Category Archives: education

What do ‘Skills’ Mean to You?

Posted on 27 April 2025 by Athene Donald

We frequently hear the word ‘skills’ tossed about, as in ‘there’s a skills shortage’ or ‘a skills mismatch’, but put a bunch of people in a room, and ask them to discuss skills, and – with no additional qualifying words … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in absorptive capacity, apprenticeships, careers, education, Technician Committment, technicians | Leave a comment

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Athene Donald

It is ten years since UNESCO declared today, February 11th, as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Less well-known, I suspect, than International Women’s Day, it has a more specific focus. Sadly, in its ten years of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in ASPIRES2, education, Michaela, natural history, People, pipeline, schoolteachers, Women in science | Comments Off on International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025

The Need to Join the Dots

Posted on 2 February 2025 by Athene Donald

Last week, I attended an event organised by The Productivity Institute and, more locally, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, as part of National Productivity Week. The meeting’s theme was Innovation and Infrastructure in the East. Note, despite the recent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in academia, appraisal, ASSET 2010, Athena Forum, Austrian science, book review, careers, education, Equality, Evelyn Fox Keller, Further Education, gender, growth, natural history, NEETs, Opportunity Mission, Oxford-Cambridge Corridor, People, professional training, promotion, Women's Issues | Comments Off on The Need to Join the Dots

Living in Silos

Posted on 8 December 2024 by Athene Donald

When I first started writing this blog in 2010, I imagined I was going to write about the science that interested me, the latest papers in my field that caught my eye, and specifically highlight the excitement and challenge of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Department for Education, education, interdisciplinarity, Interdisciplinary Science, jargon, natural history, People, Roger Pielke | Comments Off on Living in Silos

The Dangers of Brilliance

Posted on 10 November 2024 by Athene Donald

As the detailed criteria of REF2029 are being worked through, the issue over the research culture part remains unclear. There are those who think research culture is an irrelevance in the pursuit of excellence, that it is a touchy-feely kind … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in economics, education, environment, Equality, philosophy, Science Culture, smart | Comments Off on The Dangers of Brilliance

The Path Not Taken

Posted on 6 October 2024 by Athene Donald

One of the last tasks I did as Master of Churchill College, was to partake in an afternoon’s event as part of their alumni weekend, badged as ‘Arts meet Science’. The first, and more substantial part, consisted of various pieces … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in apprenticeships, broad and balanced, curriculum, decisions, education | Comments Off on The Path Not Taken

An Anthropological Experiment in Birmingham

Posted on 1 October 2024 by Athene Donald

I’m not sure that spending my last day as Master of Churchill College at the Conservative Party Conference would have been quite what I expected, but so it was. I was in Birmingham – just as I was in Liverpool … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in apprenticeships, conservatives, David Willetts, education, Robert Halfon, Science Culture, skills | Comments Off on An Anthropological Experiment in Birmingham

More Than A-Levels

Posted on 20 August 2024 by Athene Donald

Last week saw the annual media interest in A-Level results (at least in England). Commentators noticed, for instance, the substantial increase in STEM subjects, with over 100,000 students taking Maths. This figure was remarkable as it was the first time … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in BTECs, careers, education, funding, productivity, T Levels | Comments Off on More Than A-Levels

Role Models for Girls?

Posted on 16 June 2024 by Athene Donald

Recently I received an email from a young girl (aged 8 and a half, as she signed herself off, with overtones of Adrian Mole) complaining about the lack of representation of women in STEM. As she says ‘If you want … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara McClintock, Donna Strickland, education, Marie Curie, national curriculum, Women in science | Comments Off on Role Models for Girls?

Not Knowing Where You Are Going

Posted on 19 May 2024 by Athene Donald

One of the initiatives I started when I became Master of Churchill College was a series of public conversations with eminent women, many – but by no means all – academics. To start with I was quite nervous: would I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in A levels, careers, Churchill College, education, Fens, Science 2040, Science Culture, Sharon Peacock | Comments Off on Not Knowing Where You Are Going