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Labour MP describes government fee levy plan as ‘stupid’ - Research Professional News

Reposted by M Smallman

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 12d

Labour MP Alex Sobel describes government fee levy plan as “stupid”, and also says ministers should never have implemented free speech act.

Meanwhile, Russell Group VC describes fee levy as “utterly bonkers”.

Lively session at #Lab25.

Full story:
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Labour 2025: Alex Sobel also says ministers “should never should have implemented free speech act”

Iain Coleman obituary: 'Labour could do with a few more Iain Colemans right now' - LabourList

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M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · 17d

A fitting tribute to my friend and former MP Iain Coleman.
It was an incredible honour stand in his seat when he retired and I regret that I wasn't able to continue his amazing work. But my abiding memory will always be how much fun and great company Iain was. xxx
labourlist.org/2025/09/iain...

Tributes have poured in for former Labour MP Iain Coleman, who represented Hammersmith and Fulham between 1997 and…

labourlist.org

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M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · 19d

Also, what's the point of Oxford education now? All of the conversations/training sessions I've had about leaning into student use of genAI requires me to abondon any attempt to teach my subject or critical skills and instead to teach prompt engineering. Absolute rubbish.

michael veale @michae.lv · 19d

Will Oxford disclose how much it paid (or did not pay) for this?

Surely a sweetheart deal (has research money thrown in!) so OpenAI can plaster Oxford over its marketing and raid other unis’ fees, library budgets to throw into the sector’s massive inference funding chasm.

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · 22d

NEW: Oxford will be the first UK university to give all staff and students free ChatGPT Edu access, from this academic year.

ChatGPT Edu is built for education, with enhanced privacy and security.

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M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · 24d

Excellent run up to the start of the academic year yesterday, looking at amazing art and finding inspiration and fascinating connections to our own ideas. (And suprisingly, I am not one of the guilty parties!)

UCL Science and Technology Studies (STS) @stsucl.bsky.social · 24d

Yesterday Tate Modern saw us wandering around its exhibits for our away day. We discussed good & bad theologies of radio technologies; whether Rothko's moods exist or are performed, & what happens to art when stripped of context. All while setting off alarms & getting told off for touching exhibits.

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Reposted by M Smallman

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · Sep 7

Yes, Defra becomes the first department with a full complement of ministers to be all female.

(Welsh department has been but only has two ministers).

Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · Sep 7

All 5 of DEFRA’s ministers are now women! Is this the first time a UK government department has an all-female ministerial team? www.gov.uk/government/o...

@instituteforgovernment.org.uk @robertsaunders.bsky.social @samfr.bsky.social

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Reposted by M Smallman

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · Sep 5

Also the first time the three great offices of state (FCDO, Home, CX) have all been held by women at the same time.

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M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Sep 5

😂

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · Sep 5

Dorries famously asked Microsoft when they were "going to get rid of their algorithms" when she met with them while planning the Online Safety Act.

James Ball @jamesrball.com · Sep 5

“We will police the streets and not the tweets and change all that damaging legislation,” says Nigel Farage on stage at Reform – just after welcoming the minister responsible for passing the Online Safety Act onto the stage with him, and into his party.

The cat mayoral race: meet 11 runners and riders in the US’s most furious – and furriest – election

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Sep 5

How can I have spent the last week in Somerville and not have been made aware of this? www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

It has been the talk of Somerville, Massachusetts this summer, with the winner announced later today. Will it be the candidate who promises free kibble or the one who speaks gnomically of ‘CRIME’?

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M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jul 25

Congratulations Emma - well deserved and exciting news!

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jul 9

The world is not short of humans and if we were, we know how to make more quickly. So we need to keep asking why a company/state would want to train robots to do human tasks, because the answer reveals the real nature of the automation project.

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jul 9

Plus the idea of a human doctor overseeing several robots simultaneously is a huge downgrade in service. I anticipate rich ppl paying a premium to be treated by a human and the AI/robot service being the s**t one you get if you can't afford choice.

