In memoriam

It’s been a rather sad, and even shocking, day. This morning I attended the funeral of former TCD Provost Bill Watts, who died earlier in the week. He became Provost just after I joined Trinity College as a lecturer in the Business School. During the years that followed I must have been something of an [...]

Mergermania

There it is again. Once again we are being told that we have too many higher education institutions. This is how the Irish Independent yesterday reported comments by Tom Boland, chief executive of the Higher Education Authority (HEA): ‘Ireland has too many universities and colleges that must now merge to survive, the head of the [...]

A matter of 4 billion Euro, give or take a fiver

Yesterday’s Irish Times published details from an internal report prepared by the Higher Education Authority (HEA)  suggesting that higher education institutions would need a capital investment of €4 billion in order to accommodate the additional students now expected to be recruited over the coming decade, and in order to bring the existing stock of buildings [...]

Loose lips sink ships

You cannot – or at any rate, I cannot – help feeling sorry for Gordon Brown. Everything he touches now seems to turn to horse manure. The bright idea of his advisers to send him out amongst the people has turned into a nightmare story about the British Prime Minister, thinking he was out of [...]

The casualisation of the academic profession

While searching for something completely different the other day I came across a fascinating internal document issued recently by another university, not in Ireland. The document is a guidance note for Faculty Deans, to be used by them when appointing casual academic staff. So for a start, what kind of appointments are we talking about [...]

What kind of smartphone are you?

Technology rules not just what we do these days, but who we are. The gadget you take out of your pocket or briefcase when making a phone call, or when taking notes at a meeting, or when checking the score in the latest football game, will tell everyone exactly what kind of person you are. [...]

From student selection to student recruitment: the question of numbers

In 1991 I moved from my post as Lecturer in Industrial Relations in Trinity College Dublin to that of Professor of Law in the University of Hull. Although Hull was (and is) a medium size regional university, it had (and has) a vibrant Law School that was punching significantly above the university’s weight in all [...]

Mobile communications

I think this was a first, at least in my experience. This morning I saw a motorist turn a corner while holding two mobile phones, one to each ear, and apparently operating the steering wheel with his legs. Furthermore, he seemed exceptionally animated in this ‘conference call’, and his eyes were swirling around the place, [...]

Student charters

A recent development in the United Kingdom has been the establishment of a working group to produce guidance for developing student charters. The initiative comes from David Lammy, Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, and the group is to be co-chaired by the President of the National Union of Students and a [...]

Urban symbols – Photo #3 of 2010

The photo below is of the Theatre Royal in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I took it two weeks ago, on the occasion of a visit to the city to watch Newcastle United play (and win) a match against Blackpool. The Theatre Royal was opened in 1837. The impressive architecture illustrates the prosperity and confidence that the industrial towns [...]