Nicki
@nickinde.bsky.social
writing about work, exploitation and exhaustion in the Nile Valley. Also union secretary at a Welsh university. No genAI. Direct action may not always work, but it does make you feel better
“Look I am quite capable of destroying higher education *and* kicking trans people in the teeth at the same time and I deserve to be allowed to continue”
Becca Harrison@beccaeharrison.bsky.social · last wk.Bridget Phillipson, reflecting on her years spent standing idly by while UK higher education crumbled into the abyss and tens of thousands of university workers implored her to do something, literally anything, to save their jobs: BUT WHAT ABOUT ME THO www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
what the fuck do you mean "everyone is using AI and nobody admits it." what the fuck do you mean. who are you talking to. you have allowed a demon to devour your soul. begone
1/4 A growing number of higher education institutions are using dirty tactics to undermine staff pension rights, pay and working conditions.
Cardiff Uni have proudly put out press about this to celebrate
elia ayoub@ayoub.bsky.social · 3w agoJesus. 35 UK universities quietly- without debate - joined the Ministry of Defence’s “Battlefield Alliance” which seeks to “reorientate academia towards Defence and National Security” They’re destroying the social sciences and humanities while militarising the institutions
🧵Bittersweet in the bonfire of UKHE, and some personal disappointment from my Uni, but receiving recognition from my peers is the most incredible honor, and I'm lucky in so many ways. A huge thank you to the Social History Society for awarding me the book prize. www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/30...
Cardiff University historian receives award and multiple nominations
Dr David Stefan Doddington has won the Social History Society’s (SHS) Book Prize 2026.
cardiff.ac.uk
6 years of research: "The only trait that consistently predicted objections to remote work was narcissism—the tendency to be self-centered & entitled. The higher the opinions of themselves leaders expressed, the more they coveted power and status—& the more they favored return-to-office mandates."
Today is ten years to the day since my dad died, and I am finding reading this wonderful thread of real computer science comforting. I have some ideas of what he would think of AI code, and I treasure his 1970s programming punch cards. Miss you dad
Jan Gray@jangray.bsky.social · last mo.1978. We sent FORTRAN punched card / optical mark card program decks to run offsite on the one IBM-1130 shared by all high schools in the county. Turnaround time, cards to printout, was 2+ days, so mistakes, debugging, resubmitting was painful. You learned to run substantial programs in your head.
Given ongoing attacks on university staff and research (at @exeter.ac.uk and many other institutions) with arts and humanities, critical social sciences, environmental science and sustainability particular targets, it’s worth resharing ‘Universities Degraded’.
Universities Degraded: Staff Experiences & Employer Practices of Redundancies in UK Higher Education
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Conducted between August and October 2024 and publicised mainly by members of the University and College Union (UCU), the ‘Survey for UCU Members on HE Redundancies’ invited response...
zenodo.org
@exeter.ac.uk is not in deficit, has £200m+ cash reserves, hasn’t invested in white elephants, doesn’t have a recruitment problem, never had 1000s of international students, and deliveres outstanding outcomes in teaching and research. If UEB’s data projects a deficit won’t they share it with UCU?
And now it is Exeter's turn. Along with c.500 other academic staff, mostly in humanities, my job is 'at risk' in order to make c.150 of us redundant 😞
Ben Phillips@benphillips1989.bsky.social · last mo.A statement from Exeter UCU branch @ucu.org.uk - please share far and wide.
A statement from Exeter UCU branch @ucu.org.uk - please share far and wide.
Other kids must study how to survive and work most efficiently within the real world (apprenticing, skills, AI) and their kids must get to explore new intellectual frontiers
Gav Maclean@gavmaclean.bsky.social · 2mo agoUntil we're willing to admit that the kids should be allowed a 3-4 year skive studying something that interests them before having the "real world" happen to them we'll never solve the crisis of universities.
It's never just about saving money, the point of university restructuring is to be cruel and bring about trauma, based on an assumption that traumatized subjects do not fight back.
Plashing Vole@plashingvole.bsky.social · 2mo agoWake up; open email; discover my humane, caring boss has been forced out with no notice; meeting called to announce the next stage of own redundancy process this afternoon. Feels like everything's collapsing round our ears.
The Society now invites applications, from PhD students, for the 2026-27 Martin Lynn Scholarship in African History bit.ly/4xD5ZyN The Scholarship provides funding to support doctoral research in Africa and is named for the late Professor Martin Lynn (QUB). Closing date 4 September #Skystorians 1/2
Martin Lynn Scholarship in African history: applications now invited from PhD students - RHS
Applications are now invited for the Society's annual Martin Lynn Scholarship in African history. The Scholarship supports graduate students undertake doctoral research in Africa during the academic y...
bit.ly
"Cardiff University has admitted that it doesn’t know how much it is spending overall on external consultants or hold a central record of what work they are doing." Staff expenditure: Count every last penny or you may lose your job. Their expenditure: Meh.
