Author Archives: Athene Donald

Skills, FE and Levelling Up

As we await various key Government papers – specifically the long-awaited response to the Augar Report and the Levelling Up White paper – the news is full of labour shortages. Whereas delivering some of Augar’s recommendations about funding for FE … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Augar Review, BTECs, careers, education, productivity, Science Funding, T Levels, technicians | Comments Off on Skills, FE and Levelling Up

Vaccines, Emotion and the Status of Women

I’ve been catching up with some reading this weekend: a year’s worth of (hard copy) THE issues, picked up now I’m finally able to get back into my department, and Vaxxers – sub-titled The Inside Story of the Oxford Astrazeneca … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Cath Green, Communicating Science, families, Sarah Gilbert, vaccination, Vaxxers, Women in science | Comments Off on Vaccines, Emotion and the Status of Women

The Problems of Measurement

How should we measure what is a good outcome from a university education? As David Willetts puts it in his latest report published through the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) ‘The Treasury cast their beady eye over the evidence and … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in careers, education, Further Education, inequality, mobility, skills | Comments Off on The Problems of Measurement

University Traditions

This is the time of year when students are in the process of returning to their many campuses (or going for the first time as Freshers). Cambridge University term starts later than many, and as a result few students are … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in admission to degrees, education, Freshers, Girton College, matriculation, Senate House | Comments Off on University Traditions

‘Pure’ versus ‘Applied’ Science

When I started this blog, more than ten years ago, I imagined I would write about physics, and specifically about physics at the interface with biology. Perhaps, I thought, I would write about exciting papers I’d read; indeed, I asked … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Biological Physics, education, Interdisciplinary Science, James Clerk Maxwell, Mike Cates, Pietro Cicuta, Research | Comments Off on ‘Pure’ versus ‘Applied’ Science

Name-calling, Favourites and Bystanders

Name-calling of any kind is painful. My first experience of it that I recall, dates back to primary school when the other kids used to call me teacher’s pet. Probably deserved as an appellation, in so far as I undoubtedly … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in bullying, Equality, insult, intervention, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Name-calling, Favourites and Bystanders

Getting Universities’ People and Culture Right

Regular readers of my blog will have noticed there has been nothing to read for some time, regularly or irregularly. As for so many of us, this has been a tough year culminating, for me, in a chest infection (non-Covid) … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Amanda Solloway, BEIS, bullying, ECRs, Equality, Science Culture | Comments Off on Getting Universities’ People and Culture Right

Picture a Scientist – Who Do You See?

I am often asked who inspired me. I feel embarrassed to admit the answer is no one, it seems like the wrong answer. Certainly there was no female scientist who triggered my love of science at an early age; I … Continue reading

Posted in discrimination, Equality, harassment, Jane Willenbring, MIT, Nancy Hopkins, Raychelle Burks, Women in science | Comments Off on Picture a Scientist – Who Do You See?

The Imperative of Skills

Whereas academic scientists too often only think in terms of producing the next generation of academic scientists like them, the reality is many would-be PIs would be lost without the technicians who keep the equipment running, train newcomers and generally … Continue reading

Posted in BEIS, careers, Chatteris, education, Further Education, technicians, training | Comments Off on The Imperative of Skills

Getting the Design Right

This blogpost is stimulated by two bits of reading matter of very different sorts, but between them they have taken my thoughts in somewhat multifarious directions. Apologies if the net result is a slightly disorganised and diverse post. It started … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, Cavendish, design, Equality, maintenance, Science Funding | Comments Off on Getting the Design Right