9 martie 2019
Acesta este ultimul weekend in care puteti admira Expozitia de plante exotice din Gradina Botanica Iasi
Astazi, 9 martie, si maine, 10 martie 2019, iesenii pot profita de vremea frumoasa pentru a mai putea admira, in Gradina Botanica„Anastasie Fatu” a Universitatii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” (UAIC) din Iasi, o spectaculoasa expozitie de plante exotice. Aceasta a fost deschisa pe 16 februarie si se incheie maine, duminica, 10 martie, în compartimentele noi ale Complexului de Sere.
Cu acest prilej sunt expuse specii si soiuri cunoscute sau mai putin cunoscute de azalee si camelii, precum si numeroase exemplare de plante originare din zone subtropicale si tropicale.
In cadrul acestei editii, printre exemplarele de plante se vor remarca si animale cu valoare simbolica, realizate cu multa imaginatie de personalul Gradinii Botanice, intr-o forma de arta topiara reinterpretata.
Astfel, printre aranjamentele florale se va remarca cocorul, considerat imagine figurativa care da viata hartiei in Arta origami. Aceasta pasare prezinta semnificatii deosebite, mai ales in cultura si traditiile japonezilor, unde este asociata cu statornicia, fiind considerat simbolul primaverii, al fericirii, al dragostei, al longevitatii, precum si al credintei maritale. Aceste pasari care reflecta ideea de libertate vor fi intr-o armonie desavarsita cu eleganta si rafinamentul exemplarelor de camelii si azalee.
Expozitia va fi deschisa între orele 9:00 – 16:00. Pretul unui bilet de intrare este de cinci lei, iar pentru grupurile organizate este de trei lei. Fotografiatul este liber. Se recomanda utilizarea intrarii in Gradina Botanica din strada Dumbrava Rosie, nr. 7.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
Cele mai provocatoare si de interes proiecte pentru studenti, intr-o editie BZI LIVE alaturi de universitarul Cristiana Istrate – presedintele Consiliului Executiv al Societatii Anteprenoriale Studentesti din Universitatea Tehnica Iasi
Luni, 11 martie 2019, incepand cu ora 15.00, in lumina reflectoarelor Studioului BZI LIVE este programata o noua editie UTILA, ACTUALA si de INTERES pentru toti studentii, nu doar din Centrul Universitar Iasi dar si pentru cei din intreaga Romanie. Astfel, alaturi de conf. univ. dr. ing. Cristiana Istrate, Departamentul Inginerie si Management de la Universitatea Tehnica (TUIASI) Gheorghe Asachi din Iasi respectiv Pesedinte al Consiliului Executiv al Societatii Antreprenoriale Studentesti (SAS) de la Politehnica ieseana vor fi abordate teme ce tin de: proiecte, pe acest segment, destinate tinerilor, competitiile unde acestia pot participa, idei de afaceri penbtru studenti. De asemenea, realitati din zona invatamantului superior, activitati in care este implicata conf. univ. dr. ing. Cristiana Istrate. In acest cintext, de reamintit ca trei echipe ale Universitatii Tehnice au propus proiecte pentru incubatorul educational de afaceri JA Bizz Factory. Si in acest an, patru echipe ale Universitatii iesene s-au înscris în competitia internationala Company of the Year 2019, trei dintre acestea calificându-se în incubatorul educational de afaceri JA BizzFactory. Echipele sunt: „Casa 4.0” – studentii Daniel Movila si Gabriel Radu, ambii de la Facultatea de Arhitectura G.M. Cantacuzino, Mihnea Amihailesei de la Facultatea de Fizica a Universitatii Alexandru Ioan Cuza (UAIC) Iasi si Gabriel Achite, tânar antreprenor, „NSIOS” – studentii Monica Isciuc si Dan Matcas, studenti ai Facultatii de Textile-Pielarie si Management Industrial, „Fantastic Dress” – studentii Ioana Candea, Alexandra Tomache, Alexandru Drutu, Madalina Tiba, de la Facultatea Textile Pielarie si Management Industrial. Primele doua echipe au fost coordonate de catre conf. univ. dr. ing. Cristiana Istrate, în timp ce „Fantastic Dress” a lucrat sub supervizarea sef lucrari dr. ec. Brîndusa Tudose. Competitiile JA sunt cele mai mari competitii europene de antreprenoriat, adresate tinerilor care doresc sa dezvolte un concept de business – competitia JA Business Plan Challenge 2019 – si sa îl testeze ulterior pe piata prin lansarea si conducerea unei afaceri pilot sau a unui start-up – competitia JA Company of the Year 2019. Anul acesta finala nationala Company of the Year va avea loc pe 22 mai 2019, la Bucuresti, iar cea internationala Europe Enterprise Challenge in perioada 24 – 26 iunie 2019, Oslo, Norvegia. Anul trecut, echipa BIONIX formata din studentii Corina Cristina Croitoru de la Facultatea Textile Pielarie si Management Industrial si Bogdan Nacu de la Facultatea de Automatica si Calculatoare, coordonata de catre conf. univ. dr. ing. Cristiana Istrate, a câstigat locul al doilea în cadrul finalei nationale a competitiei internationale. Colaborarea dintre TUIASI si JA România se deruleaza în cadrul proiectului Universitatea Antreprenoriala.
Toti cei care doresc sa adreseze intrebari conf. univ. dr. ing. Cristiana Istrate, o pot face la rubrica de comentarii sau in direct, accesand pagina de facebook.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
”Licenta bate la usa” – proiect organizat de Asociatia Studentilor Psihologi si Psihopedagogi
Cioc cioc! Asociatia Studentilor Psihologi si Psihopedagogi deschide usa proiectului ”Licenta bate la usa” in perioada 13-15 martie 2019. Cursantii Facultatii de Psihologie si Stiinte ale Educatiei sunt invitati in cele trei zile in corpul D al Universitatii ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, in sala D208, incepand cu ora 20:00, sa afle cum poate fi structurata si construita o licenta de 10. De asemenea, ei vor fi informati despre sursele din care se pot inspira dar si despre erorile pe care ar trebui sa le evite in redactarea lucrarii. In prima seara va prezenta Lect. Univ. Dr. Andrei Marian, in a doua vor veni masterandele Sima Andreea- Mihaela si Hasnas Alexandra- Maria, iar proiectul se va incheia cu seara de vineri in care va lua cuvantul Asist. Univ. Dr. Papusoi Simona. Intrarea va fi libera iar rezervarile se pot face la numerele de telefon 0751785637 si 0757470705.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
Sa nu ne uitam eroii! Ziua fostilor detinuti politici anticomunisti, comemorata de Liga Studentilor Iasi
Liga Studentilor (LS IASI) si Asociatia Fostilor Detinuti Politici din Romania (AFDPR) – filiala Iasi organizeaza sambata, 9 martie, de la ora 12:30, comemorarea anuala a fostilor detinuti politici si luptatori anticomunisti, la monumentul inchinat acestora, langa Biserica Metocul Maicilor de pe bulevardul Independentei. LS invita pe toti cei care vor sa-i comemoram pe cei care si-au dat viata in lagare, inchisori sau in munti pentru demnitatea neamului si apararea credintei stramosesti. In semn de respect, la eveniment puteti depune coroane, flori si candele..
