimear Kelly, Campus.ie, 30 January]
“Thinking of doing an MBA but worried that you will never earn back the cost? New figures from the Financial Times show that graduates of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School (the only Irish school on the Top 100 global list), saw remuneration rise 71% within three years of doing the degree …” (more)
[Irish Times, 31 January]
“‘The former objectives of education, which emphasised a knowledge of facts, are no longer as valuable in a society where information is available at your fingertips.’ This was a statement made recently in a column in the Irish Times and it is pretty par for the course. Lots of people have been making this claim for quite a few years now …” (more)
[educationandstuff, 30 January]
“All parents want what is best for their child, but will often ask if it is worth sending their son or daughter to a fee-paying school. For some, it is not an option as not everyone has the financial means to meet the associated costs. Those who do must weigh up these costs with the perceived benefits of sending children to fee-paying schools …” (more)
[Wayne O’Connor, Independent, 30 January]
“Many higher education leaders issued statements over the weekend in response to the Trump administration’s executive order to ban immigrants and nonimmigrant visitors from seven countries, which are majority Muslim, from entering the United States …” (more)
[Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed, 30 January]
“The dispute between Trinity and its support and service staff rumbles on, with SIPTU and Unite currently considering their options for further action and the issue gathering momentum. This week the issue was raised in the Dáil by Paul Murphy TD in a question to the Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton …” (more)
[University Times, 29 January]
“The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School’s full-time masters of business administration (MBA) has climbed nine places to 70th on the annual Financial Times worldwide rankings. It is the only Irish business school to feature on the list …” (more)
[Irish Times, 30 January]
“The HEA is currently undertaking a review of the model for allocating recurrent grant funding to universities, institutes of technology and colleges. This is a critical exercise that will shape the future direction, performance and impact of higher education …” (more)
[Higher Education Authority, 28 January]
“When exams seem so far away they may as well not be there at all, it is all too easy to forget that we actually have them. In the past three months I have not seen enough of the Trinity libraries, and I know I am not the only one. Increasingly, colleges are switching to a semester-based system, where the academic year is split into two semesters …” (more)
[Fiachra MacCanna and Niall Maher, Trinity News, 29 January]
“Harriet Harman has said she spoke out about an incident more than 40 years ago in which a university tutor allegedly offered her a better grade in exchange for sex because such events are ‘still a battle we’ve got to fight now’ …” (more)
[Peter Walker, Guardian, 29 January]
“Irish parents need to ‘get real’ and ‘lose their fixation in insisting that their child has to go to college as a badge of honour’ according to the head of the representative body for Education and Training Boards …” (more)
[Gavin McLoughlin, Independent, 29 January]
