HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (04/09/2009)

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

• On Sunday Liberal Democrat spokesperson Margaret Smith published figures obtained under Freedom of Information which indicated the "true extent of student hardship in Scotland". The media release was picked up in later that day by Labour spokesperson Claire Baker and, on Monday, in both The Herald and The Scotsman. Later in the week, The Scotsman ran a further piece indicating that the opposition parties were urging the government to "help lift poor students out of hardship". Claire Baker kept us informed via Twitter, announcing Labour's shared position with the Lib Dems on the issue, as well as their "productive meeting" to discuss the topic with Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
• UK Visa regulations and their impact on the higher education sector made the news again with The Guardian announcing that International students may spurn the UK because of new visa rules and the University of Warwick's Registrar describing the regulation as "ludicrous heavy-handed package of regulation that risks havoc in international student recruitment" in a Times Higher Education piece.
• The prospective University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) kept policymakers on their toes this week. The network found itself under pressure in Inverness about a possible Inverness College move. The Inverness Courier reported on calls for an inquiry into 'pressure' being applied to the College as the decision on the College's potential move to a
  proposed Beechwood site was delayed again. UHI also chose to use the findings of a study of youth migration in the Highlands as an opportunity to call for additional funded places from the Scottish Funding Council, with The BBC covering the news:
• More generally, the sector appeared to be gripped by a mood of change with the new semester looming just around the corner. Significant changes saw Professor Steve Chapman take over as Principal at Heriot Watt , Dundee's Abertay University announce Lord Cullen as its new Chancellor; and both Abertay and Edinburgh Napier universities made senior appointments. Elsewhere, the University of Aberdeen announced changes intended to take it into the world's top 100 universities and construction of the University of the West of Scotland’s new £70 million campus got underway in Ayr.

In student news:

• There was better news for students this week as a HESA media release outlined some positive statistics on recent graduate career progress. UCU Scotland welcomed the figures and Labour Spokesperson Claire Baker MSP tweeted to note that 86.9% were satisfied with careers to date & 88.9% were employed. Whilst The Times chose to report the news positively The Guardian went with "Graduates struggle to find full-time jobs".
• Some graduates also found themselves with a bit more money in their pocket as negative interest rates meant they were owed money by the Student Loans company or there was no interest on their loans. Both The Scotsman and The Guardian ran pieces on the issue.
• In other student news, The Scotsman ran a piece considering the pros & cons of studying at your local university; a student-run charity at Edinburgh University was awarded £2,000 by BBC Children in Need; Edinburgh College of Art students' work found itself, quite literally, in the shop window; and Scotland's first Polish Student President took up office at Edinburgh Napier University.

In research news:

• The Times Higher Education magazine published Research Council funding statistics showing that, amongst Scottish institutions, Edinburgh and Glasgow universities take the lion's share of grants whilst the University of Strathclyde leads in terms of success rate. Overall, the stats showed that increased competition across the UK as a while means that the chance chances of a research grant application being successful were all-time low, something about which the RCUK chair was reported to be 'awfully concerned':
• Edinburgh University researchers' findings called into question the wisdom of taking an aspirin everyday and the news was reported globally. The extensive media coverage included pieces in The Times and The Herald.
• St Andrews University researchers achieved similar media ubiquity with a press release announcing that girls at single-sex schools are more attracted to feminine looking boys. The BBC and The Scotsman were just two of the many outlets to pick this up.
• The biology sector in the capital received a boost with the announcement of a major initiative in synthetic biology at Heriot-Watt University and a significant appointment at Edinburgh University' BioQuarter, where Simon Best is to lead commercialisation activity.

In our competition for the best sector media release title, this week's competition was declared a dead heat between the University of Dundee's:

• The Face of Evil reconstructed in Dundee

and St Andrews University's:

• Lecture proves levitation isn't just science fiction

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HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (28/08/2009)

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

• After last week's A-level results and the high demand for places, media attention turned to Clearing in the early part of the week. The BBC reported on the 'scramble' for university places and The Guardian suggested that there were 14 students chasing every available university place. Alongside the news agenda, there was ongoing reflection on the unfulfilled demand for places. Whilst The Guardian's web site featured a piece asking 'Why does Labour bail out bankers, yet deny the young?', The Times Online posed the question 'Who wants to go to university, anyway?'.
• Changes at the upper levels of the Scottish Funding Council were announced with John Kemp being appointed as Director of Strategic Development and research supremo, David Gani, moving on to become a deputy Principal at the University of Strathclyde. In a further change at Strathclyde, Professor Gani will be joined by Professor Philip Winn who is currently Vice-Principal of Learning and Teaching at St Andrews University.
• Just as the Clearing stories started to dry up, an Institute for Public Policy Research press release got people talking by suggesting middle class pupils should be denied student loans and grants. A response from the NUS made it quite clear they were none too keen on the suggestion.
• In other policy news, RCUK extended and invitation to contribute to the Review of e-Science 2009 and Eduserv published the result of its survey into web content management in higher education.