Robot surgery on humans could be trialled within decade after success on pig organs

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jul 9

Why would the NHS want this? Handing over money to tech companies instead of humans would have profound effects on the UK economy and long term affordability of NHS (people pay taxes + circulation of £ matters) for at best marginal improvements in productivity.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

AI-trained robot carries out procedures on dead pig organs to remove gall bladders without any human help

Alan Turing Institute told to focus on defence or lose funding - Research Professional News

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jul 4

Confirming what I realised about the ATI (and AI) a while ago. It was always about defence.
Glad I am no longer a fellow there - we have enough horrible ways of killing people don't need more and this will have serious implications for everyone's privacy & freedom.

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · Jul 4

Big story breaking this evening.

Alan Turing Institute told to focus on defence or lose funding.

The science secretary Peter Kyle has threatened to pull defence R&D funds, while reforms could see EPSRC grant revisited.

Free to read.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Science secretary threatens to pull defence R&D funds, while reforms could see EPSRC grant revisited

Crying in the Commons: why are women’s workplace tears a source of shame?

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jul 4

Because the patriarchy isn't about horses. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Rachel Reeves’s distress may help destigmatise an emotional response to pressure or professional frustration

In a male-dominated field, my success became misconduct

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jul 3

The fuss about (the amazingly strong) Rachel Reeves today just goes to show how deep the gender problem is in politics and how women are still expected to act like men. Women cry. Sometimes for big reasons, sometimes just because. We still belong in power so get over it.

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M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jun 30

This is awful and an extreme but not uncommon experience for women in academia. Complaints processes (and student evaluations) are used to bully women (in academia and elsewhere). Institutions need to wise up if they care about gender equality: www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/male-d...

When student complaints were made against a high-achieving female scientist, her institution launched a one-man inquiry that found her blameworthy merely ‘for doing my job’, she writes: a ‘textbook ca...

www.timeshighereducation.com

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jun 30

I wonder if the scientist leading this is aware that there's a whole field that for decades has been building knowledge about this? And that some great people in the field are right there in Australia?

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · Jun 30

Australia: Coalition launched to boost public trust in science.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-aust...

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Reposted by M Smallman

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · Jun 27

Better governance ‘could have avoided mass university job cuts’. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Better governance ‘could have avoided mass university job cuts’ - Research Professional News

Philip Augar proposes union representation on governing boards and vice-chancellor pay reforms

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M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jun 26

Congratulations! That's excellent news and well deserved.

Regional R&D investment must help tech firms put down roots - Research Professional News

Reposted by M Smallman

John Morgan @johnmorgan3.bsky.social · Jun 25

On that topic: this is good from @melaniesmallman.bsky.social on deploying regional R&D to tackle inequality often created by tech industry - and build different kind of innovation-led economy that doesn't foster polarisation destroying US science.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

Money is welcome, but jobs, growth and tax revenues won’t follow automatically, says Melanie Smallman

Labour’s industrial policy can succeed where Biden failed

Reposted by M Smallman

John Morgan @johnmorgan3.bsky.social · Jun 25

Ex-Biden adviser backing UK's new industrial strategy: a reminder that R&D and innovation can/should be part of the answer to the inequality left by deindustrialisation. www.ft.com/content/d059...

The UK government faces few of the obstacles that stymied the former US president’s agenda

www.ft.com

Cardiff’s first modern art museum will aim to showcase Welsh talent

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jun 11

Interesting morning at the London AI Summit. Implementation at scale and speed & sustainability seem to be key themes. I got given an AI Ethics handbag, which is lovely (although we need to talk about so much more than transparency). Huge thanks to person who invited me!

Clear plastic handbag with principles of AI Ethics printed on it.

M Smallman @melaniesmallman.bsky.social · Jun 6

I am very excited about this (although it should be named in Welsh of course).
In the meantime I can highly recommend the modern & contemporary art collection at the Amgueddfa Genedlaethol in Cardiff - it is impressive.
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Space due to open next year will feature 1,000 works and provide a platform for local as well as global artists