Category Archives: UKRI

Gender Pay Gaps: Getting Worse

Posted on 10 April 2025 by Athene Donald

This is the season when all larger employers have had to report their gender pay gap. Is it good news? No, things appear to be going backwards. “Enduring gender pay disparities in Whitehall reflect low female representation in senior roles … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Fiona Erskine, parental leave, Science Culture, Shima Barakat, UKRI | Leave a comment

Parliamentary Activity

Posted on 2 May 2022 by Athene Donald

This week has brought some curious interventions into the STEM landscape in Parliament. I will return shortly to the much-publicised, if seemingly ill-informed remarks about girls and Physics made by Katherine Birbalsingh – a headteacher and the Government’s social mobility … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Interdisciplinary Science, Katherine Birbalsingh, Ottoline Leyser, Science and Technology Select Committee, Science Culture, Science Funding, UKRI, Women in science | Comments Off on Parliamentary Activity

Red Tape

Posted on 28 March 2021 by Athene Donald

The announcement of a review of bureaucratic red tape in universities may bring either a smile of relief or a hollow laugh. Why are universities (and funding bodies) so entangled in this nasty stuff? Is it because they love to … Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, Equality, forms, panels, Science Culture, Science Funding, UKRI | Comments Off on Red Tape

In Praise of Technicians

Posted on 3 February 2021 by Athene Donald

I was a very ham-fisted PhD student. I repeatedly broke a delicate and crucial piece of apparatus during the early months of my research, to the extent that I almost quit the whole endeavour and withdrew from the labs for … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Gatsby Foundation, Science Culture, Skills White Paper, TALENT, UKRI | Comments Off on In Praise of Technicians

Research Culture, Fairness and Transparency

Posted on 20 September 2020 by Athene Donald

A week after the Science and University Ministers announced with respect to chartermarks such as Athena Swan “We have therefore asked the OfS, UKRI and NIHR to ensure that they place no weight upon the presence or absence of such … Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, BAME, Equality, grant-giving panels, Ottoline Leyser, Science Culture, UKRI | Comments Off on Research Culture, Fairness and Transparency

Is Bigger Always Better?

Posted on 28 June 2020 by Athene Donald

Social distancing may have been reduced to 1(+)m – whatever that may mean – but that is still going to impose significant constraints on what a bench scientist can do. Fume cupboards in a line – how many of them … Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, careers, group size, pandemic, Science Culture, UKRI | Comments Off on Is Bigger Always Better?

How Long does it take to Gain Expertise?

Posted on 3 January 2020 by Athene Donald

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s right-hand man, currently is said to be set on shaking up the Civil Service. The three elements that are rumoured to be on the agenda are: Better training in data science, systems thinking and ‘super-forecasting; Staff … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Service, Dominic Cummings, Interdisciplinary Science, Science Funding, UKRI | Comments Off on How Long does it take to Gain Expertise?

Bias in Publishing

Posted on 6 November 2019 by Athene Donald

You’ll have heard the story about women whingeing about how their proudly-submitted papers got rejected by a premier journal without being sent out to referees. Or that the comments they received from referees were unduly harsh, but a male colleague’s … Continue reading →

Posted in editors, pipeline, Research, Royal Society of Chemistry, success rates, UKRI, Women in science | Comments Off on Bias in Publishing

Where is the HE Sector Going?

Posted on 16 June 2019 by Athene Donald

There is a lot going on in the HE policy world, from the Augar Review of post-18 education and funding, to the publication of the UKRI (and its constituent parts) Delivery Plans. Yet all this is set in the context … Continue reading →

Posted in CDTs, education, John Kingman, Research, Royal Society, Science Funding, strategy, UKRI, Venki Ramakrishnan | Comments Off on Where is the HE Sector Going?

Which Skills for a PhD Student?

Posted on 17 February 2019 by Athene Donald

Training of PhD students. It’s a big topic and large sums of money are involved. As I wrote in the autumn, there are concerns about the decisions that are being made. With the recent announcement of 75 new Centres for … Continue reading →

Posted in CDTs, education, Phd student training, Science Culture, UKRI | Comments Off on Which Skills for a PhD Student?