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Reposted by Paul Jump

Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 14d

Where now for the REF? Five very different views on how radical the changes should be www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/where-...

Where now for the REF?

The Research Excellence Framework has been postponed for three months ‘to take stock and ensure alignment with the UK government’s priorities and vision for higher education’. But how radical should t...

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Sep 8

Opinion: The three-month pause in the Research Excellence Framework to re-examine the assessment of ‘people, culture and environment’ could prelude a welcome reversal, says Alice Sullivan
#academicsky #REF

The REF’s postponement raises hopes that sanity will prevail on PCE

The three-month pause to re-examine the assessment of ‘people, culture and environment’ could prelude a welcome reversal, says Alice Sullivan

www.timeshighereducation.com

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jgro-the.bsky.social @jgro-the.bsky.social · Sep 5

Another bombshell REF announcement: radical change of direction at UKRI re research funding seems on the cards www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers...

Universities failing on research culture could lose funding

Research England to use REF pause to consider whether institutions must meet baseline performance measures as a condition of receiving funds

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · Sep 4

At UUK conference Patrick Vallance announces 3-month pause in REF process to make sure it is ‘properly aligned’ to national priorities. Still on for 2029 but want to avoid it measuring the wrong things. Story soon at @timeshighered.bsky.social

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Sep 3

IoT also a great advert for academia. See this 2017 interview we did with Melvyn Bragg: "I just wanted to talk to academics on one subject and see what happens”. www.timeshighereducation.com/features/nev...

Reposted by Paul Jump

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Aug 7

Academic Rachael Gunn one year on from the Olympics: “Things settle down and then some other crazy thing happens. I’m the number two Halloween costume in the world, or everyone’s wearing a T-shirt with my face on it. I live in a totally different reality”
www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/raygun...

Raygun: ‘I don’t go on campus much. When I do, I try to keep a low profile’

Cultural studies academic Rachael Gunn’s breakdancing performance at the Paris Olympics went viral for all the wrong reasons. One year on, she tells John Ross that although processing the ridicule has...

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Aug 6

"The HO’s behaviour and policies make it obvious that the UK no longer wants even legal skilled migrants. And the constant recalibration required to stay compliant with shifting regulations leads to perpetual uncertainty and fatigue." @timeshighered.bsky.social

The UK’s immigration hall of mirrors is making me reflect on my future

If the UK doesn’t want skilled migrants any more, maybe my contributions would be better appreciated in the Global South, says Meron Wondemaghen

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Jul 29

I am pretty sure those are the lyrics of a Talking Heads song.

Simon Varwell @hisasimon.bsky.social · Jul 28

A useful and very apt article. Coincidentally this afternoon I delivered a workshop this afternoon using the Question Formulation Technique, aiming to equip our officers to find the right questions to ask of staff, students and each other. This is a question I’m hugely interested in.

A flip chart with several handwritten questions on it in a numbered list. They include “what is it?”, “why is it?”, and “when is it starting/finishing?”

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Jul 28

Where would ‪@retractionwatch.com‬ be without the late Tom Lehrer's advice for academics?

Plagiarize!
Let no one else's work evade your eyes
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes
So don't shade your eyes
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize
Only be sure always to call it please "research"

Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Jul 23

But is that focus inevitable when the research budget is defended by sector lobbyists on the basis of its industrial upshots?

Prof. Catherine Flick @liedra.net · Jul 23

This focus on industry funding and profit making companies is antithetical to a lot of the point of research. It also dilutes ethical standards and introduces (even more) conflicts of interest.

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Jul 23

The UK’s main research funder should set itself targets for attracting industry funding for scientific research and encouraging science-based spin-outs, a parliamentary committee has recommended. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports
#AcademicSky #UKRI

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · Jul 10

How can a research grant proposal get an A grade from the ERC, but get marked down by a local funder? European researchers are left confused www.timeshighereducation.com/news/researc...

Research grant assessments under scrutiny amid disparities

Researchers call for improved national assessment processes as proposals receive different feedback at European level

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Jul 9

In light of Grok's latest far-right outbursts, see this recent piece on its previous failings - and how academics should be empowered to help ensure there are no repeats www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/huma...
@timeshighered.bsky.social

The humanities must have a role in overseeing AI ‘censorship’

Restrictions on what models will discuss are necessary, but ill-informed blocks distort inquiry, say Lorna Waddington and Richard de Blacquiere-Clarkson

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Jun 12

"We have heard that ECRs or redundant staff should be protected or have portability, however while this is attractive, it is just not possible where there is no reliable indicator or way of knowing who these individuals are.”

