Gary Day
Dumbing down, quantity versus quality? If you feel a Victor Meldrew coming on, remind yourself it's not the world that's decaying, it's you Either Russell Grant or some group of policy advisers - the...
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Don's diary: Novice to grandmaster in two short years
June 2001 They are interviewing me for the position of lecturer: "So, when are you intending to submit your PhD thesis?" I shuffle uneasily in my seat before replying: "Erm, sometime in September."...
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Long and the short of it
Delegates at a recent conference hosted by Scotland's Centre for Research in Lifelong Learning have solved one of those tricky questions that has troubled thinkers for years: how long is a piece of...
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So is that all clear, then?
So much for the new, improved "light-touch" quality assurance regime that was supposed to herald a new era of public accountability. The first of the new audit reports - on University College...
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Getting into the medieval groove
Greg Walker, a professor of medieval English at the University of Leicester, has got into the groove to assess the literary merits of the latest club mixes. He has reviewed the lyrics to some trance-...
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Mist clears to reveal new name
Next week sees the culmination of the lengthy but thrilling - and costly - consultation to decide on a new name for the merged University of Manchester and the University of Manchester Institute of...
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Soil pollutants risk human resistance
The European Commission has launched a research project to combat what may be the continent's most dangerous source of pollution, the accidental release of 5,000 tonnes of biologically active...
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Showcase set up for regional innovators
Universities in Yorkshire and Humberside are to be given £11 million to set up a chain of showrooms from which to sell their research. Six Centres of Industrial Collaboration (CICs) will be based in...
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Leaked report stalls bid to end job-offer row
Negotiations have stalled in a dispute over the withdrawal of a job offer at a Canadian university after the academic in question leaked an independent report into the case. David Noble, professor of...
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Macedonia to legalise Tetovo
The Macedonian government has agreed to legalise the ethnic-Albanian unofficial University of Tetovo. Changes to the law on higher education were to be put to parliament later this month. Education...
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Italian plan to offer distance learning
Italy is trying to catch up with other countries in the development of distance learning. A committee of academics is to evaluate and, if suitable, authorise courses offered by state and private...
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Union reborn after years of oppression
In l981, Tariq Al-Mukhtar, newly elected president of the General Union of Students in Iraq (GUSI), was due to graduate from the University of Baghdad. Instead he found himself fleeing from Saddam...
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70% love their work
Most further education staff would recommend their college as "a good place to work", according to a report from the Learning and Skills Development Agency. The agency's annual staff satisfaction...
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Irish set up joint body
The nine universities on the island of Ireland have set up an umbrella body, Universities Ireland, to promote collaboration between institutions in the north and south. One of its first research...
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Web burdens hit staff
Online methods of working demanded by today's students have increased lecturers' workloads, according to a survey. Lecturers' union Natfhe found that unrealistic student expectations forced lecturers...