The recruitment of teacher-researchers has been qualified as a competition by the Council of State (CE, February 25, 2015, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, Req n°374002). Consequently, the principle of equality of candidates in a competition, itself deriving from the constitutional principle of equal access to public employment, implies that candidates must be treated in the same way throughout […] … learn more→

The call for students to desert from AgroParisTech or the recent forum for students from the Écoles Normales Supérieures demonstrate this forcefully: the new generations are less and less satisfied with current scientific courses. They do not necessarily find them up to the challenge. Young people need to understand why learning science can help them to truly face the crises […] … learn more→

Many researchers find themselves inventing names because it’s standard ethical procedure to anonymise the people we’ve talked with and the places we’ve been. And naming is of course a simple and straightforward process. Well, maybe. Well, not all the time. Perhaps hardly ever. Names can be very troublesome and researchers can spend surprising amounts of […] … learn more→

This is one of those blogposts that started life as an email. I was asked for suggestions by a colleague who wanted to support their academic staff by creating friendly spaces in which they could share their concerns, build camaraderie, and not feel alone. This colleague could see that their Early Career Researchers (ECRs) were […] … learn more→

Every journal article is expected to make a contribution. The writer has to say something that adds to the conversation about the particular topic in the target journal. And through this addition, they participate in the discussion in the field. If a journal article does not offer a contribution, or if the contribution is not […] … learn more→

NOTE for those who don’t know what the ARC (Australian Research Council) or DECRA (Discovery Early Career Research Award) are: The funding body and specific scheme is not the crucial part here. Research grant cycles often include a step where you can respond to what reviewers say about your funding application. While this post focuses on rejoinders for ARC […] … learn more→

In the global academic community, there is a view that Indonesian scientists absorb scientific developments like following a mere trend. This is seen in the social sciences and humanities. The development of theory in a global scope is often used as a reference for Indonesian academics in teaching, research, and even as a topic of conversation […] … learn more→

For the last year I have been working on an evaluation for a client in London, England. The client is Trust for London, a grant-giving charity. I am helping to evaluate Strengthening Voices, Realising Rights, a pioneering initiative in which the Trust is trying to co-produce funding with grantees. I say ‘trying’ because it has proved extremely […] … learn more→

The recently released report of the review into initial teacher education recommends universities use randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to find evidence for effective methods of educating teachers. It says: Randomised controlled trials are indeed the “gold standard” for specific kinds of medical research. They are the best way to compare a new treatment to either a standard […] … learn more→

Over the past few years, the Morrison government has made A$2 billion funding commitments to everything from the critical minerals and rare earths industry to bushfire recovery. Now the government has made yet another $2 billion announcement of an “action plan to supercharge research commercialisation”. It’s a longstanding challenge, one that many said should have been acted on long ago. This […] … learn more→