La data de 9 martie, cand Biserica face praznuirea Sfintilor 40 de Mucenici din Sevastia, sunt comemorate victimele regimului comunist din Romania. Biserica „Sf. Parascheva” – Metocul Maicilor a fost unul dintre locurile reprezentative ale rezistentei anticomuniste a studentilor si elevilor ieseni, acestea fiind adapostiti si ajutati permanent in acei ani tulburi de preotul paroh Ioan Tatulea, fost detinut politic anticomunist la randul sau. La manifestare vor fi prezenti fosti detinuti politici care au supravietuit regimului comunist si reprezentanti ai autoritatilor locale.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
Universitatea Tehnica din Iasi, partener solid al Scolii Doctorale Europene
În urma intalnirii din data de 4 martie 2019 a grupului de lucru de la Scoala Doctorala Europeana, coordonata de Colegiul European de Securitate si Aparare, Universitatea Tehnica (TUIASI) „Gheorghe Asachi” din Iasi a fost admisa ca membru.
Astfel, cadrele didactice ale Politehnicii iesene vor face parte din echipe complexe ce vor oferi un program suplimentar de training specializat, pe langa activitatea desfasurata de doctoranzi la universitatile din tara din care provin, si vor oferi sprijin pentru teze inter si pluridisciplinare.
TUIASI va sprijini desfasurarea activitatii acestei institutii cu formatori pe cinci domenii, cu mai multe subcategorii, de la noile tehnologii, securitate, tehnologia informatiei, calculatoare, infrastructura, personal si logistica de aparare, industria si capacitatile de aparare, guvernare, management, economie si finante din domeniul apararii.
„Raspunsul primit, in decurs de cateva zile de la depunerea scrisorii de intentie a Universitatii noastre de a adera la European Doctoral School on the Common Security and Defence Policy reprezinta o confirmare a valorii si, implicit, a expertizei Politehnicii iesene in domeniile de interes incluse in structura acestui organism. In urma discutiilor purtate saptamana trecuta cu colegi din universitate, am concluzionat ca putem contribui cu mentori si coordonatori ai programelor doctorale in sase domenii conexe securitatii societatii in ansamblul ei. In acest mod, am considerat propunerea noastra, acceptata de CSDPDocSch, faptul ca avem competentele in securitate cibernetica (asociate domeniilor IT, comunicatii, electronica), securitatea constructiilor, sisteme de aparare (cu conexiuni cu ingineria mecanica, ingineria industriala, inginerie chimica, ingineria mediului), management al riscului. In mod evident, in functie de desfasurarea ulterioara a activitatilor din cadrul acestei retele de Scoli Doctorale Europene, dorim sa implicam cat mai multi colegi de-ai nostri in activitatile aferente. Sunt convins ca aderarea noastra la European Doctoral School on CSPD poate crea cadrul extinderii colaborarilor la nivel academic cu alte institutii europene si poate crea premisele solicitarii si, implicit, al recunoasterii specialistilor din Politehnica ieseana in domeniul asigurarii securitatii in diversele ei valente”, a declarat prof. univ. dr. ing. Dan Cascaval, rectorul Universitatii Tehnice.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
Permise gratuite la BCU pentru studenţii fără posibilităţi financiare
În cadrul unui parteneriat încheiat între Centrul de Învăţare al Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza“ din Iaşi şi Biblioteca Centrală Universitară „Mihai Eminescu“ Iaşi, 70 de studenţi cu posibilităţi materiale reduse, dar cu rezultate universitare foarte bune, de la toate cele 15 facultăţi, vor primi permise de bibliotecă gratuite.
Vineri, 8 martie 2019, la ora 12.30, a avut loc în Sala Senatului UAIC o întâlnire între studenţii beneficiari şi conducerile UAIC şi BCU. Au participat la eveniment prof.dr. Mihaela Onofrei – ordonator de credite al UAIC, conf.dr. Ioan Milică, director general al BCU, lect.dr. Bogdan Constantin Neculau – coordonator Centrul de învăţare al UAIC, Ioana Gafton, coordonator activităţi la unitatea centrală a BCU şi Ivona Olariu– coordonator activităţi filiale BCU.
„Proiectul acesta este oportun şi bine primit de către studenţi. Ne dorim să continue şi, din ce am discutat iniţiativa se va permanentiza. Mai mult, în urma acestei colaborări foarte bune, vor fi dezvoltate şi alte tipuri de activităţi“, a declarat prof.dr. Mihaela Onofrei, ordonator de credite al UAIC.
Directorul BCU a precizat că Biblioteca sprijină activităţile organizate la noul centru de învăţare, şi că îşi doresc să extindă parteneriatul şi către celelalte universităţi din Iaşi.
„La început de primăvară, ne bucurăm să împărtăşim cu proaspeţii noştri cititori resursele de care dispunem şi ne păstrăm încrederea că frecventarea bibliotecii le va fi de folos“, a precizat conf.dr. Ioan Milică.
Studenţii au apreciat iniţiativa instituţiilor, specificând faptul că îşi doresc să citească mai ales în contextul în care accesul la tehnologie, cred ei, le suprimă plăcerea de a citi.
„Încurajez toţi studenţii să frecventeze Centrul de învăţare, pentru că acolo vor găsi specialişti şi colegi dispuşi să îi ajute să devină mai buni“, a precizat Monica Georgiana Musteaţă, studentă la Facultate de Chimie, anul al doilea.
Cei 70 de beneficiari ai abonamentelor de bibliotecă gratuite sunt studenţi de la toate cele 15 facultăţi ale UAIC. Fiecare facultate a propus între 5 şi 7 studenţi, iar selecţia finală s-a realizat în funcţie de trei criterii: posibilităţile materiale, performanţa universitară şi implicarea în activităţile Centrului de învăţare al UAIC. Aceştia îşi vor ridica de luni permisele.
Publicație : Ziarul de Iași și Bună Ziua Iași
Concurs de idei IT la „Innovation Labs“. Prototipurile, prezentate la Demo Day
Studenţii ieşeni care îşi doresc să dezvolte un produs tech alături de mentori, antreprenori şi specialişti în ICT şi business se pot înscrie la programul de pre-accelerare pentru startup-uri tehnice „Innovation Labs 2019“.
Programul din Iaşi se va desfăşura în perioada 9 martie – 20 mai 2019 şi este susţinut de Universitatea Tehnică „Gheorghe Asachi“ şi Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza“.
Ediţia din acest an urmăreşte şapte direcţii de dezvoltare, „Agriculture“, „Cyber-Security“, „Fintech“, „Health & Lifestyle“, „Retail“, „Smart Cities“ şi „Smart Mobility“.
Innovation Labs este structurat în trei etape: Hackathon, Boost Day şi Demo Day. Mai exact, la hackathon-ul iniţial, care durează 24 de ore, echipele îşi pot contura ideile, pe care le vor susţine în faţa juriului şi a publicului şi obţin feedback de la mentori.
„Tinerii pornesc de la o idee pe care o rafinează în cadrul programului de mentorat şi o transformă treptat într-un prototip viabil şi persuasiv, cu aplicaţii în piaţă. Cele mai bune echipe vor continua să îşi dezvolte produsele în cadrul programului de mentorat din martie până în mai, prin întâlniri săptămânale cu specialişti de top din industria ICT şi din business. Împreună cu mentorii, tinerii îşi vor consolida şi testa prototipul iniţial pentru a obţine un produs funcţional şi validat cu clienţi reali“, au explicat organizatorii.
