Paul Jump

We're hiring at @timeshighered.bsky.social! A great opportunity to join us as a reporter and to lead our coverage of European higher education. Closing date 23 November careers.timeshighereducation.com/jobs/6737419... #journalistjob #journojob

Actually, you can pretty much any edition out of the archive and there's any number of pieces that still feel very current (we did a piece on that once too!) - a reminder that policy development is more cyclical than linear over the longer term. It's all a bit disheartening really!

An article from a year ago but still extremely relevant www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/it-tim...

Skills White Paper: Clarity and coherence or confusion and complexity? To understand the government’s approach to education, we must await more announcements. Let’s hope they go further, says Nick Hillman

"At the recent Labour Party conference, we were told to expect “clarity and coherence”. It is only a slight exaggeration to say, when it comes to the provision of skills, that the White Paper is more likely to create confusion and complexity," says Nick Hillman @timeshighered.bsky.social

Skills White Paper: Is extra oversight a fair price for sector stability? Questions will be asked about the Office for Students’ fitness to take on extra powers over quality, agents and franchising, says Diana Beech

"The OfS will now have greater authority to intervene where courses are deemed to offer poor value – raising questions about whether the regulator is truly equipped to make such judgements, especially after recent criticisms of its own poor performance", says Diana Beech. @timeshighered.bsky.social

Will superuniversities save UK HE? The quasi-merger of the universities of Kent and Greenwich has raised questions about how many other higher education institutions might see an opportunity – or a necessity – to team up as financial p...

Will superuniversities save UK HE? Six experts share their views www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/will-s...

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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...

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...

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

"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

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

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"

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

Research grant assessments under scrutiny amid disparities Researchers call for improved national assessment processes as proposals receive different feedback at European level

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...

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

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

"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.”

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

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

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...

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

Interesting take

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-...

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

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

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...

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

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

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

#AcademicSky #EduSky

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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"