The ARC’s 2026 Future Fellowships scheme will provide more than $344 million in Aus Govt funding to support researchers addressing major national challenges and opportunities. Learn more: www.arc.gov.au/future-fello...

Tomorrow (Tuesday 8 Sept), we will announce the outcome of the ARC Future Fellowships (FT26). Stay tuned for the update!

I'm currently in the middle of PhD research that is showing unequivocally that this is not even close to a thing. Women are still massively underrepresented in the curriculum and almost every teacher I interviewed raised the manosphere's influence on male students as an explicit blocker.

Richard Chirgwin@rchirgwin.bsky.social · last wk.

Canavan really is a piece of work ... womensagenda.com.au/latest/femin...

‘We have had enough’: thousands of University of Sydney staff walk off the job over AI and job security

‘We have had enough’: thousands of University of Sydney staff walk off the job over AI and job security

Hundreds of university staff were stationed at picket lines, calling for stronger protections around the use of AI * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The same week union members at the University of Sydney agreed to a 24-hour strike, staff received the results of an internal survey. In the faculty of arts and social sciences, 0% agreed with the statement: “I trust the University of Sydney to act in the best interests of staff, students and the broader community.” Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Update & confirmation of delay to announcements from the ARC. The ARC is sending this message to university research offices.

Jayne Persian@drjpersian.bsky.social · 2w ago

Thanks to @nature.com for covering our @britishacademy.bsky.social trial of partial randomisation in the allocation of our small research grants. As the piece says it seems to have helped diversify those who apply rather than rule themselves out of the process www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Did you know the ARC is on Bluesky? If not, I encourage you to follow them: @arc-gov-au.bsky.social There will be a lot of change over the next couple of years. Tuning into them on here will help raise this channel's priority for their communication with actual researchers.

The ARC's new grant scheme table, in case you don't want to read through the details (which are here: www.arc.gov.au/system/files...)

ARC Tracker@arc-tracker.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The ARC has released their new set of grant schemes ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub... Before implementing them, they’re now going to “consult with the sector”. Hopefully genuinely, not just with a few disengaged DVCRs. In the meantime, there’ll be another round of Discovery Projects (DP28).

The ARC has released their new set of grant schemes ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub... Before implementing them, they’re now going to “consult with the sector”. Hopefully genuinely, not just with a few disengaged DVCRs. In the meantime, there’ll be another round of Discovery Projects (DP28).

When you think you've heard it all. German courts have ruled that a family who entered Germany on German passports in 2020 had never been German citizens, because a 1908 marriage between a German colonial official and a Togolese woman was not legally valid under colonial law.

GLOBALCIT@globalcit.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Citizenship in the News 🇩🇪 DW: A family from Togo has been stripped of their legally obtained German citizenship under a racist colonial law, leaving them stateless. Unable to return to 🇹🇬 as they were forced to give up their Togolese citizenship for the German one www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH0d...

Nominations now open: ARC College of Experts 2027. We’re seeking leaders in research and peer review from across academia, industry and the public sector — with strong encouragement for multidisciplinary expertise and diverse nominations. Find out more: www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub...

#DECRA applicants, the rejoinder period begins on Monday (25 May). You'll get reports from "detailed assessors" – people in your general field, but not necessarily experts on your specific research. Reports will appear in your RMS portal, normally around 11am Canberra time (but it varies).

Mentors & supervisors for #DECRA applicants: Make time in your schedule on Monday – it matters👇 Better yet, make time in your schedule *today* to go over what to expect with applicants you know. Show them your previous assessor reports, & how you responded. Before all the emotion hits on Monday!

ARC Tracker@arc-tracker.bsky.social · 4mo ago

#DECRA applicants, the rejoinder period begins on Monday (25 May). You'll get reports from "detailed assessors" – people in your general field, but not necessarily experts on your specific research. Reports will appear in your RMS portal, normally around 11am Canberra time (but it varies).

Discovery Projects (DP27) still won’t be announced until mid–late Jan. 2027, i.e. 13 months after EOI submission! Similarly, Laureate F’ships – 11 months. However, gladly, Future Fellowships (FT26) will 9 months (back to “normal”).

While ARC wait for Minister to approve their new grant schemes, they’ve created a new round of Future Fellowships (FT27) & Industrial Transformation Hubs & Centres (IC27 & IH27). And they’ve provided 2-week outcome announcement windows! Phew! BUT schemes still generally take longer than last year…

Australian Research Council@arc-gov-au.bsky.social · 4mo ago

ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ve released a National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) update with information on additional rounds of 2 existing schemes in 2026. Read more: www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub...