In student news:

• In what was generally a quiet week for student news, there was less positive news over the weekend with Saturday's Scotsman reporting that there was no job for 86% of trainee teachers and Scotland on Sunday suggesting that dole fears were keeping gap year students abroad.
• Elsewhere, Glasgow Caledonian University released information on podiatry students who had decided to return to the country after travelling overseas to carry out foot and ankle screening at the Special Olympics.
• This week's student sport headlines saw Stirling University golfers representing Europe in the USA and a Robert Gordon University sports scholar crowned Pony Club champion, despite the lack of a horse.

In research news:

• Physics and astronomy featured heavily this week, with St Andrews researchers turning up a new planet and University of Glasgow scientists participating in an international search for gravitational waves.
• Stem cell research was similarly prominent, with The Scotsman reporting that research at Edinburgh University offers hope in the battle against motor neurone disease and the University of Dundee issuing a media release on new findings about the 'Guardian of the genome'.
• News desks liked a press release from the University of Glasgow entitled 'Should females trust showy males?', with the BBC one of many to cover news of researchers' findings about mating behaviour in three-spined stickleback fish.
• Edinburgh Napier University's news of an online toolkit for the evaluation of festivals' impact was well timed as Edinburgh's Festival Fringe entered its third week and the story was duly picked up by The Scotsman.
• In other research news, there was a rash of awards for researchers at the University of St Andrews; bees featured in news releases from both the University of Stirling and the Scottish Agricultural College; there was news that Edinburgh University was to participate in an "urgent" £2.25 million research project into swine flu ; the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama made the news in relation to the discovery of what may be the oldest piece of Scottish music; and the University of Aberdeen's purchase of the Cromarty lighthouse was covered by both STV and the BBC.

Finally, to close, the usual contest for the best media release title of the week. HE Scotland liked this one from St Andrews:

• Found: The planet that shouldn't exist

However, this week it is the Scottish Agricultural College which wins out with:

• Daisy And A Politician On The Pull

We can only assume that the SAC press office thought Politician Milks Publicity was just too risque...

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HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (21/08/2009)

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

• This week's big story was Thursday's A-level results. In response to increased demand for places and the 27th annual rise in the proportion of students achieving A grades, The Guardian's headline warned 50,000 A-level students to miss out on place at university. Meanwhile, the Russell Group called for additional funding claiming the high demand had "demolished" the persistent myth that tuition fees would put students off higher education and Million+ stated there was 'a serious mismatch between demand for places and supply'. UCU also took the opportunity to comment and lamented the government's failed widening participation agenda.
• Earlier in the week, it was graduate employment which made the news as HESA released annual figures on graduate destinations. The Sunday Times focused on Robert Gordon and Edinburgh Napier universities' high graduate employment rates and The Sun similarly focused on Oxbridge's less impressive performance compared to newer universities. The Guardian, however, took its lead from HESA and chose to report that women graduates were more likely to be working than their male peers.
• There were questions as to whether the pressure for places combined with the widening participation agenda had led to some trying to cheat the system, with The Telegraph claiming students were lying about their family backgrounds to win university places and The University of Edinburgh mentioned in a similar article in The Mail.
• Elsewhere The Times ran a story about universities' use of Twitter; the Scottish Funding Council announced additional funding for its voucher scheme to encourage universities to work with SMEs; a BBC report covered findings suggesting university sites did not meet the requirements of disabled students; the University of Dundee played a leading role in encouraging the V&A to commit to an outpost in the city; and the University of Aberdeen opened a new £28m sports facility in collaboration with the City Council.