Cardiff University criticised over consultant secrecy
Martin Shipton Cardiff University has admitted that it doesn’t know how much it is spending overall on external consultants or hold a central record of what work they are doing. Academic sources have ...
nation.cymru
writing about Rabban Sauma and he is definitely the funniest of the Mongol-era world traveller guys because he literally spends thirty-five years living in a cave and aged 55 or so is like 'well i guess it's time to travel the length of Eurasia.'
This is an incredible win using really powerful strike threat, huge congratulations to @ucuhallam.bsky.social It’s coming for the rest of the sector, and we need to learn faster than the velociraptors
UCU Hallam@ucuhallam.bsky.social · 2mo agoPRESS RELEASE: UCU Hallam secures major win as Sheffield Hallam University drops plans for subsidiary company. See ucuhallam.org/ezm8 for more info.
citizen! to deal with you accordingly we must know - are you holding the firebomb of legitimate concerns, or the placard of illegal opinions?
The Independent@the-independent.com · 2mo ago72 people arrested at protest outside Palestine Action activists’ sentencing
Every staff update in every university right now: 1. We are excited to announce a strategic investment of eleventeen squillion pounds in ACRONYM, a new AI-powered centre for the development of strategic acronyms. 2. Staff have until Friday to apply for enhanced Voluntary Death.
Cory Doctorow was interviewed by Anna Foster on BBC Radio 4 Today on the topic of AI. I've captured a transcript of the questions here in a short thread (with the help of Google AI voice-to-text. Good AI, thank-you.) 1/5
Three quarters of universities in deficit, tens of thousands of jobs being lost, & the government tells us there’s no money. They can, however, find close to the entire budget allocation for teaching from the Office for Students on a private theme park.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2mo agoUK government to pay £1.3bn to help fund Universal Studios theme park in Bedfordshire
Just to note, Cardiff Uni management has paid over £1m to this dangerously bad consultancy in only the last 11 months. At redundancy rates over 2025/26, that’s about 13 full time academics (who are just “costs”)
QM_UCU@qmucu.bsky.social · 2mo agoRelieved to see more coverage of the grip Nous is getting on #UKHE. Thanks @privateeyenews.bsky.social! A million pound @cardiffucu.bsky.social alone. That’s a lot of money for the very same PowerPoint…
Excellent thread on UK uni sector risks, can vouch for the cardiff non-crisis
Andrew McGettigan@amcgettigan.bsky.social · 2mo agothere are other issues in the sector - but this is taxonomy of those facing insolvency. There are also institutions - e.g. Cardiff & Edinburgh - plagued by management paroxysms prompted by status anxiety. Those two have huge cash reserves ...
Horrific. The university executive should not know peace
University of Hertfordshire UCU@uhertfordshireucu.bsky.social · 3mo agoToday staff in the School of Creative Arts, including the Humanities department, were called to a redundancy consultation meeting. We were informed that 23 posts were to go by August this year, with further redundancies as the Humanities programmes are taught out over 2 years.
It must be emphasized that we need powerful, robust ACADEMIC history IN universities to sustain history OUTSIDE universities. If we can’t employ people in higher ed to train future generations of public historians, we will not have future generations of public historians. 🗃️
American Historical Association@historians.org · 3mo agoThe AHA’s report on academic hiring in history for the 2024–25 cycle is now available. Read more in #AHAPerspectives.
Jesus Christ - this is Uni of Herts. Solidarity to all colleagues there.
Owen Davies@odavies9.bsky.social · 3mo agoAye. Heard today that my university is closing UG History, Philosophy, English Lit, Linguistics, and Creative Writing in one go.
15 minutes; no questions; government got the blame; my department to have 60% of us sacked. Apparently sacking us will lead to a ‘new, improved’ curriculum. No voluntary scheme, straight to selection and legal minimum redundancy payment.
everyone is going to be assigned Deleuze and Guattari readings until we figure out what is going on
Just declaring that job security and workable workload are 'simply gone', as if it's some abstract, outside entity has irreversibly imposed that, and not the decisions made by *her* and her team -- and their refusal to actual advocate for what universities are.
University of Nottingham UCU branch@uonucu.bsky.social · 5mo agoJust a quick reminder that our Vice Chancellor said this into a microphone in front of university employees last week and thought nothing of it!