That's a whopping $100M invested in grants! Wow. Despite huge number of applications – presumably 'coz this is the last advertised round of Linkage Projects – there's enough money to give a success rate of 44%! Normally only ~175 grants are *submitted* in round 2, but here 178 have been funded.

ARC Tracker@arc-tracker.bsky.social · 4mo ago

#LinkageProjects #LP25r2 announcement cont.: Outcomes summary: Approved / requested (%) Apps: 178 / 401 (44.4%) Funds: $99.79M / $220.67M (45.2%) Approved grants requested $102.60M; 97.3% provided. /bot

Minister @jasonclaremp.bsky.social has vetoed funding for 13 ARC grants based on security grounds. “Security” is the only way they can veto individual grants anymore* (not just a whim like under the previous legislation). From ARC's “Update on Research Security” 👇 www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub...

Important to note that this rule on assessors still applies (from full policy): "Inputting any application material into public generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity etc.) is considered by the ARC to constitute a serious breach of confidentiality and is not permitted."

The ARC has changed its generative AI policy, for both applicants and assessors ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub... The basic deal is summarised 👇 Full policy ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/publications...

Once again reminding all academics in the UK that they really, really, really, really should sign up to @alcs.co.uk Lifetime membership is £36 and they take it out of the money they collect for you so it really is "free money". I'm getting a little over £100 *every year*. Do it!

Laura Hadland@morrighani.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Happy Free Money Day to all who celebrate. It's not quite the small fortune that I got last year, but it is still a modest and very welcome fortune to appear out of the ether. Thanks ALCS!

This is Nathan Cavanaugh, another DOGE staffer explaining how he flagged grants at NEH for "DEI" which would be reviewed for termination. 404 Media has reviewed hours of this footage and we'll have more soon. Part of a lawsuit by @acls1919.bsky.social, @modernlanguage.bsky.social + @historians.org

It's now an annual ritual for me. Waiting for the ALCS statement to see what I've earned in secondary and residual royalties from photocopies, libraries, etc. Lowest amount: £18. Largest amount: £1900. If you've got stuff published in the UK and aren't a member of ALCS, you're a chump.

1908: the Lancet, one of the most respected scientific journals, calls for 18 age limit on reading in bed amidst a moral panic surrounding children becoming "addicted" to novels, which were "designed to keep kids hooked" and destroy their attention/mental health

Yesterday, those who teach Intro to Sociology at Florida colleges (as opposed to universities) received a ready-made curriculum from the state and were ordered to teach it. Yes, you read that correctly. The *state* is enforcing a curriculum on college profs, complete w/ the following restrictions:

Discovery Projects are now a complete joke: EoIs were due 12 Dec last year. Full apps are due 22 April this year. Results won't be out until next year: 15 Jan – 15 Apr 2027. That’s up to 16 MONTHS!

ARC’s new schedule is at www.arc.gov.au/funding-rese... It will now take A YEAR, or more, for researchers to know whether their grants are successful or not. For example, early-career researchers are to submit DECRA proposals 11 March this year but they may not be announced 'til 9 March NEXT YEAR!

⁉️The ARC has delayed outcomes of ALL grants 1–4 months & increased scheduled outcome windows from 2 weeks to 3 months! This reverses 4 years of progress in providing greater certainty & ability to plan for researchers, their families & unis. Their excuse? Security checks under new ARC legislation👇

CALL: seminar funding for 2026 The Foundation is inviting submissions for its 2026 Undisciplining Seminar Series exploring who and what sociology is for. Submit your proposal by 31 January for public events focusing on the transformative potential of sociological thinking. ➡️

The Undisciplining Seminar Series 2026 Call for applications

The Sociological Review Foundation invites proposals for its 2026 Undisciplining Seminar Series exploring “Who and what is sociology for?”

buff.ly

#JustPublished in 'Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship': The volume 'Communities of Care in Migration', ed. by @leahmouse.bsky.social and Valerie Francisco-Menchavez. Read, download or purchase the e-book/hardcopy here: shorturl.at/YQThC 20% off with discount code PALAUT. @hss.springernature.com

Dubbo’s first MD grads, trained by @sydney.edu.au, will soon start work. After 4 years of study and care for rural patients, a new doctor tells the #ABC she’s ready to serve in bush communities across Australia. Listen here: bit.ly/3MAOtYN#rura... #MedicalTraining #DubboStream #HealthcareAccess