So, what makes a great university?

In anticipation of the publication shortly of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the THE has invited Twitter followers to declare succinctly what makes a university great. The responses, which I believe are mainly from younger and mid-career academics, are interesting. Here’s a sample: • A place about minds, not behinds. Now try + [...]

Morning sunlight, and clouds

The photograph below was taken on a recent visit to Dublin. It was early in the morning, not long after sunrise. In the East the sun was shining brightly, while in the West dark clouds had gathered. The effect of the sunlight shining on Gandon’s magnificent Custom House, and the rather less magnificent but very [...]

What’s another year?

How long should a degree programme fit for the modern world be? Two years? Three? Four? More? This is an issue that is certain to be increasingly hotly debated, as both universities and governments search for ways in which public money can be saved. Right now there are European processes that are moving towards some standardisation regarding [...]

Views of Aberdeen

This is the gate, from Union Street, into the churchyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen.

Single sex education: good or bad?

About 15 years ago I attended a lecture by an educational psychologist who argued, strongly, that in order to maximize educational advantage and improve young people’s constructive contributions to society all boys should be educated in co-educational schools, and all girls in single sex institutions. Boys taught in all-male environments were, we were told, often [...]

The economic impact of public investment in research

During my time as an Irish university president I got used to hearing commentators – often economists – arguing that the investment of public money in academic research did not represent good value. It was suggested regularly – and indeed this was done several times in comments on this blog – that there was no [...]

This blog post may be recorded for training and quality assurance purposes

Yesterday I needed to get a simple piece of information from a utility company of which I am a customer. To get this I needed to call them, and so my first major problem was to find a telephone number. The company helpfully has a ‘Contact us’ section on their website, which gives all kind [...]

The age of innocence?

As students arrive in their various universities and prepare for a new academic year, spare a thought for freshers some of whom, apparently, hardly know how to get out of bed unaided. According to a survey carried out by supermarket group Sainsburys, some students don’t know how to boil an egg, have no idea how [...]

The story of rude minor officials

We’ve probably all experienced this: an official, separated from us by a desk or indeed a glass partition, talks to us in rather patronizing and rude tones; or keeps us waiting after finishing with the last member of the public even though they can see – or maybe because they can see – that we [...]

Setting the stage

Recently I was a guest at another university overseas, and while there I was shown one of their new buildings. The key thing about this building is that while it had fixed outer walls that made up the rectangular box shape of the building, inside the box absolutely nothing was fixed. My hosts explained to [...]