Margot Finn
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eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social
17K followers 4.5K following 10K posts

Historian of Britain and colonialism, material culture, the EIC. Also works on equalities, museums, open access & research policy. Download the EIC @ Home open access volume here: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/88277 (or individual chapters via JSTOR) .. more

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Margot C. Finn is a British historian and academic who specialises in Britain and the British colonial world during the long nineteenth century. She has been Professor of Modern British History at the University College, London (UCL) since 2012. Finn was previously the President of the Royal Historical Society and a trustee of the Victoria & Albert Museum. .. more

Political science 31%
Economics 26%
Posts Replies Media Videos

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 9h
One for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (SHAPE) researchers interested in open science, and hot off the press (as well as, naturally, open access).
Openness in the arts, humanities and social sciences: Documenting open research practices beyond STEM (A MORPHSS Project Report)
Conceptual frameworks of 'Open Science' and their implementation by funders, journals, institutions and other organisations have been criticised on the grounds that they are tailored primarily to quan...
works.hcommons.org

Reposted by Elizabeth Stokoe

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 9h
'The REF team said that, from April, Hackett would return to provide “overall strategic leadership to the programme going forward”. Research Professional News understands a recruitment process to appoint a successor is now underway.'

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 9h
REF 2029 news: leadership transition.

2029.ref.ac.uk/news/stateme...
Statement from Steven Hill on REF leadership transition   – REF 2029
2029.ref.ac.uk

Reposted by Margot C. Finn, Paul Nightingale

resprofnews.bsky.social
Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 9h
Breaking: Research Excellence Framework director to step down in April.

Former director Kim Hackett returning to oversee strategy while successor to Rebecca Fairbairn is found.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Research Excellence Framework director to step down in April - Research Professional News
Former director Kim Hackett returning to oversee strategy while successor to Rebecca Fairbairn is found
www.researchprofessionalnews.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Philip N. Cohen, Margot C. Finn , and 2 more

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 9h
UNC is close to finalizing its policy which outlines permissible circumstances to *SECRETLY RECORD FACULTY IN THE CLASSROOM.*
UNC-Chapel Hill Preps Policy on Recording Professors
The school aims to clarify guidelines after a secret recording controversy and growing fear of surveillance.
www.theassemblync.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 9h
Interesting. What impact did the revocation have on allocation of research funding?

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 10h
A situation replicated across many HEIs. We should be places of active, co-produced experimentation. But this is not what's on offer. Such a missed opportunity married to an own goal.

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11h
'Scepticism about such ventures is healthy. Higher education has seen alliances launch with broad declarations and fade with little to show.' (Noah Pickus)

Will it work? Who knows? But it's a much more interesting model than the current UK HE off-shoring in vogue ('sandbox' notwithstanding). 2/2
Future Universities Alliance | Office of the Provost
About the Alliance Image The Future Universities Alliance is a global platform connecting start-up, emerging, and established universities to reimagine what higher educat
provost.duke.edu

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11h
'Our approach rests not on borderless cosmopolitanism but on what I call rooted globalism. The idea is that institutions stay grounded in their histories and communities while learning across differences and allowing those lessons to reshape how they serve their own students.' (Noah Pickus) 1/2
Our open, global institutional design engine is not just another consortium
Higher education has seen alliances launch with broad declarations and fade with little to show. But we are structuring this one differently, says Noah Pickus
www.timeshighereducation.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11h
I’m up for change, when a viable alternative is offered.

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

hpsvanessa.bsky.social
Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 11h
#jobfairy this is an intriguing one - 18 month research fellowship for an object-focused historian, museums studies person or similar at Chatsworth House! £48k + £11k travel, outreach etc #skystorians
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQK358/d...
Devonshire Collections Research Fellow at Chatsworth House Trust
Searching for an academic job? Explore this Devonshire Collections Research Fellow opening on jobs.ac.uk! Click to view more details and browse other academic jobs.
www.jobs.ac.uk

Reposted by Tim Bale, Margot C. Finn

tepid.meme
Andrej @tepid.meme · 11h
I guess we can thank Bangor’s Debating & Political Society for prompting Reform to reveal that they intend to govern in the same Trumpian, thin-skinned way that would cause them to tank the economy of a small city because some students were mean to them.
amrawatson.bsky.social Amra Watson @amrawatson.bsky.social · 13h
Reform is threatening Bangor University over a student society’s decision. The society isn’t Bangor University—but this is a neat preview of how a Reform government would work: public money for supporters only. Trump-style politics, UK edition.

Authoritarian reflex is already working just fine.👇

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11h
The Microsoft announcement was 'interesting'. At what point did universities suspend their function of rendering critical judgement? Did I miss a memo? Is 'science' no longer what we're about?

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 12h
'One potential option to streamline the REF process could lie in the adoption of artificial intelligence tools.'

Mai oui! The answer is of course AI. Because we have no evidence to base its use on in this context, and when we do test it, will use datasets for a small number of STEM disciplines. 2/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 12h
“I have serious questions about the…usefulness of the REF,” Ivison also said, pointing to the fact that Australia scrapped its equivalent programme after a 2020 review'.