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Jun 12

UK universities will be able to enter unlimited numbers of outputs from individual researchers into the next REF despite concerns this shift will concentrate research in the hands of a small number of “star performers”

#AcademicSky #EduSky

REF 2029: Decoupling outputs and staff goes ahead despite outcry

Controversial rules on uncapping output numbers for researchers and preventing research ‘portability’ confirmed

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · Jun 10

Universities in England and NI lost £5.4bn on research last year, and £1.7bn on teaching domestic students - but made a £3.2bn surplus on teaching international students, official analysis shows www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

University research shortfall rises to over £5 billion in England

Annual data shows universities in England and Northern Ireland face growing losses on research and teaching domestic students

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Jun 6

"At last, a thoughtful and nuanced assessment of the use of AI." @timeshighered.bsky.social

Could generative AI improve the REF?

The task of reading and rating the thousands of outputs submitted to the UK’s Research Excellence Framework is notoriously Herculean. Could AI ease the burden – or would its use undermine the whole po...

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · Jun 6

Interesting take

Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.bsky.social · Jun 6

Weeding discourse - yet another topic that never seems to die. 🤦‍♀️ Why can people not accept that librarians know how to do our jobs and don’t just chuck stuff away for shits and giggles?

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Jun 6

Opinion: “A total library would be a bibliographic nightmare, like Borges’s Library of Babel. But neither is a library a fast-fashion store. You don’t discard last season’s items because nobody wanted them.”

✍️ Andrew Hui

#highered #EduSky

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · Jun 5

Could generative AI improve the Research Excellence Framework? Writers including @oldnorthroad.bsky.social @heroicendeavour.bsky.social offer their views (with some brilliant illustrations, too, which AI has been nowhere near) www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/could-...

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Jun 5

Opinion: The effort of staying compliant with fluctuating regulations diminishes the mental space for teaching, research and building belonging

✍️ Zahra Sharifonnasabi, Fleura Bardhi and Laetitia Mimoun

#AcademicSky #EduSky

UK immigration policy is destabilising international academics’ careers

The effort of staying compliant with fluctuating regulations diminishes the mental space for teaching, research and building belonging, say Zahra Sharifonnasabi, Fleura Bardhi and Laetitia Mimoun

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Jun 5

Could AI ease the burden of reading and rating the thousands of outputs submitted to the UK’s Research Excellence Framework – or would its use undermine the whole point of REF panels? As @jisc.bsky.social consults on that question, four writers offer their views

#AcademicSky #EduSky

Could generative AI improve the REF?

The task of reading and rating the thousands of outputs submitted to the UK’s Research Excellence Framework is notoriously Herculean. Could AI ease the burden – or would its use undermine the whole po...

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · May 28

Opinion: US society must reject the false dichotomy between supporting American interests and welcoming international contributors, says Fernando Reimers

#AcademicSky #EduSky

Trump's crackdown on international students is misguided and dangerous

US society must reject the false dichotomy between supporting American interests and welcoming international contributors, says Fernando Reimers

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Pete Buttigieg @petebuttigieg.bsky.social · May 23

America cannot long remain free, nor first among nations, if it becomes the kind of place where universities are dismantled because they don't align politically with the current head of the government.

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Reposted by Paul Jump

CNN @cnn.com · May 23

A federal judge has halted the Trump administration's ban on Harvard's ability to enroll international students

Federal judge halts Trump administration ban on Harvard’s ability to enroll international students | CNN

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s ban on Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students.

www.cnn.com

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Reposted by Paul Jump

Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · May 23

Donald Trump's move to bar international students from @harvard.edu will 'trash US soft power', scholars warn www.timeshighereducation.com/news/barring... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

Barring Harvard international students ‘trashes US soft power’

Trump’s latest escalation in battle with nation’s wealthiest university shows he is attempting a full-scale takeover, scholars say

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · May 22

AHRC head on PhD awards: "We have taken a long-overdue decision to balance our portfolio while retaining a commitment to PhD funding as a high proportion of our budget. We have also removed the need for an expensive competition to allocate a reducing number of awards and avoided creating cold spots"

Changes to AHRC doctoral funding are right and necessary

UKRI’s largest proportional spender on PhDs will ensure transparency, access and geographical equity via its new schemes, says Christopher Smith

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Paul Jump @pauljump.bsky.social · May 20

Interesting reading for US scientists thinking of taking up one of the Royal Society's new fellowships to escape Trump www.timeshighereducation.com/news/fund-at...

James Heale @jaheale.bsky.social · May 20

Tories now in fourth place, via YouGov

The first time since the nadir of 2019

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