Apoi, echipele îşi vor prezenta prototipurile finale pe 20 mai la Demo Day, în faţa juriului, a potenţialilor investitori, parteneri, dar şi mass-media, având şansa de a câştiga atenţia unor finanţatori, parteneri şi noi utilizatori.
Publicație : Ziarul de Iași
Comunitatea academică ieşeană a lansat o petiţie pentru apărarea statului de drept
Conştienţi de faptul că „atacul asupra justiţiei reprezintă începutul alunecării României către un sistem oligarhic, iliberal, în care întreaga putere va aparţine unui grup restrâns de persoane, după modele deja consacrate în ţări din estul Europei, America Latină, Africa şi Asia”, iniţiatorii petiţiei fac un apel public către cetăţenii României de a se implica, prin mijloacele legale şi democratice garantate de Constituţie, în apărarea statului de drept, a democraţiei şi a valorilor europene
Potrivit unui apel public lansat de comunitatea academică din Iaşi, „asupra statului de drept are loc un asalt continuu”, de peste doi ani, odată cu adoptarea de către Guvernul României a Ordonanţei de Urgenţă nr. 13, „sub pretextul amendării legislaţiei penale şi de organizare a sistemului judiciar.
În petiţie se menţionează faptul că, de la începutul lunii februarie 2017, numeroase organizaţii nonguvernamentale, asociaţii profesionale şi grupuri cetăţeneşti au cerut, prin apeluri publice şi proteste de stradă, „oprirea acestei agresiuni, care ameninţă fundamentele sistemului politic, ordinea constituţională şi viitorul societăţii noastre”. „În loc să abandoneze un demers profund toxic, coaliţia actuală de guvernare a trecut la modificarea brutală, fără o consultare autentică a magistraţilor, a partidelor de opoziţieşi a opiniei publice, a cadrului legal privind organizarea sistemului judiciar, îndeosebi a legislaţiei referitoare la combaterea corupţiei”, se mai arată în petiţie.
Iniţiatorii numesc demersul Guvernului drept o „operă de inginerie legislativă”,şi o plasează „la limita prevederilor Constituţiei, aşa cum reiese inclusiv din decizii ale Curţii Constituţionale, din care au rezultat legi, ordonanţe sau hotărâri de guvern”.
Aceştia consideră că „se anulează, în fapt, independenţa justiţiei în raport cu puterea politică şi face aproape imposibilă lupta împotriva celui mai periculos flagel care macină societatea românească, corupţia”. „În mod natural, cele mai multe dintre prevederi au fost respinse atât în fond, cât şi în formă de comunităţile profesionale din justiţie, de opinia publică naţională, precumşi de organismele internaţionale din care România este parte”, mai spun iniţiatorii petiţiei.
Conform legii, autorităţile publice sunt obligate să răspundă petiţiei în termen de 30 de zile de la înregistrarea ei în documentele autorităţii vizate, indiferent dacă soluţia este favorabilă sau nefavorabilă.
Grupul de iniţiativă al comunităţii academice ieşene care a semnat acest apel este format din Flavius Solomon – istoric, Eugen Vărvărucă – matematician, Alexandru Călinescu (foto) – istoric literar, Gelu Bourceanu – chimist, Florea Ioncioaia – istoric, jurnalist, Răzvan Socolov – medic, Cezar Catrinescu – chemist
Publicație : Evenimentul
Târg de joburi IT pentru studenţi şi absolvenţi organizat în Capitală
Duminică, 10 martie, Facultatea de Automatică şi Calculatoare reprezintă, pentru a doua zi consecutiv, locul în care se desfăşoară cel mai mare eveniment de carieră din domeniul de IT adresat studenţilor şi absolvenţilor, târgul de joburi IT&C.
Târgul IT&C este organizat de către LSAC Bucureşti, o organizaţie care reprezintă drepturile şi interesele studenţilor din Facultatea de Automatică şi Calculatoare şi Universitatea Politehnica Bucureşti.
Programul târgului pentru astăzi este între orele 10:00 – 17:00, timp în care cei tinerii pasionaţi de domeniul IT pot trece pe la standurile companiilor şi se pot bucura de surprizele pregătite de către organizatori.
Târgul reprezintă un mod prin care tinerii pot lua contact direct cu membrii companiilor din domeniul IT&C şi afla ofertele de muncă disponibile. Printre companiile care îşi prezintă oferta de joburi se numără Avira, Luxoft, Deloitte, Genpact, Orange, Vodafone, Lenovo, ING, Thales.
Evenimentul cuprinde şi o serie de concursuri, venite din partea companiilor, prin care acestea vor testa participanţii prezenţi. Organizatorii se aşteaptă la câteva mii de studenţi care să vină la târg.
Conform Institutului de Statistica, în IT se înregistrează cel mai mare salariu mediu net pe economie: 6.888 de lei.
Publicație : Adevărul
University careers fairs are failing black students
Cage Boons explains why he and other University of Hertfordshire students decided to run their own careers fair for ethnic minority undergraduates
I should be in the library working on my final philosophy assignments but instead I am conducting health and safety assessments, checking logistics and putting up posters.
And I couldn’t be more satisfied with my decision. That is because next week will be a highlight of my University of Hertfordshire journey – heading up a team of students who have organised our first BAME [Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic] careers event – created by and for BAME students.
I know that career offices in other universities put on BAME careers events, but we didn’t want to do that.
I – and the other BAME advocates from the Schools of Education, Business and Law – felt that for this to work, it had to be created by students for students because we had unique insight, which staff didn’t, into our aspirations.
As students we are best equipped to know what works for us. It is great to have staff support, but there is a generational, age and culture gap. For instance, my family had to leave Liberia because of the civil war. We fled to the Netherlands and then on to Britain. I am the first member of my family to go to university. That makes my life experience very different from most of my peers.
This is why I am so ambitious to have a career. I remember going to a humanities careers fair and out of the companies that I was keen on, not one person on those stalls had a familiar face.
There is nothing wrong with that but from a confidence and self-esteem perspective, you want to see people like you in the places that you want to go because it allows you to picture yourself doing a job like that.
It was disheartening. It put doubts in my mind as to whether I could be successful. I am not saying that there is discrimination, but I did think about how I would fit in, who my role models would be. I came away from those events feeling less confident than before I went in.
I spoke to other BAME students in Humanities and other Schools – about 30 in all – and they felt the same: that there was a lack of representation.
It was as though we had all been thinking it but had never really said it. So a year ago, I talked to the other BAME advocates and they were like, yeah, let’s go for it, even though we all knew that it would be a lot of work.
But it had to be led by students because when students see people like them, with the same deadlines, stress, reading lists, putting this on they realise it is worth the effort and want to come along. So one of the things that we have done is to start the event with a panel of alumni from the university who have succeeded but are not that much older than us.
I know that it sounds like we didn’t involve staff but we needed their help for this to happen. Widening participation gave us the funds, and staff have acted as our mentors, helping us to work out how to study, work and organise this as well.
