The most excitement we campus security guards have had since the UK’s third national lockdown was announced on 4 January was watching an opportunist thief at work on CCTV. The thief – who was savvy enough to wear a backpack and could have easily passed for one of our students – noticed a computer technician […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Returning campus castaways: please wear your masks!
Rethinking institutional processes is boring – but the results are liberating
The venue for my first vaccination was Nottingham’s old Central TV studios. Waiting in the queue, two metres from the person in front and two from the person behind, I had a few moments to survey the scene. Dotted around this vast hall were dozens and dozens of desks and a team of countless volunteers […] … learn more→
UK universities are not obstacles the government needs to overcome
It is often said that the diversity of the UK higher education sector is its strength. However clichéd the phrase may have become, the past 12 months has surely revealed it to be true. From developing a vaccine to deploying staff and students to the front lines of the national response, every institution has truly […] … learn more→
Writing a journal article – identifying “the two paper problem”
If you’re writing a journal article, you need write it so that you make one big point. Right? One unavoidable, spelled out, take home message. There may be nuancing of the point, of course. But there’s basically just the one. Any more than one big point and your article is not only difficult to write, […] … learn more→
Indigenous scholars struggle to be heard in the mainstream. Here’s how journal editors and reviewers can help
In the world of research and scholarship, being published in academic journals is crucial to both the advancement of knowledge and the careers of those involved. In particular, the peer review process that determines who and what is published is integral to ensuring reliability and quality in academic research. As the University of British Columbia’s Professor Sarah […] … learn more→
Covid demands a radical refocus on authentic local partnerships
Governments around the world are currently rolling out their largest vaccination programmes in a century. They are doing this at the same time as they roll out huge stimulus packages and continue to subsidise wages on a mass scale to keep industry and people afloat. It is a remarkable point in history. All this is […] … learn more→
Covid-19 underlines the need for full open access
The fight against Covid-19 has illuminated the value of rapid and borderless access to research. But while most coronavirus studies were commendably made freely available to all, it remains a different matter for much of the world’s publicly funded university research. Change is possible, however. Publishers, research institutions and their funders are now working together […] … learn more→
How to adapt the assessment for College access for students with dyslexia
Among the different Spanish autonomous communities there are no clear and agreed criteria to determine what are the necessary adaptations for a student with dyslexia in high school for the University Access Assessment (EvAU) exams. We find from concise instructions with minimal adaptations in the Community of Madrid to the detailed recommendations offered by the Dyslexia and Family […] … learn more→
Critical thinking or memorization? This is the education that comes
It is fully accepted that we are in an information society (they also say that of knowledge , a doubtful statement if it refers to the entire population). We receive news of all kinds from very different media, more or less traditional: press, radio, television, internet or social networks. This results in the possibility of accessing any type of […] … learn more→
Insisting on in-person classes post-Covid is not a line we can hold
Every day, when I pass my campus’ empty parking garages and dark, deserted buildings, I cannot help but think of the Maginot Line. It is not so much the visual impact of so many concrete outposts that reminds me of the series of defensive fortifications built by France after the First World War. Nor is […] … learn more→
