Conspiracy or Cock-up?
Inclusivity seems something of a current buzzword. When Theresa May came to office she stated clearly in her first speech that ‘we won’t entrench the advantages of the fortunate few’. One of her...
View ArticleWhat does the Future Hold for Interdisciplinary Research Funding
UKRI has big shoes to fill. So far it has only just begun to signal its intentions regarding strategic directions: the ‘strategic prospectus’ it published in May was more a road map for developing its...
View ArticleGetting the Balance Right
Without much fanfare, the allocations across the different research councils have just been announced until the end of the current spending round. What processes went into making decisions about the...
View ArticleWhich Skills for a PhD Student?
Training of PhD students. It’s a big topic and large sums of money are involved. As I wrote in the autumn, there are concerns about the decisions that are being made. With the recent announcement of 75...
View ArticleWhere is the HE Sector Going?
There is a lot going on in the HE policy world, from the Augar Review of post-18 education and funding, to the publication of the UKRI (and its constituent parts) Delivery Plans. Yet all this is set in...
View ArticleBias in Publishing
You’ll have heard the story about women whingeing about how their proudly-submitted papers got rejected by a premier journal without being sent out to referees. Or that the comments they received from...
View ArticleHow Long does it take to Gain Expertise?
Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s right-hand man, currently is said to be set on shaking up the Civil Service. The three elements that are rumoured to be on the agenda are: Better training in data...
View ArticleIs Bigger Always Better?
Social distancing may have been reduced to 1(+)m – whatever that may mean – but that is still going to impose significant constraints on what a bench scientist can do. Fume cupboards in a line – how...
View ArticleResearch Culture, Fairness and Transparency
A week after the Science and University Ministers announced with respect to chartermarks such as Athena Swan “We have therefore asked the OfS, UKRI and NIHR to ensure that they place no weight upon the...
View ArticleIn Praise of Technicians
I was a very ham-fisted PhD student. I repeatedly broke a delicate and crucial piece of apparatus during the early months of my research, to the extent that I almost quit the whole endeavour and...
View ArticleRed Tape
The announcement of a review of bureaucratic red tape in universities may bring either a smile of relief or a hollow laugh. Why are universities (and funding bodies) so entangled in this nasty stuff?...
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