They have attended our weekly morning meetings and helped us with all the processes and logistics – things that none of us knew we even had to know about. My tutors in the School of Humanities have been so supportive because they also realise how important it is that this is led by students. I was applying for internships at the same time too, so it has been very full-on. Fortunately I have now secured one in banking.
With two weeks to go, we were almost at our capacity of 200 in terms of people signing up.
But it is only when we have had the introductory session and I am sitting down, listening to that panel of successful BAME people and seeing other students equally enthusiastic, that I will relax.
Publicație : The Times
‘Sea change’ raises tide of Australian university fundraising
Institutions’ philanthropy heads lift their sights as campaigns exceed expectations
Philanthropy has come of age in Australian higher education as universities harness their scale and focus on real-world outcomes to overcome the handicap of youth.
Administrators at the research-intensive Group of Eight universities say that altruism can help to fill the gap left by the predicted downturn of the country’s A$35 billion (£19 billion) international education industry, with fundraising hauls of A$100 million a year – unthinkable a few years ago – becoming routine.
The country’s two oldest institutions, the universities of Melbourne and Sydney, initiated the trend in 2013 with their “Believe” and “Inspired” campaigns, chasing targets of A$500 million and A$600 million, respectively. Both unveiled the initiatives when they had already half-achieved their goals, like buskers who inspire confidence by partially filling guitar cases with their own coins.
Within a few years, both universities had met their targets early and set revised goals of A$1 billion, with each claiming that it was rolling out the biggest philanthropic campaign in Australian history. Sydney announced that it had reached the milestone on 30 January.
In 2017, the University of Western Australia revealed that it had achieved the A$400 million target of its “New Century” campaign seven months ahead of deadline, with its fundraising bookended by two A$65 million donations from local mining magnate Andrew Forrest.
The same year, the University of Queensland announced its A$500 million “Not If, When” campaign, adding that the target had already been half-achieved since a 2013 “internal launch”. UNSW Sydney is expected to follow suit within the next 18 months, setting a higher figure.
The University of Adelaide declared that it would seek increased philanthropic support as part of a new strategic plan unveiled on 4 March. The Australian National University said that planning was “well under way” for a major fundraising campaign after the February recruitment of Barbara Miles, long-serving head of alumni engagement at the University of British Columbia.
In 2013, ANU pocketed a A$50 million donation from Australian entrepreneur Graham Tuckwell – then the largest individual gift ever to an Australian university – and it knocked back a potential A$60 million windfall last year when it rejected an agreement with the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation.
Non-Go8 universities have also benefited from philanthropic largesse. In 2009, Queensland University of Technology received A$25 million from the US philanthropist Chuck Feeney – part of more than A$500 million the duty-free shopping magnate reportedly doled out to Australian universities over many years.
Last year, La Trobe University received A$30 million from an anonymous donor – helping the Victorian institution to reach a A$50 million campaign goal and to set a new A$100 million target – with Southern Cross and Western Sydney universities obtaining individual donations of A$10 million each.
In October, Monash University launched its campaign – dubbed “Change it. For good” – having already amassed more than A$300 million of the A$500 million it aspires to raise by the end of 2022. It was also about halfway to achieving its targets of 50,000 donors and 200 new bequests.
Last year alone, Monash raised a record A$95 million – more than two and a half times the A$37 million that it netted in 2013, when chief philanthropy officer Marcus Ward joined Monash from a similar position at Queen’s University Belfast.
The 2018 contributions came from just over 6,000 donors, up from about 1,000 five years earlier. Monash collected A$46 million in eight “principal gifts” worth A$1 million or more each, up from three large donations totalling A$4 million in 2013. The number of individual benefactors giving at least A$100,000 had more than doubled to almost 50.
Mr Ward said that the universities of Sydney and Melbourne had unleashed a “sea change” in Australian philanthropy. “When they went public in 2013, no one anticipated that they would be not only hitting the A$100 million mark but hitting it regularly,” he said.
While universities such as Oxford and Harvard boast enormous endowments amassed over centuries, Mr Ward said that Australian universities had the attributes to “accelerate ahead” – including hundreds of thousands of alumni, many of them in Asia. “We’re able to go to those areas where you’re seeing significant increases in wealth, but also the changing demands of society in which philanthropy will need to play a part,” he explained.
Mr Ward said that although there had been a “backlash” against the huge central endowments of North American universities, Australian universities had avoided this by tying donations to specific research outcomes.
“Gone are the days when the vice-chancellor said, ‘These are my top three priorities’ – where the philanthropist handed over the cheque and said, ‘Do with this as you see fit.’”
Mr Ward knew of no British or Irish universities that, like Australian institutions, set targets for donors as well as donations. “We value the act of giving as much as the value of the gift,” he said.
Publicație : The Times
Universities fear ‘biased results’ of industry-funded research
Europe-wide temperature check of university-business interactions unearths concerns over loss of curiosity-led research
European universities must be watchful that their increasing dependence on industry for research funding does not lead to “biased results” and the undermining of other “curiosity-driven” scholarship, a new report says.
The caution is referenced in an extensive report undertaken by the European University Association, The Role of Universities in Regional Innovation Ecosystems.
Nine universities from nine European countries were selected to reflect a diverse snapshot of regional landscapes, with each institution providing an in-depth account of the kinds of interactions they had with local industry partners.
Universities were selected on the basis that they were “known to be competitive” in research and innovation, and were asked in-depth questions about their particular challenges, assets and strategies in this area.
Report author Sybille Reichert, former chancellor of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, concludes that in all cases, “universities have seen an increase of industry-funded research, but not in public funding for curiosity-driven research”.
Universities across Europe face increasing pressure to work more collaboratively with private companies in order to meet national research and economic goals. Since 2017, the UK government has urged universities to follow its industrial strategy agenda, and will assess institutions’ commercial collaborations under a new knowledge exchange framework.
Last month, the German and French economics ministers announced a joint industrial policy, the “Franco-German Manifesto”, which has a focus on university-industry collaboration with a view to strengthening European competitiveness.
The research culture is changing, Dr Reichert notes, but the impact this had on funding balances was seen as “a potential problem for future innovation” by universities but also by businesses.
“There are fears that increasing dependence on industry-funded research will lead to a higher risk of biased results as well as potential of scientific breakthroughs driven by curiosity-based research being undermined, which in turn would prevent more radical forms of innovation,” she says.
Where once basic and applied research were widely understood as separate practices, the two approaches are now “generally seen as part of a mutually reinforcing whole”, Dr Reichert notes. As such, innovation was no longer viewed as a “linear process” and collaborators recognise that differing approaches could “stimulate and enhance” each other.
Given that many university-industry collaborative projects are formed under a requirement to develop a specific, commercial product, however, “curiosity-based” work risked being ignored, should governments view successful industry collaborations as an excuse to relax their own support.
Thomas Jorgensen, senior policy coordinator at EUA, told Times Higher Education that this was “a worry for many places” visited for the purposes of the study.
“We know from other work that these indicators [such as patents and research contracts] are used in many countries across Europe for assessing or even funding universities, and the discourse is certainly there across the board that research should be almost immediately usable for commercial purposes,” he said.
