We need a radical post-RAE rethink to free research from the grip of needless bureaucracy, says Robert May The way that the quality of scientific research undertaken by our universities is evaluated...
Will 2008 really see the last RAE?Until then, there'll be plenty of discussion... and ideally some research as well It is two years until we get into the submission and assessment process for the...
Earlier this month, the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize - for British or Irish album of the year - was awarded to Antony and the Johnsons for I Am a Bird Now . As well as the cheque for £20,000, the...
The grapevine continues to buzz about Sir Howard Newby's unexpected departure from the Higher Education Funding Council for England to the vice-chancellorship at the University of the West of England...
Meanwhile, rumour has it that even if the University of East Anglia's vice-chancellor, David Eastwood, doesn't replace Sir Howard as chief executive of Hefce, he is unlikely to stay put. Professor...
Another vice-chancellor on his way out is Brunel University's Steven Schwartz. Executive headhunters are bidding for the recruitment contract now, but one reports that the marketplace isn't exactly...
With all of this exciting job gossip, perhaps vice-chancellors don't have the time or energy to think about much else. Last week UUK held a meeting to discuss whether the group can survive in its...
Perhaps Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell could set a better example to the nation's vice-chancellors. He turned up at the rather glamorous National Teaching Fellowship Awards last Thursday...
I first became aware of the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown two years ago. My wife bought the audio tape and we used to listen to it travelling to and from Leeds, where I was then...
Complexity theory makes room for both Newton and disorder, say Jan Bogg and Robert Geyer For years everyone has been trying to promote interdisciplinary research. Yet despite a good deal of money and...
EU moves to limit the use of MRI are misplaced and will impede future research, says Peter Mansfield The development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been one of the great success stories of...
Despite the absence of students over the holidays, Kevin Fong was too distracted to make inroads into his to-do list. Roll on Christmas The tell-tale signs are there - the shorter days, the cooler...
If you're organising a conference, get a keynote speaker who'll draw the crowds and won't send everyone to sleep. Overlapping with a golf tournament at the same venue won't hurt either, says Harriet...
Name: Helen Thomas Age: 58 Job: Research director, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts. Previously, sociology professor at Goldsmiths, University of London. My job is to develop a long-...
Worried about your employment, maternity, pension rights? Send your questions to The Times Higher advice panel. I work as a secretary to a senior member of staff who has told me that she is moving...