My thoughts on how UKRI might use the REF (QR funding) and grants to drive universities to specialise more - via @timeshighered.bsky.social @jgro-the.bsky.social

I'm sticking to my guns on not examining PhD theses when the fee is ridiculously low, but it really does feel crap having to reply to the query if you'll be an examiner with a coded version of "will this pay less than the minimum wage?"

The pause in the Research Excellence Framework should be used to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky #REF www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-ref...

Use REF pause to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars Breaking the link between researchers and their outputs harms academic mobility and disciplinary excellence, argue professors

Use REF pause to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars including @jennyrichards.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-ref... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

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...

UCU threatens to dock staff pay in row over working from home Union’s new policy mandating three office days a week resisted by some staff, who are refusing to come in at all

UCU threatens to dock staff pay in row over working from home www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucu-thr...

Love this film. Particularly the final scene where everyone gets the US government to give them exactly what they want: River Phoenix was amazing cool, Sidney Poitier very funny and Ben Kingsley awesome...

Bits #4K Review – @sbjork.bsky.social revisits Phil Alden Robinson's 1992 caper SNEAKERS, available in a 2-Disc #4K #UltraHD #Bluray release from @kinolorber.com. @billhuntbits.bsky.social thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item...

I think we need to have EFEF - an Excellence Framework Excellence Framework - ratings to help us choose the right sort of Excellence Framework.

UKRI chief: ‘Do fewer things in research but do them really well’ Ian Chapman backs ministers’ calls for more research specialisation by universities in first public comments since taking over at £9 billion-a-year research funder

UKRI chief executive says universities might have to start doing “fewer things but doing them really well” in research, saying he is against a “crumbs for everybody” approach www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ukri-ch... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

‘Keep focus on excellence and impact,’ say v-cs after REF pause Using REF to tackle research culture risks making it too ‘bureaucratic and burdensome’, university leaders warn as Vallance rethinks changes to weightings

Using #REF to tackle research culture risks making it too ‘bureaucratic and burdensome’, university leaders warn as scinece minister Patrick Vallance rethinks changes to weightings. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports
#academicsky

Nick Gibb: education faculties ‘absent from schools revolution’ Longest-serving education minister explains why he ignored ‘abstract’ and ‘ideological’ academic research in fight to improve school performance

“University education research was, and it still is, very abstract, not decipherable to policymakers and not of the quality that you saw with scientific research.”

Nick Gibb speaks to @jgro-the.bsky.social #highered #EduSky

Nick Gibb: education faculties ‘absent from schools revolution’ Longest-serving education minister explains why he ignored ‘abstract’ and ‘ideological’ academic research in fight to improve school performance

Nick Gibb on why university education faculties were sidelined during the 'quiet revolution' in English schooling over the past 15 years www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nick-gi... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Nick Gibb: education faculties ‘absent from schools revolution’ Longest-serving education minister explains why he ignored ‘abstract’ and ‘ideological’ academic research in fight to improve school performance

Robust comments from veteran ex-schools minister Nick Gibb on why educational faculties were, he says, 'missing' from English schools 'revolution'. Likely to spark some debate at next weeks' BERA conference at Sussex University www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nick-gi... @beranews.bsky.social

Some reaction from v-cs on its way - lots of them gathered at UUK conference at University of Exeter today

Patrick Vallance hits pause on Research Excellence Framework Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment

Science minister Patrick Vallance has announced the next Research Excellence Framework will be paused for three months to review whether its allocation of £2 billion annually in block research funding will support the government’s economic and social missions. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports
#REF

Patrick Vallance hits pause on Research Excellence Framework Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment

Massive news from UUK conference:| Vallance pauses the REF. Read about why it's happened, plus commentary from Glasgow's Anton Muscatelli who has previously criticised PCE reforms www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick...

Patrick Vallance hits pause on Research Excellence Framework Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment

Massive news from UUK conference:| Vallance pauses the REF. Read about why it's happened, plus commentary from Glasgow's Anton Muscatelli who has previously criticised PCE reforms www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick...

Don’t dither on updating trans policies, EHRC chair tells v-cs Head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission urges institutions to take steps to comply with Supreme Court ruling

UK universities risk being sued if they delay updating their policies on single-sex facilities following the landmark Supreme Court ruling that confirms sex means “biological sex”, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned vice-chancellors. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports

Patrick Vallance hits pause on Research Excellence Framework Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment

Breaking: REF 2029 paused for three months to review whether metrics are aligned with national priorities www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Patrick Vallance hits pause on Research Excellence Framework Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment

Big REF news from UUK conference: Patrick Vallance pauses the REF for three months: "It needs to be a credible assessment of quality." www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick...

‘Business-as-usual’ offers from publishers raise walk-away fears Disappointing offers which ‘miss financial reality’ faced by UK higher education have heightened speculation that institutions will ditch proposed deals

‘Business-as-usual’ offers from publishers raise walk-away fears www.timeshighereducation.com/news/busines...

Gambling research ‘at risk of going backwards’ despite new levy UKRI handed more cash for betting-related research but campaigners claim ‘industry-friendly’ funding call stops ‘fresh start’ from old regime

Plans for a £10 million gambling research centre funded by a new government levy have been criticised by academics and campaigners amid fears researchers will be asked to tackle topics that play into the betting industry’s hands. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports
#academicsky

Gambling research ‘at risk of going backwards’ despite new levy UKRI handed more cash for betting-related research but campaigners claim ‘industry-friendly’ funding call stops ‘fresh start’ from old regime

'The research themes and the initial conflict of interest policy could have been written by the gambling industry', says anti-gambling ads campaign group CEGA on UKRI call for £10 million research hub www.timeshighereducation.com/news/gamblin...

. @russellgroup.bsky.social says proposed 6% international fee levy would cost its universities £315m - more than half the sector total and more than they spend annually on outreach (£250m) www.timeshighereducation.com/news/real-te... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Golden triangle shines as UK names Global Talent Fund recipients Universities and institutes to receive funding to pay to relocate 60 to 80 researchers, with five of 12 winners hailing from Greater South East region

Northern England misses out entirely as 10 UK research universities get about £4.5m each from Global Talent Fund to attract international scientists www.timeshighereducation.com/news/golden-... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Elsevier journal under fire over ‘AI-generated’ review comments Researcher who waited nearly two years for rejection claims ‘nonsensical’ criticisms of his paper must have been chatbot-generated

A UK academic has criticised the suspected use of chatbots in peer review after he was given lengthy instructions on improving his statistical analysis – despite not including any statistics in his rejected paper, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social
#AcademicSky

Drop ‘science superpower’ slogan, Wellcome urges UK government Boris Johnson-era messaging about ‘UK greatness’ in science annoys and alienates potential research partners, says report from major funder

Boris Johnson-era messaging about the UK as a ‘science superpower’ annoys and alienates potential research partners, warns @wellcometrust.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/drop-sc... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Chu: China ‘will blow us away’ if Trump destroys US universities Without foreign research talent pouring into leading US institutions, America will fall further behind in tech race, says former US energy secretary Steven Chu

Nobelist Steven Chu: China ‘will blow us away’ if Trump destroys US universities. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports
#AcademicSky

Reproducibility ‘crisis’ in US science ‘overblown’, says Nobelist ‘AI-powered’ tools used by research sleuths overplay scale of issue now weaponised to defund projects, according to Thomas Südhof

A Nobel prizewinning neuroscientist who lost two research papers over irregular images has rejected Donald Trump’s claim that there is a “reproducibility crisis” in US research, arguing the use of “AI-powered software” on old images is erroneously flagging research misconduct
#AcademicSky #LINO25