Despite the growing tendency for variety in doctoral careers, we are not very good at tracking them. There are good reasons to suspect that surveys exaggerate the numbers remaining in the research system, because many spend up to a decade in temporary posts before settling into a more secure career. Indeed, as single-lifetime careers become rarer we […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Doctoral education matters for Europe more than ever before
Decoding the cost of College
You return from school one afternoon, open the mailbox in your apartment building in western Massachusetts, and pull out a thick envelope. Heart quickening and hands shaking, you tear into the envelope of your first-choice school—Merrimack College—and you read the first line, “Congratulations and welcome…” Last week, you were accepted to Pace University and your […] … learn more→
Help – I’m drowning in my own notes!
One of the delightful things about blogging is letters from readers; an endless source of delightful validation and sometimes, interesting problems to try to solve. This letter is a case in point. Dora, a reader from Croatia writes: The situation I find myself in is, I think, one that all researchers have found themselves in… […] … learn more→
Forget ‘free speech’ on campus, this debate is about free people
It has now become customary for academics to debate the line between free speech and hate speech. Yale, for instance, recently hosted a panel discussion whose central topic was the difference between hate speech and free speech and “the point where one shifts into the other.” The distinction has already been debated throughout the academy, […] … learn more→
Limits on Chinese graduate student visas may protect US intellectual property but drive away talent
Some Chinese students studying STEM-related fields may not be staying in the U.S. as long as they’d planned. The Trump administration announced on May 29 that it may limit some graduate students’ visas to one year. Many U.S. universities have looked to Chinese students to fill out their programs and revenues, so this has caused widespread concern in higher […] … learn more→
Writing a bio-note
Most of us have to produce bio-notes. The bio-note is a little verbal selfie that goes with a book chapter, a journal article, or sometimes a conference presentation. Book authors also have to provide brief bio-notes which might go in their book as well as on the publisher’s website. The bio-note tells the reader some key information […] … learn more→
What being a professional bodybuilder taught me about gaining tenure
Squatting, curling, pressing, sprinting and preparing meals with the ideal combination of fats, carbs and proteins dominate hours of female bodybuilders’ lives. Such women also spend hours perfecting posing routines and give a final few more to spray-tanning and hair and make-up styling for competitions. They may be on the competition stage for 15 minutes, showcasing what they […] … learn more→
Higher Ed to lower standards (more!)
Anyone looking at the numbers realizes, even if the student loan scam continues, higher ed is going to be in big trouble. We’ve overbuilt, massively, to the point that we could, if we put our minds to it, slam every citizen into higher education today. “98% of our students have been accepted into college!” –a […] … learn more→
Universities must be bridge-builders between past traditions and future progress
Through the centuries, traditions in their infinite variety have enriched the life of the mind. Cultures in all parts of the world have developed and built on an understanding of traditions and their systems to promote physical, emotional, spiritual and community advancement, prosperity and well-being. Universities are one such lasting tradition, representing as they do, […] … learn more→
Research commercialisation: Tips for starting your journey
Research commercialisation can be daunting, but in a landscape of dwindling government funding and ever-shifting technological and commercial realities, it can be a powerful way to bring new ideas and change into the world. For researchers and academics, however, the businesses, people and language can be so different that it’s almost alien. The way a […] … learn more→