“There are a lot of political ambitions out there supporting disruptive innovation. However, if you want that disruptive innovation, you cannot demand immediate impact and measure the patents and research contracts for success…you have to have stable funding and assessment of research that allows space for curiosity.
“We need to better acknowledge that having a knowledge base driven by curiosity is something that needs appropriate investment.”
Publicație : The Times
We can do more to fix vocational education’s image problem
Degree apprenticeships are helping to alter perceptions of earn-as-you-learn courses, but universities must demonstrate their value to students and employers, says Jane Turner
We read this week that apprenticeships are still viewed by many as a poor substitute for university, with parents and teachers less likely to encourage young people to take the apprenticeship route.
It is fair to say that apprenticeships still suffer an image problem.
With the number of approved apprentice providers – many with no track record of delivering training – almost tripling in recent years, it is little wonder that many young people are unsure whether the apprentice route is the best route for career progression.
A study by the Social Mobility Commission released in December has shown that people under the age of 25 are least likely to see the value in apprenticeships – that is a perception we need to change.
Universities need to work harder to demonstrate the value of the degree apprenticeship, despite it being almost three years since the government rolled out this new qualification in partnership with institutions.
As educators, the benefits of degree apprenticeships are obvious to us. They are co-designed with industry to maximise the benefits for both students and employers and can be paid for from apprenticeship levy contributions.
As pro vice-chancellor for enterprise and business engagement at Teesside University, I am extremely focused on ensuring that what we deliver is relevant and of an extremely high quality. We are committed to helping businesses in the Tees Valley and beyond thrive and prosper and that can only happen with people learning the right skills to enable them to perform to the highest standard in their job roles.
When degree apprenticeships were launched in 2015, we grasped the mantle, recognising this important approach to skills development, and its particular impact in driving economic growth in the Tees Valley.
The co-creation with industry ensures that apprentices are learning the necessary skills to make an impact in the workplace.
We have worked collaboratively with our partners in industry to demonstrate the benefits – and Higher and Degree Apprenticeships are now key offerings at Teesside University, with qualifications in health, digital technology, business management, science, engineering and design.
And our ambitions to ensure high quality have been realised. In January this year, Teesside University was among the first higher education institutions in the country to have its apprenticeship provision subject to a full inspection by Ofsted. And we are delighted to have been rated “Outstanding” across the board.
We are fully aware of the increasing pressures placed upon the higher education sector, yet the Ofsted inspection process, which is extremely rigorous, helps to clearly identify high-quality providers. An important marker for those deciding where to study.
As more and more universities start to enhance their higher and degree apprenticeship provision, the rigorous and robust Ofsted scrutiny shines a very clear light on those that are exemplars in this space.
Teesside University’s “Outstanding” rating places us in an enviable position, and is a positive outcome for the sector.
It was one year ago that the Educating the North Northern Power House Report was published, which stated that the North could be the “world’s leading centre for degree apprenticeships”.
That is exactly what we are striving to become.
We hear time and time again in surveys and in conversations with employers that there is a skills gap and higher and degree apprenticeships, when delivered in the right way, can absolutely plug that skills gap.
Businesses that embrace higher and degree apprenticeships will develop a more highly skilled workforce – the impact that this has on productivity cannot be underestimated. Evidence shows that highly skilled employees are better engaged, more productive and motivated, ultimately benefitting the organisation.
Publicație : The Times
Réveil écologique: un débat houleux entre des étudiants et plusieurs ministres
REPORTAGE – Un grand débat a réuni jeudi soir trois ministres, des directeurs de grandes écoles et chefs d’entreprises, et 180 des signataires du manifeste étudiant pour un réveil écologique.
Ils sont à Polytechnique, HEC, Centrale, l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, Les Mines, AgroParisTech, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne ou Sciences Po. Ils sont les futurs «premiers de cordée» de la nation, et ce jeudi soir, ils sont réunis pêle-mêle dans l’amphithéâtre de l’ESCP, porteurs d’un message sans équivoque: la planète se meurt, «et nos sociétés continuent leurs trajectoires vers une catastrophe environnementale et humaine.» Ce soir, l’heure est aux explications. Face à eux, ce sont trois ministres, trois directeurs de grandes écoles, et quatre chefs d’entreprise qui s’apprêtent à répondre à leurs revendications.
Tout a commencé en novembre dernier, quand une poignée d’étudiants de grandes écoles du plateau de Saclay, (HEC, Polytechnique, l’Agro ou encore l’ENS) ont décidé de lancer un «manifeste étudiant pour le réveil écologique». Le texte a recueilli plus de 26 000 signatures d’étudiants en France. Cet engouement a poussé les auteurs du manifeste à saisir l’occasion du grand débat national pour organiser la rencontre entre 180 des étudiants signataires et des représentants de grandes entreprises, responsables académiques et personnalités politiques de premier plan.
Des questions sans détour
Sous les salves d’applaudissements, François de Rugy, ministre de la transition écologique et solidaire, Brune Poirson, sa secrétaire d’État, et Frédérique Vidal, ministre de l’enseignement supérieur, rejoignent le devant de la scène où se tiennent les autres invités. Réglé comme du papier à musique, le programme conçu par les élèves organisateurs se déploie sans aucune fausse note, hormis le léger retard des membres du gouvernement. Tour à tour, les étudiants se lèvent et posent avec assurance leurs questions, élaborées juste avant cette «séance plénière», par groupes de réflexions auxquels se sont joints certains des invités.
À l’issue du débat, François de Rugy parle longuement avec des étudiants.
Comment éviter que le gouvernement, les entreprises et les consommateurs se renvoient continuellement la balle? Comment refonder le système économique pour favoriser les circuits courts et réduire notre consommation? Ou encore, comment transformer les programmes scolaires dès l’école primaire pour sensibiliser les jeunes aux défis écologiques, et rendre les citoyens plus concernés? Autant de préoccupations au cœur du manifeste signé par les étudiants.
Un début de débat encourageant
La séance plénière commence par des échanges cordiaux, les invités ne tarissent pas d’éloges sur l’audace des étudiants, Frédérique Vidal affirme que ce que les jeunes évoquent «est essentiel». «En tant qu’ancienne prof, vous n’imaginez pas le nombre de fois où je suis repassée dans les bâtiments vides en fin de journée pour éteindre les lumières», assure-t-elle d’un ton compatissant.
« Il faut apprendre à collaborer, ce qui nécessite de sortir de ses postures »Brune Poirson, secrétaire d’État au ministère de la transition écologique.
Lorsque Marion, étudiante à l’ESCP Europe, exhorte les invités à une «responsabilité partagée» et invite l’État à davantage «promouvoir l’innovation» pour favoriser les initiatives écologiques, on lui répond que dans les pays du Nord les consommateurs achètent volontiers des «bons produits» proposés par les entreprises sans soutien majeur de l’État. Brune Poirson reconnaît de son côté qu’il faut «redéfinir les rôles, apprendre à collaborer, ce qui nécessite de sortir de ses postures, un défi pas toujours facile».