In student news:

• Debt was a focus with the Publication of the Push Student Debt Survey.The Herald reported that Scottish students rack up £2,000 of debt for every year of study and The BBC reported that new students face a total debt of £23,000. The UCU ttok the finding as an opportunity to comment on an anticipated rise in fees south of the border and claimed any such increase was about as popular as the poll tax.
• NUS released figures from their 2009 Student Experience Research revealing hidden course costs. The report's findings were covered by The Guardian which led with the fact that maths and computer science were the costliest degrees.
• In the face of the gloom over money, there was, at least, some more positive news to be found in the Push survey, with The BBC reporting that one in five graduates in the UK have settled down with someone they met at university, and The Scotsman noting the important role that a network of student friends can play in graduates' careers.
• Students at the University of the Highland and Islands Millennium Institute began a series of historic graduation ceremonies, with The BBC and covering the news in brief.
• In student sports news, Robert Gordon University equestrians represented Great Britain in France and the University of Edinburgh announced the equivalent of signing up Chris Hoy for the cycling team when it revealed that Scottish captain & GB Olympian, Graham Moodie, would become the player-coach of its men's hockey team.

In research news:

• The Scottish Government announced funding for the Scottish European Green Energy Centre to be based at the University of Aberdeen, with the story being picked up by The Herald.
• The Herald also covered Scottish researchers' role in contributing to the development of programmes for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch.
• After last week's news about stress ageing sheep, the University of Edinburgh turned its attention to deer, announcing that stags' descent into old age occurs much more quickly than that of does and inspired the headline "In a rut: old age is taking it toll on Scotland’s amorous stags".
• However, this week's most media friendly story was that of a Harry Potter inspired St Andrews University physicist's funding for research in the 'tantalising' field of invisibility. Unsurprisingly this was covered widely, including pieces by The BBC, The Telegraph, and an Express story on 'The Professor of Magic'.
• Meanwhile staff at the University of Aberdeen might have wanted access to Professor Leonhardt's technology as the visit of HRH, The Countess of Wessex, to meet sight saving researchers at the University's medical school was overshadowed when the royal guest became stuck in a lift.

As usual, we finish with the the best sector media release title of the week. This from the University of Edinburgh gets an honourable mention :

• Monarch of the Glen slips quickly into old age, suggests University of Edinburgh study

But the University of St Andrews carries off the crown for the sheer bravado of the following:

• 'Invisibility' two years away

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HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (07/08/2009)

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

• The Westminster Committee on Innovation Universities, Science and Skills, chaired by Phil Willis, published report into Students and Universities on Sunday. Explore links to some of the resultant media coverage about degree standards and read about the apparent political mood in favour of reducing UK universities' autonomy in HE Scotland's blog post on the report.
• The National Student Survey 2009 results were published yesterday. Find out how the Scottish universities participating ranked, how the Scottish sector performed compared to the rest of the UK and read what the UCU and NUS had to say about the results in HE Scotland's special blog post on the results.
• University applicants received their Highers results this week. The increased demand for places coupled with the best ever results by school leavers led to calls for additional places at Scottish universities from Labour Spokesperson Claire Baker and in The Herald, whilst the UCU called for penalties for universities which over-recruit to be waived. (Surely this was all a bit late - wasn't the time to make such calls back when England announced additional places two weeks ago? - Ed)
• Meanwhile, the Scottish Government published the Student Loans for Higher Education statistics, but these received scant media attention, despite indicating that 35 per cent of students leaving university in 2007 are currently employed below the £15,000 earnings threshold for repayment.

In student news:

• Monday saw the release of the NatWest Student Living Index 2009. Whilst PA ran with the revelatory 'Students rely on parents for cash', The Scotsman provided a Scottish angle on the survey's findings and looked at the variation between student costs and working patterns in different cities.
• Glasgow School of Art student, Carron Bull, sparkled as she took first prize in Ortak Jewellery's search for jewellery designers of the future.
• As Carron sparkled in the west, in the north-east, RGU graduate Rory Fraser shone with the launch of his third computer game 'Football Tycoon'.
• Stirling University student golfers past and present also had a good week, the highlight being Catriona Matthew's victory in the British Open.
• Elsewhere in student sport, Glasgow Caledonian University student Craig Ruddy received council backing for his 2014 Commonwealth Games bid.