Such a role model for UK HE, Australian HE. So very flourishing. 1/2

Reposted by Patrick Meier

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 12h
'Cutting off funding for culture and knowledge has social and political consequences. If you want a healthy and harmonious civil society, invest in the humanities and the arts, for they foster understanding, knowledge and empathy.'
Jules Verne’s dystopia was a world without humanities. Do...
When arts education is dismissed as a waste of time it damages us as a society. The focus of learning is not just to enrich our economy but also to enrich our souls
observer.co.uk

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 13h
Ah now that IS a question!

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 13h
British Academy does it for the SHAPE disciplines, in part though SHAPE Observatory and deep dive discipline reports. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-r...
SHAPE Observatory
Interactive dashboards and reports that provide insight into emerging SHAPE trends for HE professionals, subject specialists, academics and policymakers.
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Margot C. Finn

thelondonarchives.bsky.social
The London Archives @thelondonarchives.bsky.social · 13h
We have more Skills Training in Archival Research (STAR) workshops coming up!

Join staff at The London Archives for a hands-on workshop designed to help postgrad students and researchers make the most of archival collections.

📍 The London Archives
📅 1 April + 3 June
🕛️ 1-4:30pm
Skills Training in Archival Research (STAR) Workshop
Join us for a hands-on workshop designed to help postgraduate students and researchers make the most of archival collections.
www.eventbrite.co.uk

Reposted by Jonathan Wolff, Huw Price, Martin Paul Eve , and 4 more

resprofnews.bsky.social
Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 13h
Scrapping REF should be “serious’ option”, says Manchester VC.

Duncan Ivison questions “usefulness” of “massive, bureaucratic” research assessment exercise.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Scrapping REF should be ‘serious’ option, says Manchester VC - Research Professional News
Duncan Ivison questions “usefulness” of “massive, bureaucratic” research assessment exercise
www.researchprofessionalnews.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 13h
It's an important question. But was the health of disciplines previously monitored by all of the Research Councils? Arguably some more than others, perhaps.

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14h
Tuesday, Mar 24 from 6 pm to 8 pm GMT.

Be there and be illuminated #Skystorians
qmcbs.bsky.social QMCBS @qmcbs.bsky.social · 14h
Next QMCBS Book Launch with @qmulsse.bsky.social : Matthew Hilton's Charity After Empire on 24 March 6pm: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launc.... Panel with Bill Schwarz,
@riakapoor.bsky.social Kavita Datta & David Williams
Book Launch: Charity After Empire
British Humanitarianism, Decolonisation and Development
www.eventbrite.co.uk

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Margot C. Finn

nation.cymru
NationCymru @nation.cymru · 14h
Reform UK’s head of policy Zia Yusuf launched a culture war in Wales by threatening to withhold funding from Bangor University after its student debating society refused to host two leading figures from his party ✍️Martin Shipton
Uproar as Reform policy chief threatens to defund Welsh university
Martin Shipton Reform UK’s head of policy Zia Yusuf launched a culture war in Wales by threatening to withhold funding from Bangor University after its student debating society refused to host two lea...
nation.cymru

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14h
Implicitly more than overtly, yes.

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

qmcbs.bsky.social
QMCBS @qmcbs.bsky.social · 14h
Next QMCBS Book Launch with @qmulsse.bsky.social : Matthew Hilton's Charity After Empire on 24 March 6pm: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launc.... Panel with Bill Schwarz,
@riakapoor.bsky.social Kavita Datta & David Williams
Book Launch: Charity After Empire
British Humanitarianism, Decolonisation and Development
www.eventbrite.co.uk

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14h
This is big.
£5bn council SEND debts to be paid off by government
It comes days after the Local Government Association warned that eight in 10 English councils would face bankruptcy, if they had to honour deficits.
www.bbc.co.uk

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14h
'while Westminster is encouraging the downsizing of England’s higher education system, this does not seem as feasible in Scotland.... events at the University of Dundee have left the impression that the government will not allow a university to go bust.' 2/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14h
'many argue that the situation is worse in Scotland, with higher education institutions receiving approximately 23 per cent less funding per student than their English counterparts, according to London Economics, and a collective £12.9 million deficit forecast for 2025-26.' 1/2
‘We’re looking at all parts of the system – except tuition fees’
In election year, Scotland’s higher education minister says fees policy non-negotiable, as newly formed review group looks for new models to heal nation’s ailing sector
www.timeshighereducation.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14h
'he was recruited to lead the development of robotic infrastructure at Aithyra, a life sciences research institution, founded in 2024, that seeks to incorporate artificial intelligence in all aspects of scientific development.'

Robotics: the new "woke". 2/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14h
'Wali Malik no longer has to worry that a rightwing bureaucrat – or influencer – will decide his research is “woke”.' 1/2
‘I saw the writing on the wall’: Austria offers safe haven for US academics as Trump wages war on universities
Other countries benefit from the Trump brain drain as administration wages war on academia and research
www.theguardian.com