“A new international student exchange scheme will provide more opportunities for US students and be more inclusive than its predecessor, according to the UK’s universities minister. The EU’s long-running Erasmus program gave students the chance to study abroad, as well as running an exchange scheme for staff …” (more)
[Nick Morrison, Forbes, 7 May]
“Applications from the United Kingdom’s number one overseas student market have plummeted by 40% for undergraduate courses starting in 2021-22, but it is Brexit and not COVID-19 that is to blame for the fall …” (more)
[Nic Mitchell, University World News, 14 April]
“Students on all university courses in England will return ‘no earlier than 17 May’, the government has announced. About a million students, taking courses taught online since Christmas, will be able to go back to university campuses …” (more)
[Sean Coughlan, BBC News, 13 April]
“With the exception of the second World War, there has always been free movement for people between Ireland and Great Britain. This has also included the right for Irish and British people to work in either jurisdiction. Despite Brexit, this situation remains unchanged …” (more)
[John FitzGerald, Irish Times, 9 April]
“German and United Kingdom representatives of universities and higher education organisations have discussed the post-Brexit future of UK-German academic relations, including how to plug the glaring gap in the UK’s Turing Scheme, the replacement for participation in the European Union’s mobility and exchange scheme Erasmus+ …” (more)
[Michael Gardner and Brendan O’Malley, University World News, 1 April]
“Much like the ‘new power’ phenomenon it draws on as its analytical lens, the power of The New Power University lies less in the singularity of any of its insights than in their accumulation to build a picture of the fragility of the contemporary Western university in the face of enormous political and social upheaval …” (more)
[Debbie McVitty, Wonkhe, 30 March]
“A few communications with former colleagues from the United Kingdom last week reminded me that, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the deadline for submissions to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework is next week. It seems very strange to me to push ahead with this despite the Coronavirus disruption, but it’s yet another sign that academics have to serve the bureaucrats rather than the other way round …” (more)
[In the Dark, 27 March]
“A university in the United Kingdom is facing criticism over the responsible use of research metrics, after it used information about scientists’ research income and publication records to identify dozens of jobs that are ‘at risk’. Critics say that using metrics in such a decision is inappropriate because they tend to focus on a small part of an academic’s job. They add that the institution at the centre of the row – the University of Liverpool – used a metric based on citations that is designed to evaluate large groups of researchers, rather than individuals …” (more)
[Holly Else, Nature, 25 March]
“With recent polls in the North showing near-equal support for reunification and for union with Britain, it is important for those of us studying in the Republic to consider the effects a united Ireland might have on third-level education here …” (more)
[Fionnán Uibh Eochach, University Times, 16 March]
“We live in Donegal and my daughter has applied for college places through Ucas and the CAO. Given recent changes in the UK and Ireland regarding how students will receive their grades in 2021, will this affect entry requirements? Firstly, let’s be clear on how students will be assessed and graded in both jurisdictions …” (more)
[Brian Mooney, Irish Times, 16 March]
“Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if Irish students who have been accepted onto master’s degree courses in the UK pre-Brexit and deferred their place for an academic year due to Covid-19 will be exempt from international student fees and will be expected to pay the usual EU fees and qualify for student loans on the basis of same due to the CTA; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 10 March]
“The replacement for the Erasmus study exchange scheme will not fund tuition or travel costs, it has emerged – and the living allowance has been slashed. The reality of the new project has triggered fresh accusations that ministers are crushing the hopes of huge numbers of students who want to live, study and travel abroad …” (more)
[Rob Merrick, Independent, 9 March]
“Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the fee arrangements that will be in place for Irish students attending Scottish universities in autumn 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 4 March]
“Speculation on whether or not the UK would remain within the EU and EEA’s student mobility programme, Erasmus+, has ensued since the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016. A last-minute decision resulting in the United Kingdom resolving to stop participation in all aspects of Erasmus+ will have the potential to damage the UK and Ireland’s relations on top of Brexit alone …” (more)
[Laura Galvin, Trinity News, 25 February]
“Universities, lecturers and students have criticised British government proposals to deny funding to institutions that fail to ‘actively promote free speech’, warning that they could impinge on academic freedom and university autonomy. The proposals would allow speakers whose invitations are withdrawn because of student objections to sue universities and student unions for compensation and mandate the appointment of a ‘free speech champion’ to investigate complaints …” (more)
[Denis Staunton, Irish Times, 16 February]
“Modeling kept under wraps by the British government for nearly two years estimates that Brexit could cost the nation’s universities nearly two-thirds of their European Union student enrollment and £63m ($87m) in one year, but that the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge will boost their income …” (more)
[John Morgan, Inside Higher Education, 12 February]
“Verona Murphy (Wexford, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of tuition fees; if these fees have been finalised for Irish students considering their options to take up third level education in a UK university for the 2021-22 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 3 February]
“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to protect the access of Northern Ireland applicants to the Erasmus programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 3 February]
“Economy Minister Diane Dodds is to meet the Republic’s Higher Education Minister to discuss NI students taking part in the Erasmus scheme for European study. UK students can no longer participate in the Erasmus programme, which funds third-level academic study in the EU and other projects …” (more)
[Margaret Canning, Belfast Telegraph, 4 February]
“The EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement, commonly known as the ‘Brexit deal’, has been welcomed by the UK and EU research communities, as it states the political will to continue close scientific cooperation under Horizon Europe, the 9th European research programme. The terms and conditions to join the programme as an associated member still need to be negotiated and agreed. However, the Brexit deal puts an end to a climate of uncertainty for UK-based researchers that started in June 2016 with the Brexit vote in the middle of Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe’s predecessor …” (more)
[Marco Cavallaro, LSE, 26 January]