In research news:

• Journalists found a University of Aberdeen researcher talking their language and, as a consequence, details of his findings about dolphins' communication made a 'splash' in various outlets, including The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and on Channel 4.
• A University of the West of Scotland psychologist also kept journalists busy with his findings that unprotected sex may have mental health benefits. Unsurprisingly, this news was also pounced on by the media, including pieces in The Independent in and The Telegraph.
• As if chatty dolphins and unprotected sex weren't good enough, an alcohol story completed the media-friendly research news this week as researchers at the University of Glasgow discovered yet more benefits in drinking red wine. The Express and The Mirror were amongst the many to cover news of the findings.
• Elsewhere, Andrew Brierley of St Andrews University informed us that climate change would irreversible by 2040 and joint research by the University of Edinburgh and UHI offered hope of high-speed web access in remote areas.

And finally, there was a bit more to go on this week than last when looking for the best sector media release title of the week. HE Scotland liked the following from the University of Dundee :

• Garden to go native and host 'pow-wow'

But this edition's award goes to this from St Andrews:

• Academic goes Pop

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HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (31/07/2009)

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

• Lord Mandelson again made headlines, this time with his first major speech on higher education. He had some interesting things to say about universities and the economy and his hints about the possibility of lifting the cap on the fees English universities can charge students elicited a robust restatement of the Scottish Government's stance against fees. Read more in HE Scotland's blog post on the topic.
• Glasgow Caledonian University attracted negative commentary from the UCU as well as coverage in The Herald and the Times Higher following news that a commercial joint venture to attract overseas students had lost over £200k.
• With news that English universities' funding may be linked to their carbon emissions, St Andrews upped the stakes in Scotland with news of plans for its own wind farm.
• A statement was released on Tuesday following a Universities UK seminar on the swine flu pandemic and The Guardian reported news of the sector's preparations.
• In a report in the Times Higher an unnamed manager at Edinburgh Napier University claimed that merger with Queen Margaret University would be ' logical'.

In student news:

• NUS Scotland released news of a survey suggesting the summer jobs market was proving tough for students and may lead to increased drop out rate. Reporting Scotland covered the story and Labour opposition spokesperson, Claire Baker MSP, tweeted while she watched to say that "serious consideration of student support" was needed.
• An exclusive story in The Daily Record outlined a rise in the number of student disciplinary cases and was picked up by several others including The Express and The Scotsman.
• There were notable sporting successes for a Stirling golfer, Stirling & RGU swimmers and for Edinburgh's Chloe Maclean who took Bronze at European University Karate Championships.
• Finally, The Independent examined the increasing availability of more salubrious student accommodation asking 'Is this the end of dank digs?'

In research news:

• University of Edinburgh researchers announced a breakthrough in predicting a woman's response to the breast cancer drug Herceptin, with coverage including pieces in The Scotsman and The Express.
• In Dundee, the local SNP MSP called for tax breaks in order to support the video game research and the related industry clustered around the University of Abertay.
• Researchers at the University of Edinburgh received widespread coverage with news of a new computer chip able to deliver faster processing while using significantly less power and space.
• Elsewhere, the Scottish Agricultural College reported on the importance of researchers' understanding of the policy environment and the Glasgow School of Art launched an innovative PhD scholarship with the AHRB.

Slim pickings this week in the competition for the best sector media release title... at this rate, the trophy will be permanently residing at the University of Glasgow! It wins again with:

• Munch exhibition a screaming success

In the absence of any real sector competition for Glasgow's winner, the following sports headline in The Southern Reporter earns a guest mention in this category:

• Students teach Fairies a lesson

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens.To register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, just e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (24/07/2009)

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

• Lord Mandelson announced an additional 10,000 partially-funded places at English universities with the intention of addressing a significant increase in applications. Find out why the announcement received a relatively cool reception and what the news might mean for Scotland in HE Scotland's blog post on the topic.
• A report for the UK government looking at access to the professions included praise for the University of Edinburgh's Pathways to the Professions scheme. However, the findings of Unleashing Aspiration drew comment from the Russell Group, the NUS and UCU, much of it focused on the proposals for 'fee free' degrees for English students staying at home and studying at a local university.
• Glasgow Caledonian University found itself at the centre of a political row relating to comments made by the SNP's candidate for the Glasgow North-East Westminster by-election. A former Principal and Labour's higher education spokesperson, Claire Baker MSP, were both critical and the matter was raised in the Scottish Parliament.
• There was official news about the impact of the downturn on HEFCE's future funding for English institutions in the form of Wednesday's publication of a consultation on teaching funding efficiency savings and Thursday's news about revised grant allocations.
• Also this week, UHI put its draft Gaelic Language plan out to consultation, making it the first Scottish University to produce such a plan.