Les échanges s’enveniment, les étudiants repartent frustrés
Ce n’est qu’au bout d’une heure que le ton monte soudain, lorsque Vincianne, étudiante à HEC Paris, prend la parole. «On a l’impression qu’on est tous d’accord, c’est super. Mais alors pourquoi concrètement, ça n’avance pas?», déclare la jeune fille d’un ton calme pétrifiant les invités sur leur tabouret. «Je suis sûre que vous êtes sincères, mais nous avons besoin d’actes qui vont avec ces belles paroles», ajoute-t-elle. Une clameur monte du public, les étudiants applaudissent à tout rompre. C’est Carolle Le Gall, directrice générale France réseaux Engie et représentante de la commission transition écologique du Medef, qui se risque à reprendre la main: «Il faut pour l’avenir développer une compétence en T, qui vous donne un langage commun, pour co-construire des projets dans cette vision holistique». «Facile de répondre à côté de la question», chuchote Thomas à son voisin au premier rang.
« Vous, membres de la sphère privée, qu’allez vous dire au prochain comité exécutif de ces échanges ? »Charlotte, étudiante à l’Essec
Le ton se fait plus accusateur dans les questions qui suivent: «Quand est-ce que ce sera pénalisé de beaucoup polluer? Quand l’État va-t-il sortir son grand bulldozer pour véritablement informer les citoyens sur l’écologie dès le plus jeune âge?» lance Amaury, élève aux Mines de Paris. «Vous, membres de la sphère privée, qu’allez vous dire au prochain comité exécutif de ces échanges?», interroge Charlotte, élève à l’Essec. «Si vous voulez nous aider à faire bouger les choses, vous êtes les bienvenus chez nous», assure Philippe Luscan, le directeur industriel de Sanofi. «Continuez votre mobilisation, mais je vous invite à aller encore plus loin, déclare Brune Poirson plus encline à séduire son auditoire… Lorsque j’ai parlé de votre manifeste lors d’un dîner avec des banquiers, et que je leur ai dit que vous seriez réticents à intégrer les entreprises si elles étaient trop peu engagées pour l’écologie, ils se sont glacés sur place. Ils ont besoin de vous!»
L’équipe du manifeste compte de nouveaux membres depuis novembre dernier.
À l’issue de la séance, les élèves ne cachent pas leur frustration. «J’ai adoré être ici, mais je me demande ce qu’ils vont faire de ces échanges», confie Mirella, étudiante à Néoma. «On a l’impression qu’il existe un décalage entre ce que portent les étudiants et le gouvernement», déclare Sébastien, élève à centrale et organisateur. «Ils nous prennent un peu pour des enfants», considère son acolyte Rebecca, en master développement durable à HEC. Brune Poirson, dont le discours un peu «plus sincère» en a convaincu certains, sort satisfaite de cet échange: «Ce débat était très intéressant, il faut que ces étudiants poursuivent leur démarche, même si tout ne se réglera pas d’un coup». La salle se vide peu à peu, François de Rugy poursuit une longue discussion avec des élèves qui l’encerclent. Pour tous ces jeunes réunis ce soir, le combat continue.
Publicație : Le Figaro
Les jeunes diplômés en « philo pour l’entreprise » tissent leur toile
Questionner l’innovation, répondre au besoin de sens des jeunes cadres… Autant de défis pour lesquels sont sollicités des consultants en philosophie, formés à l’université. La pratique, qui reste marginale, tend à se développer.
Vaste bâtiment de style industriel, le Centquatre hébergeait autrefois les pompes funèbres de la Ville de Paris. Il abrite aujourd’hui des activités plus joyeuses – expositions, concerts, danse. Et aussi un incubateur de start-up. A l’entrée, une machine au minois animal monté sur un bras articulé accueille le visiteur. « C’est un robot social, précise Julien de Sanctis. Il est capable de lire le comportement de son interlocuteur et de s’y adapter pour donner une sensation d’empathie, et il apprend les contenus que les humains avec qui il entre en contact lui transmettent. » Contrairement aux apparences, le jeune homme n’est pas concepteur de robots mais… philosophe.
Ce jeune doctorant est l’un des premiers salariés recrutés par la jeune pousse Spoon, à l’origine de l’automate. Ses missions sont multiples : définir les valeurs de l’entreprise, réfléchir sur les questions éthiques posées par l’intelligence artificielle, en passant par l’organisation de « midis philo » pour ses collègues.
« En fait, mon rôle est d’interroger : de quelles valeurs et de quel modèle sociétal veut-on que le robot soit le reflet ? Puis de formuler des recommandations pour que cela se retrouve dans le produit et dans le management », résume Julien de Sanctis, diplômé du master Ethires de l’université Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne, spécialisé dans la formation de « philosophe d’entreprise ». En convention industrielle de formation par la recherche (Cifre) chez Spoon, il prépare une thèse à l’université de technologie de Compiègne sur l’éthique appliquée à la robotique sociale.
Aujourd’hui, une poignée d’établissements – comme l’Université catholique de Lyon – proposent ce type de cursus. Créé il y a neuf ans, le master 2 Ethires de la Sorbonne est l’un des plus anciens. Son objectif : former des personnes qui vont « accompagner les organisations – entreprises, collectivités, ONG… – dans la prise de décision et la recherche de stratégies qui respectent les nouvelles exigences sociétales et environnementales ».
Des formations à la réflexion
Les étudiants philosophes mènent pendant l’année scolaire des « missions entreprise » : depuis la création du master, ils ont travaillé pour l’Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris sur la responsabilité des médecins face à l’utilisation de substances illicites par des patients pour apaiser la douleur, ou avec la RATP sur la transformation de la relation client. « Cela permet aux étudiants de se familiariser avec les codes et acteurs de l’entreprise. Pour les organisations, c’est l’occasion d’être un peu bousculées dans le regard sur leurs pratiques », explique Marie Garrau, responsable de ce master.
Publicație : Le Monde
Numero chiuso in università: ecco le date dei test
Ma gli studenti protestano: „Via le barriere d’accesso”
Mentre è ancora aperta la polemica su Medicina – con una proposta di apertura sperimentale avanzata dal rettore di Ferrara – è uscito il calendario dei test per i corsi a numero chiuso a livello nazionale. Date molto attese dagli studenti. Il test di Medicina e Odontoiatria sarà il 3 settembre (il 12 quello in lingua inglese), quello di Veterinaria il 4. Il 5 settembre è in programma la prova per Architettura. E ancora: l’11 settembre si terrà l’esame per entrare nei corsi delle Professioni sanitarie (per le magistrali sarà il 25 ottobre). Infine gli aspiranti maestri alla primaria e alla materna potranno dare il test per Scienze delle formazione primaria il 13 settembre.
Dopo le date c’è attesa per il numero di posti, che a Medicina dovrebbero aumentare di 5000 nel prossimo biennio (nel 2018 i posti a disposizione sono stati 9.779). Ma intanto protestano gli studenti. „Da sempre denunciamo che ogni forma di sbarramento in ingresso per l’università non corrisponde a nessun criterio di qualità ed efficienza – dichiara Alessio Bottalico, coordinatore nazionale di Link – ma è solo frutto della volontà politica di non voler investire in finanziamenti per il sistema universitario”.
Uno dei punti sollevati dal coordinamento universitario è anche quello dei costi. „Come ogni anno, migliaia di studenti e studentesse si ritroveranno a fare ricorso a lezioni private costosissime e testi da cui studiare con costi elevatissimi, il tutto per provare ad affrontare un test che deciderà sul loro futuro, con la presunzione di riuscire, in poche ore, a quantificare non solo la preparazione, ma anche la propensione e la volontà del singolo studente” osserva Bottalico.
