Breaking: Looming physics cuts a ‘failure’, says science committee chair.
Chi Onwurah says science minister and UKRI leadership must “bear responsibility” and “win back trust”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
Something of a Friday 13th for the science department today
- Chi Onwurah has lambasted Patrick Vallance over "wholly unacceptable" physics cuts
- The NAO has reported a £5.6bn repair backlog to uni infrastructure
- MPs have said regional growth is suffering from poor data on R&D spending
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Chi Onwurah calls the funding changes a "failure" for which Dsit, UKRI and STFC leadership "must bear responsibility" and "act urgently to address".
Full story by @robinbisson.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
Really stinging criticism by @chionwurah.bsky.social of Dsit, UKRI and STFC leadership over cuts to physics funding.
The Commons science committee chair writes in a new letter to Patrick Vallance and UKRI's Ian Chapman:
The university funding crisis is having direct impact on UK research - not surprising given UK relies heavily on universities for its research.
Yet there's no system-wide response.
Looked at this issue in my Research Fortnight leader
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
The concern will be that cuts to UK research capacity, via cuts to academics' research time, are being made in a piecemeal way that masks the overall impact.
Full story by @isaacbarbosa1.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
University job cuts are leading to cuts in academics' research time, spotlighted here by @resprofnews.bsky.social.
At the very same time the govt is looking for more economic return from the R&D budget, UK research capacity is being cut.
Here's Kent as an example:
Tipping point reached in the university exodus from X?
More universities "now off X than on it", finds @andytattersall.bsky.social analysis.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Adam Tickell's argument was that sector, or govt, needs to stop leaving to the market decisions about what courses the HE system will offer.
"National cultural assets" being lost "by stealth" across humanities.
Story by @fionamcintyre.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Birmingham v-c Adam Tickell made some really interesting comments at @britishacademy.bsky.social conference.
Called university languages closures a "national catastrophe", said uni mergers may be needed to address it.
Not many v-cs are willing to take public stand on national sector issues.
Significant from Patrick Vallance at Lords science committee:
He is "determined that UKRI must find a way to look after" STFC's physics, astronomy and nuclear grants.
"Tension" between STFC facilities and grants funding "needs to be resolved".
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
UUK chief exec Vivienne Stern asked, at British Academy event, if govt should review HE system:
Risk of "opening up Pandora's Box". Don't review "if you don't know what's going to come out of it".
Plan 2 loans pressure such there's "real danger Treasury will think only way out is another review".
I might be imagining it, but I thought Vallance cut down on the number of times he mentioned "buckets".
Maybe part of the problem with talking about a "buckets" funding model is having to repeatedly use the word "buckets". A "golden chalices" model for research funding might go down better?
Vallance said UK is having discussions on making sure next Horizon Europe is "open and based on excellence" - must also provide value for money if UK is to associate.
Patrick Vallance speech at @britishacademy.bsky.social SHAPE conference:
- pledging to "protect and grow" curiosity-driven research funding
- creation of UKRI means "a big pot of money becomes visible"; benefits/outcomes need explaining
- wanting UK to "be in early" on EU's next Horizon Europe
I wonder if these kinds of moves to cut protected research time are going on at other research-intensive institutions?
@robinbisson.bsky.social's full story on the Nottingham move, and the UCU's warning about the consequences, here:
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Nottingham move to cut academics' protected research time to 25%, as staff-student ratios rise, brings strong warning from the UCU branch - this "threatens Nottingham's status as a research-intensive institution".
Redundancies at research-intensive universities double in two years, FOI requests from @resprofnews.bsky.social @chrisjparr.bsky.social reveal.
Scale of job losses branded "disaster" for UK research capacity.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Willetts still pushing a quinquennial review of tuition fee levels, student loan terms, as solution to system pressures.
Would allow system to respond to universities' changing costs, job market conditions, he argues.
Story here www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
With England's system of tuition fees and student loans under fierce criticism, @chrisjparr.bsky.social speaks to the creator of that system, David Willetts.
Willetts points out Labour govt has not found an alternative model (though I don't think it has really tried to look for one).
Former UKRI leader Ottoline Leyser talks to @francesjones.bsky.social about the "horrible" funding problems facing Science and Technology Facilities Council.
STFC funds major facilities and labs, along with grants for physics and astronomy.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
It's been a busy couple of weeks covering the funding changes at UKRI, to put it mildly
Here are my thoughts on how it's played out
TL;DR...the message that curiosity-driven research is protected is not going to reassure those who are seeing their funding streams disrupted
🧵 New Research Fortnight out today!
In this issue, we put the spotlight on the impact and implications of major changes to funding being introduced by UK Research and Innovation.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
Full story, on disruptions to core funding streams raising fears for a “generation” of early career researchers, by @isaacbarbosa1.bsky.social @fionamcintyre.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Warnings that UKRI funding changes are pushing some early career researchers to move abroad.
STFC-funded research groups already "haemorrhaging", this researcher tells @resprofnews.bsky.social.
Breaking: Research Excellence Framework director to step down in April.
Former director Kim Hackett returning to oversee strategy while successor to Rebecca Fairbairn is found.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Daria Sokhan's full opinion piece available to read for free here:
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Daria Sokhan also argues there hasn't been proper consultation with the scientific community, and that the resulting impacts go beyond the EIC.
EIC is one of several international physics infrastructure collaborations where UKRI pulled funding.
Daria Sokhan makes point about damage to EIC from lost UK funding, and potential damage to UK's reputation as partner in international science.
Powerful opinion piece about impact of UKRI pulling UK funds from Electron-Ion Collider project - US-based international facility for research into structure of matter - by Daria Sokhan, principal investigator on EIC-UK.
