St Andrew's head warns of crisis in funding
The Principal of St Andrew's University yesterday claimed Scottish universities were in danger of losing the best academics as their funding levels fall behind their English counterparts. Brian Lang used his annual graduation speech to deliver a stark warning for the future of higher education in Scotland, saying that the abolition of up-front tuition fees had brought financial problems. He said that leading English universities were benefiting from being given enhanced funding far more selectively, making it difficult for Scotland to keep up.
(Daily Telegraph)
How US affirmative action case relates to UK universities
US colleges with affirmative action programmes have been given a thumbs-up by the Supreme Court to continue with them. The Michigan cases may seem to belong to a different world. Yet there is a clear connection with Britain, not just with our own racial diversity goals, but also with the debate about the way in which top-up tuition fees will affect equality of access to our own colleges.
(Guardian)
Chemists stir storm over perfect cuppa
After months of research the Royal Society of Chemistry has announced the answer to a question that has plagued tea-drinkers for generations: the milk should go in first. It is all to do with denaturing milk proteins, according to Andrew Stapley, a chemical engineer from Loughborough University. Last night the physicists waded in and said all that matters is the water temperature, not the milk. "Trust chemists to make things complicated," Institute of Physics chief executive Julia King said. "When it boils down to it, the physics is more important than the chemical side of things."
(Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Times, Independent, Financial Times)
Slivers of silver solve the problem of smelly socks
Smelly socks could one day be just a nasty memory thanks to nanotechnology, according to a report in the journal Polymer International. Scientists at Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, have discovered a method of impregnating silver particles into the polypropylene widely used in textiles, which give it antibacterial properties.
(Daily Telegraph)
Who really is top of the league tables?
A Daily Telegraph compilation of five newspaper university rankings and a survey of more than 200 graduate recruiters.
(Daily Telegraph)
Life after debt
Guidance for today's cash-strapped students on how to juggle loans, overdrafts and credit card bills.
(Daily Mail)