„Continueremo a batterci per garantire l’accesso e il diritto allo studio a tutti”, conclude.
L’anno scorso fu un esercito di 83.127 studenti a tentare i test. In 67.005 presentarono domanda per la prova in Medicina e Odontoiatria (erano 66.907 nel 2017). Per Architettura le iscrizioni furono in calo: 7.986 contro le 9.340 dell’anno prima. Infine, 8.136 furono i candidati alla prova di Veterinaria, rispetto agli 8.431 del 2017.
Publicație : La Repubblica
11 martie 2019
Acces GRATUIT la noutati si analize privind invatamantul superior din toata lumea, pentru comunitatea academica a UAIC Iasi
Întreaga comunitate a Universitatii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” (UAIC) din Iasi are, timp de peste o luna (pâna la data de 12 aprilie 2019), acces gratuit la Times Higher Education. Site-ul publica noutati si analize privind învatamântul superior din toata lumea, fiind o sursa recunoscuta de informatii de actualitate în domeniu.
În plus, Times Higher Education realizeaza unul dintre cele mai influente clasamente de universitati din lume, oferind abonatilor, pe lânga date relevante, detalii privind tendintele globale în învatamântul superior. Site-ul publicatiei este https://www.timeshighereducation.com/.
„În urma demersurilor Universitatii «Alexandru Ioan Cuza» din Iasi, informatiile de pe site-ul Times Higher Education, care sunt în mod normal accesibile cu plata, pot fi accesate gratuit atât de studenti, cât si de personalul academic, de cercetare, didactic auxiliar si administrativ. Accesul este gratuit pâna la data de 12 aprilie 2019, utilizatorii putând sa îsi creeze un cont cu acces liber doar prin utilizarea unei adrese de email de tipul nume•uaic.ro. UAIC intentioneaza sa încheie un contract institutional pentru a mentine acest acces si dupa 12 aprilie, în masura în care dumneavoastra veti considera utile informatiile de pe acest site”, anunta cei de la UAIC.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
Expozitia „Femei celebre ale Romaniei”, la Biblioteca Central Universitara Iasi
Începând cu data de 4 martie 2019, Biblioteca Centrala Universitara (BCU) „Mihai Eminescu” Iasi asteapta publicul la expozitia intitulata „Femei celebre ale României”, realizata de Departamentul Cercetare si Informare Bibliografica, care doreste sa omagieze în acest fel personalitatile feminine ale României care ne-au marcat istoria.
„Sunteti invitati sa descoperiti vietile unor femei extraordinare din secolele XIX si XX, devenite celebre în tara noastra si în strainatate. Admirate sau controversate, uneori nedreptatite de istorici, câteodata neîntelese de contemporani, «Femeile celebre ale României» alcatuiesc o galerie impresionanta: oameni de stiinta si artiste, regine si literate. Istoria le-a pastrat în memorie mai ales pe cele care s-au afirmat în domenii acceptate la nivelul opiniei publice ca fiind destinate doar barbatilor, dar din ambitie si dorinta de schimbare, ele au avut curajul sa patrunda într-o lume închisa lor pâna atunci, croindu-si un nou drum atât pentru ele, cât si pentru urmasele lor”, au reliefat cei de la BCU.
Româncele au fost primele în foarte multe domenii, pe lista personalitatilor feminine regasindu-se: Eliza Leonida Zamfirescu (prima femeie inginer din Europa), Cecilia Cutescu-Storck (prima femeie profesor universitar în învatamântul de arta din Europa), Smaranda Gheorghiu (prima femeie din lume care a calatorit la Polul Nord), Sarmiza Bilcescu-Alimanesteanu (prima femeie doctor in Drept din lume), Clemansa Barberis-Placinteanu (prima femeie compozitor de muzica de opera din România), Smaranda Braescu (prima femeie pilot din România), Maria Rosetti (prima femeie ziarist din România) etc. Ele au schimbat cursul istoriei si îsi merita atributul de „personalitati ale culturii si istoriei nationale”.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
Lansarea volumului „Reflectii despre viata. Quo Vadis Romania?” , a profesorului emerit Emil Horomnea, la Iasi
Joi, 14 martie, de la ora 17:00, în Amfiteatrul C3, Corp C al Universitatii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” (UAIC) din Iasi, etajul 2, va avea loc lansarea volumelor „Viata între speranta, destin si dulcea povara a iubirii” si a interesantei si intrigantei lucrari „Reflectii despre viata. Quo Vadis România?” , scrise de prof. univ. dr. emerit Emil Horomnea. Lansarea de carte va include si o sesiune de autografe. Multe exemplare vor fi oferite cadou studentilor.
Profesor al Facultatii de Economie si Administrarea Afacerilor (FEAA), acesta are ca domenii de interes: Teoria contabilitatii, Contabilitate industriala, Teorii si sisteme de conducere a contabilitatii pe plan mondial, Contabilitate comerciala, Calculatia costurilor de productie, Finante generale sau Finantele unitatilor economice. De asemenea, universitarul abordeaza si aspecte ce tin de evolutia economica a Romaniei.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
Jewish student societies forced to use security at social events amid antisemitism concerns
‘Given the conversation at the moment I think we have to be more careful than ever’
Jewish student societies have been forced to organise their own security at social events amid growing concerns about Holocaust denial and antisemitism on campus, The Independent has learned.
One student society said it runs security checks on all attendees of its events after receiving threats over the past six months.
Another Jewish society keeps the details of non-political events, such as Shabbat dinners, secret. And at one event, the police were enlisted to protect students and the speakers.
he measures that Jewish students have taken to protect themselves have been revealed after figures showed a rise in antisemitic incidents at universities.
Students have made headlines in recent weeks for wearing T-shirts with antisemitic slogans and for antisemitic slurs on WhatsApp.
And last month, hundreds of students opposed the creation of a Jewish society at Essex university, triggering an antisemitism row.
Gabe Milne, president of the Jewish Society at Sheffield University, believes antisemitism on campus is on the rise.
He told The Independent: “We have to keep the locations of our events secret and run security screenings on all attendees to those events as we’ve received credible threats over the last six months. This is in addition to a huge amount of abusive messages on social media.”
In November, the society condemned a group of students that invited Labour MP Chris Williamson, who has now been suspended over antisemitism, to speak at the university.
Emma Jacobs, former campaigns officer of the Jewish Society at the University of Leeds, believes antisemitic rhetoric has increased due to a lack of sanctions on campus – and in the Labour Party.
The society keeps room bookings secret and security is organised for non-political events, like Shabbat dinner, to keep students safe from potential attacks on campus, she told The Independent.
Last year, they had to work with the police to protect a high-profile Israeli speaker and students.
Ms Jacobs said: “Sadly I think Jewish students have always been at some degree at risk. But given the conversation at the moment I think we have to be more careful than ever.”
The second-year student has seen Holocaust denial remarks and abuse targeted at young Jewish activists on social media.
“There aren’t sufficient sanctions being put in place, whether that is on campus or in the Labour party, for people who are sharing antisemitic rhetoric. So I think people feel like now they can.”