In student news:

• Freshers were left wondering whether they might miss out on a tradition when, on Thursday, the Guardian announced that Universities may cancel freshers' week over swine flu.
• The UHI made a series of announcements about students of the year at various of its sites, with Tommy Hayward, Dr George Craig, Kerry McGeachy and Nigel "Kenny" Kenworthy all picking up awards.
• University of Aberdeen students had a notable triumph with their self-built car at Silverstone race track, picking up three awards and being placed highly in a global competition.
• The University of Abertay, Dundee and RSAMD both made announcements about student funding awards.

In research news:

• The University of Glasgow made a significant splash in the media by announcing news of researchers' findings about a girl with near perfect vision, despite having been born with just half a brain.
• The University of Aberdeen's emeritus Professor, Hugh Pennington, was ubiquitous in commenting on the swine flu epidemic and, at the time of writing, had notched up some seventeen name checks on Twitter in just seven days.
• There was news of two significant funding awards for the University of Dundee, which picked up £2m for its role leading a research consortium looking into off-grid electricity and was awarded a further £1.7m as the leader of a study looking into the delivery of drugs to treat cancer.

And finally,the nod for this week's best sector media release title goes to one of last week's joint winners, the University of Glasgow:

• Pomme de Terrier: spud-loving Angus bites off more than he can chew

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Jobs, Cats, Bats, & Robotic Monsters of the Deep: The Friday Round-Up (17/07/2009)

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included:

In policy and funding news:

• The results of the annual Business & Community Interaction Survey were released with related commentary from the SFC, HEFCE and an interesting summary of Scottish HEIs' performance from the Scottish Government. HE Scotland's blog post on the results comments on the Scottish sector's strong relative performance and the backdrop of expected changes to SFC knowledge exchange funding
• UCU claimed job cuts at Stirling and Strathclyde universities threatened the Scottish HE sector's "proud reputation as a global leader in higher education." Responding in a BBC report, the Scottish Government pointed to its "£5.24bn investment in universities and colleges over three years"
• Exhortations calling for the UK higher education sector to model itself more closely on the US and develop an equivalent of the Ivy League featured in The Herald and the THE
• Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an announcement of additional places for University entry in 2009, but did not provide figures, nor clarify whether this would be a UK-wide measure. UCU gave a qualified welcome to the news - expect further developments and commentary on what this may mean for Scotland as details emerge over the coming days

In student news:

• HESA published performance indicators relating to graduate employment which indicated a rise in the number unemployed six months after graduation. UCU and the Russell Group commented on the figures in an article in The Times, whilst a piece in The Scotsman looked to the positive, noting that the employment figures for several Scottish universities were better than Oxbridge
• A former welsh youth international footballer made an immediate impact at Stirling, whilst one-time University of Edinburgh midfielder, Jamie Redman, turned professional with Arbroath and a Heriot-Watt graduate took her first UK title winning the 5,000 metres at the Aviva World Trials and UK Championships
• Abertay University launched ten new bursaries to commemorate its fifteenth anniversary
• In what was surely the headline writer's gift of the last seven days, students in Heriot-Watt's "Team Nessie" recorded a sub-aquatic robotic triumph at 'SAUC-E 2009'

In research news:

There were significant medical breakthroughs reported in relation to e-coli genetics (University of Dundee), a link between a low IQ and heart disease (Glasgow & Edinburgh universities), the relationship between obesity and complications during pregnancy (University of Edinburgh) and the DNA 'Swiss army knife' (University of Dundee).

When it wasn't the medics, it was the vets, with animals featuring prominently. More specifically, cats and bats both featured in research stories with Scottish links:

• A University of Edinburgh graduate's research into cats' plaintive appeals to their owners' parental instincts made national headlines
• News of two Aberdeen University researchers' experiments with radar to prevent bats meeting an unhappy ending on the blades of wind turbines was released on Thursday

Finally, the inaugural HE Scotland award for the best sector media release title of the last seven days saw a dead heat between the University of Glasgow and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama:

• Glasgow academics organise medieval roundtable event (Glasgow)
• T Time for Professor Phil (RSAMD)

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens, or to register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, simply e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.