TCD Launches Trinity Alumni Career Network to Help Unemployed Graduates in Challenging Economic Times

“Trinity College Dublin launched the Trinity Alumni Career Network today (February 9th), an initiative aimed to assist its unemployed graduates during the current challenging economic climate. The Trinity Alumni Career Network, a six-week programme of panel discussions, workshops, career advice and networking opportunities for its graduates, was opened by the TCD Provost, Dr John Hegarty with guest speakers, Central Bank Governor, Professor Patrick Honohan, co-founder of Iona Technologies, Dr Chris Horn and Dr Gerard Walker Senior Policy Advisor, Forfás speaking at the inaugural event titled Ireland: Future Opportunities …” (more)

[Irish Press Releases, 9 February]

Closure of Expertise Ireland portal

“’The official expertise portal of the third level institutions on the island of Ireland’, expertiseireland.com is to be closed effective 29 February 2010. Ned Costello, CEO of the Irish Universities Association has just circulated the following …” (more)

[Garret McMahon, Dark Repository, 9 February]

Sociologists Get Religion

“When Darren Sherkat published a paper in a major sociology journal in the 1990s, focused on Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, he said that the reaction from many senior scholars was ‘dismissive’. He remembers one telling him ‘this is garbage’ for citing Weber’s views on the significance of religious values. ‘It can’t be religion’ driving human behavior, the scholar told the then un-tenured Sherkat. ‘It’s got to be something else that caused the religion’ …” (more)

[Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 9 February]

And the Academy Award Goes to … a Computer Scientist

“Paul E Debevec may be the only research professor whose laboratory subjects have included Charlize Theron and Will Smith. The University of Southern California computer scientist is about to take another unlikely step – from academe to the Academy Awards, for special effects. His pixel wizardry has been featured in films such as Spider-Man 2 and Avatar …” (more)

[Marc Parry, Chronicle of Higher Education, 7 February]

Unofficial university promos

“Contrasting unofficial university promo videos. Certainly at least one of these is not endorsed by its University …” (more)

[Registrarism, 9 February]

Writing off the UK’s last palaeographer

“Dry, dusty and shortly to be dead. Palaeographers are used to making sense of fragments of ancient manuscripts, but King’s College London couldn’t have been plainer when it announced recently that it was to close the UK’s only chair of palaeography. From September, the current holder of the chair, Professor David Ganz, will be out of a job, and the subject will no longer exist as a separate academic discipline in British universities. Its survival will now depend entirely on the whim of classicists and medievalists studying in other fields …” (more)

[John Crace, Guardian, 9 February]

First Scottish ‘terrorist’ has conviction quashed

“A Scottish student dubbed a ‘wannabe suicide bomber’ has been freed today after appeal court judges quashed his conviction. Mohammed Atif Siddique, from Alva, Clackmannanshire, was jailed for eight years in October 2007 after being convicted of a series of terror offences …” (more)

[Times, 9 February]

Invest in education and RD – Barrett

“Ireland is distinctly average, and average is no longer good enough, according to former Intel chairman Craig Barrett. The man credited with bringing Intel to Ireland over 20 years ago was addressing the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin last night …” (more)

[Dominic Coyle, Irish Times, 9 February]

50pc jump in number applying to attend UK colleges

“The number of Irish students applying for university places in Britain and Northern Ireland has rocketed by 50pc this year. It comes on top of record numbers looking for places in colleges at home …” (more)

[John Walshe, Independent, 9 February]

What next for Ireland? – Education and research

“Last September, at the ‘Global Economic Forum’ held in Farmleigh, former Intel chief executive and chairman Craig Barrett created something of a stir when he suggested that Ireland was under-performing in both education and research and development, and that these failings needed to be corrected if the country was to pull itself out of recession …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 9 February]

New Trinity plan for Pearse St

“Trinity College Dublin is in discussions with city planners on a number of schemes to create new access and improve the college’s physical relationship with Pearse Street. Under the latest proposals, the college, which in recent years was refused planning permission to demolish numbers 183 to 187 Pearse Street to facilitate the creation of a new ‘north gate’, is seeking permission to redevelop the adjacent former sports hall, Luce Hall …” (more)

[Tim O'Brien, Irish Times, 9 February]

Brave new curriculum

“When officials at the University of Aberdeen first considered overhauling their curriculum in an attempt to break into the world’s top 100 universities, they started at the end point, launching a major consultation to discover exactly what constitutes an ideal graduate. The responses from industry, politicians, students, parents and staff were remarkably similar …” (more)

[Kirsty Scott, Guardian, 9 February]

Ireland cannot afford to be seen as an innovation-free zone

“In these difficult times, politicians don’t always get a good press. So it is heartening to see an Irish politician stand on the international stage and make an immediate good impression. I am talking here about Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, the European Commissioner Designate for Research, Innovation and Science …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, Irish Times, 9 February]

School says sorry to TUI over late meeting

“A Co Mayo school has apologised to a teaching union after it held a parent-teacher meeting after working hours. The meeting took place in Davitt College, Castlebar, last month in contravention of a directive from the Teachers’ Union of Ireland. The TUI has banned after-hours parent-teacher meetings as part of its protest campaign against pay cuts …” (more)

[Sean Flynn, Irish Times, 9 February]

Teacher’s Pet

“… What approach should the Higher Education Authority (HEA) adopt to the record number of CAO applications? HEA boss Tom Boland has been insisting there is no need for panic as the under-funded universities take on more and more students …” (more)

[Irish Times, 9 February]

The days of plenty are gone, so let’s embrace the employer-led degree

“… many of the newer universities lack such a safety net, which is why some of them have developed innovative ways of delivering higher education and generating income. Typically, these include developing consultancy services, full-cost courses for businesses, hire of facilities and knowledge-transfer partnerships …” (more)

[Simon Roodhouse, Guardian, 9 February]

Stanford finds cheating – especially among computer science students – on the rise

“Allegations of cheating at Stanford University have more than doubled in the past decade, with the largest number of violations involving computer science students. In 10 years, the number of cases investigated by the university’s Judicial Panel has climbed from 52 to 123 …” (more)

[San Jose Mercury News, 7 February]

The lost generation of students

“The current situation, where education is blamed for economic failure, needs to be replaced by reform of the youth labour market. Further education was forgotten in academic reaction to government-announced university funding cuts. Yet FE has one in 10 of higher education students, not counting those in mixed economy further and higher education colleges, as well as the foundation degree students who graduate to one-year top-ups in local universities …” (more)

[Patrick Ainley, Guardian, 9 February]

Students’ union to launch safe-sex campaign

“A sexual health awareness pack is to be distributed to third-level students throughout the State as part of a new safe-sex campaign by the Union of Students in Ireland. The packs, to be given to some 45,000 students across college campuses, will contain condoms and information on contraception …” (more)

[Pamela Newenham, Irish Times, 9 February]

University admissions commentary: places must rise to boost the ‘fragile’ economy

“There are now record numbers of students at university and record numbers applying, with the latest UCAS figures showing applications in 2010 are up a fifth on last year. On the face of it, this is great news. The Government should be rightly proud that its investment has widened access to university, simultaneously raising the aspirations of millions who would previously not have considered studying for a degree …” (more)

[Les Ebdon, Daily Telegraph, 8 February]