Ms Jacobs added: “I think it is incredibly sad that to practise our faith on campus we feel we are in a position where we need to even think about getting security. It is done from a place of genuine risk.
“We are normal students trying to live our lives. We shouldn’t have to be fighting for our right to be safe. Everyone else has that – why don’t we?”
The latest report from the Community Security Trust (CST) found that antisemitic incidents towards Jewish students, academics or other student bodies at universities rose from 21 to 25 in 2018.
In a recent blog on Jewish News, Daniel Kosky, campaigns organiser for the Union of Jewish Students (UoJ), called the rise in recorded incidents of antisemitism on campus “concerning”.
He wrote: “The ignorance and invitation to preach hate at a handful of campuses must be met with a forceful response.”
Security presence at Jewish buildings has increased over recent years as a result of high levels of concern from the Jewish community about terrorism and government funding for security, a CST report says.
“Security arrangements are standard across the Jewish community, whether it relates to Jewish schools, synagogues or one-off events, and we see campus as an extension of that,” Dave Rich, head of policy at CST, said.
A UoJ spokesperson told The Independent: “It is a sad fact of Jewish life that we often require security at our synagogues, schools and campus events.”
They added: “For higher profile events where protests or disruption can be expected, we work with CST, campus security and sometimes the police to take every possible precaution.”
Not publicly advertising event locations is just one of the careful precautions we take to ensure Jewish students’ safety on campus.”
A National Union of Students spokesperson said: “Jewish societies should not have to meet in secret.
“Where there are concerns, universities and students’ unions should work with their Jewish students to address them, including clear action on antisemitism on campus whenever it occurs.”
A Universities UK spokesperson added: “Universities are taking steps to ensure that students feel comfortable reporting incidents of antisemitism and harassment and that institutions respond effectively to such reports.
“We would always encourage any student who feels unsafe to raise this with their institution.”
Publicație : The Independent
Leeds pulls advert for ‘exploitative’ research assistant job
Academics say ‘personal assistant’ position highlights precarity faced by early career scholars
A controversial job advert that was pulled after an online backlash has shone a spotlight on employment practices that many scholars view as exploitative of early career researchers.
In an advert posted on several online platforms, the University of Leeds sought candidates for a part-time research assistant to Gregory Radick, professor of history and philosophy of science, on a five-month, fixed-term contract, asking for applicants who were “interested in developing [their] professional-academic skills”.
The chosen candidate would be required to “provide practical support” to Professor Radick, the post stated, in particular “redeveloping his personal website; keeping his academia.edu, ResearchGate and related websites up to date; providing occasional support in relation to work needed in the University Museum of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine; assisting with tasks to do with a number of editorial projects and grant applications; handling logistics for occasional seminars with visiting speakers [and] workshops”, as well as “handling photocopying, printing and other document-related tasks as needed”.
The final aspect of the job, which would come with a salary of between £22,659 and £26,243, pro rata, was “undertaking occasional bits of supplementary research under [Professor Radick’s] guidance”.
The work involved would be “occasional, and rarely time-consuming or demanding”, with the intention that the successful candidate would track how many hours they had to work each month, but the advert advised that the employee might be called upon to undertake tasks “with some urgency, so the postholder should be someone more likely to be around the university than not”.
Academics who commented on the post on Twitter branded the post an “exploitative” attempt to disguise a personal assistant role as a research assistant post, typically seen as a way for doctoral students and graduates to develop their research skills.
A Leeds spokesman told Times Higher Education that the advert was a “mistake” and confirmed that it had been removed as soon as the university was informed of its existence.
“This administrative role should never have been advertised in that form – it had an incorrect job title and incorrect requirements,” the spokesman said. “We are sorry for any offence caused. We are taking immediate steps to tighten our approvals process and to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
However, scholars said that it was just one example of how early career researchers lost out in the job market.
Catherine Oakley, an independent history researcher who formerly worked as a postdoctoral research assistant at Leeds, said that “exploitative hiring practices…are rife, but largely informal and invisible”.
“This is absolutely typical of the way that so-called ‘research assistant’ posts are viewed and managed in this department – as disposable appendages to the work of senior white male staff,” she said.
Such posts had “serious implications” for the career development of so-called research assistants, Dr Oakley said.
Vicky Blake, president of Leeds’ University and College Union branch, said she was “dismayed a job ad like that could ever see the light of day”.
“Senior management know it’s not acceptable and the university is reviewing its HR processes,” she said. “But this underlines the ongoing and wider issues of rampant casualisation in the university sector, which we are pushing hard to address at Leeds. Universities should be beacons of ethical employment practice rather than exploitative casualisation.”
Publicație : The Times
£1.3 billion Turnitin sale spotlights intellectual property fears
Huge price tag demonstrates power of plagiarism-checking company
The $1.8 billion (£1.3 billion) sale of Turnitin has highlighted the growing power of the company that produces plagiarism-checking software used in universities across the globe, and raised questions about its business model.
Concerns about the sale of California-based Turnitin to Advance, a technology, media and communications company, have focused on the intellectual property held in the essays that its software collects and checks. The software checks papers submitted by students against a growing database of previously submitted papers and detects any similarities.
Michael Berman, chief innovation officer at California State University, said there was “an ongoing concern about the nature of a business that collects so much IP from students”.
“Will the new owners attempt to monetise this IP in new ways? And if so how does that impact the trust relationship between institutions and instructors that require students to contribute to this IP and whose work now forms a significant portion of the value of Turnitin?” he said.
For Dr Berman, the high price was not shocking “because Turnitin is so dominant within its sector that it effectively has no competition”.
Jesse Stommel, executive director of the division of teaching and learning technologies at the University of Mary Washington, said that what concerned him most about the size of the sale “is the way it reinforces a business model that relies on the collection and use of student data at students’ expense and without compensating them”.
“The new parent company insists they will only use the data to ‘improve the product’, however the ‘product’ in this case is the database of student intellectual property. Access to that database is primarily what they are selling,” he said.
“This problem is not just about Turnitin,” Dr Stommel added. “It’s about the relationships public educational institutions enter into with technology companies. We should be sceptical of those companies, not suspicious of our own students.”
Sioux McKenna, director of postgraduate education at South Africa’s Rhodes University, agreed that the high price tag was symptomatic of wider issues in higher education.
“Universities have become corporate institutions, they have brands and plagiarism is a reputational risk. Turnitin is a simple fix for many institutions,” she said. “I worry that it’s not being used to help students learn how to produce knowledge, it’s more ‘we can use this software to mitigate a reputational risk’.”
Dr McKenna said the corporatised culture in higher education was part of the reason Turnitin was able to be sold for such a large amount, as universities outsourced in the name of efficiency.
“Instead of having the academic go through students’ work to teach them not just about plagiarism but about referencing, substantiating claims, developing your voice, showing how your work connects to prior work, which is hard to do, universities say ‘the reason we reference is not to plagiarise and we can use a bit of software to handle that’,” she said.
A spokeswoman for Turnitin said the company was “thrilled to be joining the Advance family of companies. Advance’s long-term perspective, commitment to education, and shared value of integrity make them the perfect partner to help Turnitin advance our mission of engaging students and teachers worldwide.”
Publicație : The Times