The final frontier

Today – January 31 – is an important date in the history of space exploration. In 1958, Explorer 1 was the first American satellite to be launched into orbit; though of course it was not the first satellite ever, as the Soviets had launched Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. In 1961, the satellite Mercury-Redstone [...]

Time to leave the campus?

Many many years ago, when I was a student in Dublin in the College-that-cannot-be-named, I spent a year living in university accommodation. I must confess that this was not a life of luxury. I shared what I suppose you might call an apartment with one other student: we had a living room and a kitchen, [...]

Want another global league table?

As we all know, global university rankings have become a big thing. The game was initiated in 2003 by the Academic Rankings unit of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and because this was the first time there had been any such rankings they attracted some attention. However, before too long commentators became sceptical of the criteria used [...]

Paying for student services

Yesterday (Thursday, January 28) all seven Irish university presidents, the CEO of the Irish Universities Association and the CEO of the Higher Education Authority all appeared before the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) Joint Committee on Education and Science. The topic? We were being asked about whether we were spending the student services charge (or student registration [...]

Improving access to higher education?

As has been noted here previously, whatever views one might have on the abolition of tuition fees in Ireland in the 1990s, one benefit that has not particularly flowed from this is improved access to higher education for the under-privileged. While in affluent areas, say in South Dublin, the participation rate is now pretty much [...]

So here it is: the ‘iPad’

A week ago I commented on the technology event that, even without any actual details to hand, was already leaving people breathless with excitement: the expected announcement of an Apple ‘tablet’ device, i.e. a handheld computer with touch-screen capability. Back then the smart money was on it being called the ‘iTablet’ or ‘iSlate’. As I [...]

Peter Sutherland and the Irish universities

Following recent reports on his comments about the Irish university system, Peter Sutherland has now written a letter to the Editor of the Irish Times correcting these reports, or at any rate some interpretations of his comments. In his letter he denies suggesting that Ireland needed fewer universities, but rather says that we ‘cannot have [...]

Balancing teaching and research

On my first day as a Lecturer in a particular Dublin university in October 1980, I was called to the office of my Head of Department, Professor Charles McCarthy, and he gave me the following advice which stayed with me throughout my professional life. The only way to have a satisfying and successful academic career, [...]

So farewell then, Brangelina… (I hope)

No, I’m not being mean, or at least not deliberately. I am not hoping that Brad Pitt and Aneglina Jolie will divorce. Indeed, the reality of the situation may not match the rumours, or maybe it does. But what I cannot deny is that if the couple do separate, it will be such a relief [...]

Would you like a ‘super-university’?

A couple of days ago I wrote on Peter Sutherland’s address at the Royal Irish Academy, in which he was reported to have asked whether Ireland could afford to maintain seven world class universities. It may be worth mentioning briefly his other, related, point (according to the report in the Sunday Independent): that Trinity College [...]