206 ani de când Gheorghe Asachi a ţinut la Iaşi, în premieră, cursuri de inginerie în română
De azi, timp de o săptămână, Politehnica ieşeană celebrează „Zilele Universităţii“.
Universitatea Tehnică „Gheorghe Asachi“ (TUIASI) celebrează în perioada 8 - 16 noiembrie „Zilele Universităţii“, cu această ocazie urmând să se sărbătorească cei 206 ani de când Gheorghe Asachi a ţinut la Iaşi, pentru prima dată în istoria ţării, cursuri de inginerie în limba română. De asemenea, cu această ocazie se vor comemora şi cei 150 de ani de la moartea lui Gheorghe Asachi“ şi se va aduce un omagiu cadrelor didactice şi cercetătorilor care au făcut parte din comunitatea academică a universităţii.
Evenimentele dedicate Zilelor Universităţii vor debuta astăzi, de la ora 10, cu o ceremonie solemnă în Aula Magna „Carmen Sylva“, împlinindu-se 150 de ani de când Gheorghe Asachi s-a stins din viaţă.
„Deşi în fiecare an dedicăm Zilele TUIASI în mod implicit părintelui nostru, Gheorghe Asachi, în acest an sărbătoarea se doreşte a fi în mod direct un omagiu adus creatorului şcolii de inginerie la 150 de ani de la trecerea lui într-o altă lume. Am dorit să concentrăm evenimentele programate cu acest prilej între două repere: 8 noiembrie, dată în care am organizat evenimentul care deschide Zilele TUIASI, şi 15 noiembrie, data la care vom sărbători performanţa în universitatea noastră. De fapt, aceste zile se vor încheia pe 16 noiembrie cu deja tradiţionalul concurs «Treasure hunt», adresat studenţilor şi menit să le facă cunoscută mai bine universitatea noastră“, a declarat prof.dr.ing. Dan Caşcaval, rectorul universităţii.
Printre evenimentele importante care vor avea loc în această perioadă se numără festivitatea de premiere a celor mai interesante fotografii realizate de studenţi şi de profesori în cadrul concursului „Studenţia la Universitatea Tehnică“, eveniment care va avea loc marţi, miercuri va avea loc cea de-a XI-a ediţie a „Simpozionului de Istoria Învăţământului şi Ştiinţelor Tehnice“, iar joi, în Sala „Cristea Niculescu-Otin“ din Corpul T, Rectorat, TUIASI va semna Scrisoarea de intenţie privind afilierea Universităţii Tehnice la reţeaua Danube Transfer Center. Vineri vor fi premiaţi cei mai performanţi cercetători ai universităţii, va fi decernat titlul de „Profesor Emerit“, vor fi omagiaţi Profesorii Seniori şi vor fi oferite titlurile de „Membru onorific al comunităţii academice“. Zilele universităţii se încheie sâmbătă, 16 noiembrie, cu activitatea „Treasure Hunt la TUIASI“, organizat de Fundaţia Universitară „Gh. Asachi“
Publicație: Ziarul de Iași și Bună Ziua Iași
University staff don't want to strike for fair pensions and pay, but we're being forced to
Insecure employment and changes to pensions are stopping us from delivering quality education to students
Earlier this week, the University and College Union (UCU) announced that staff in 60 universities across the UK will abandon their offices, libraries, seminar rooms and lecture theatres for eight days of strike action beginning on 25 November.
The strikes are the result of two ongoing disputes in higher education: one on pay, job security, workload and equality, and one on changes to Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pensions.
Although these are separate disputes, they speak to a common theme. Over the past decade, the treatment of higher education staff has taken a turn for the worse, and they have witnessed declines in their pay, pensions and working conditions.
Pay in higher education has fallen by more than 20% against inflation since 2009, and attempts by the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) to downplay the scale of this trend confirms just how far it has plummeted.
At the same time, staff in higher education face increasingly unreasonable workload demands and insecure employment. A third of academic staff are employed on fixed-term contracts. Our members crave more job security – in a recent UCU survey, 97% of fixed-term staff said they would prefer a permanent contract – but many are forced to hop from one temporary contract to another.
Employers have also repeatedly failed to take any meaningful action to tackle stubborn equality gaps in pay and progression. Women in academia are still paid 15% less than men on average, and black, Asian and minority ethnic staff are roughly 10% more likely to be employed on an insecure contract.
These interconnected issues all have a real impact on the sustainability of careers in higher education. We need a coherent response from employers that commits to tangible action on workload, casualisation and pay equality, as well as improvements to pay.
The current dispute over USS pensions stems from changes introduced since 2011, which mean the average member stands to lose around £240,000 over their lifetime. Last year’s unprecedented strike action stopped plans to scrap defined benefit pensions, but members now face steep rises in their pension contributions – from 8% last year to 9.6%, with further increases planned in 2021. This is despite an independent panel of experts concluding that the scheme could continue with a much lower contribution rate.
We are concerned that these rises are preventing some staff from staying in the scheme. During recent negotiations it was the employers who opted to back these higher contribution rates, so we’re calling on them to foot the bill.
By voting for strike action in both disputes, UCU members have sent a clear message that enough is enough. At a national level, 79% of members who voted backed strike action over changes to pensions, while 74% of members polled backed strike action over pay and equalities. Although members in some institutions have been prevented from taking action because of anti-trade union laws, employers should be in no doubt about the strength of feeling on these issues.
As a former lecturer, I know that the decision to disrupt students’ learning is never an easy one. But members know that the issues at stake in these disputes have a material impact on the quality of education they are able to deliver. Students know it too, and we’re delighted that the National Union of Students will stand with us in our fights for fair pay and pensions.
Universities need to recognise that an investment in staff is an investment in the quality of UK higher education. They would do well to listen to the likes of shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, who has called for unions and employers to return to unconditional talks and find solutions to both disputes.
We are ready to get back to the negotiating table as soon as the employers are ready to make credible proposals. The results of the recent ballots should make it clear that the suggestions they have put forward are seriously inadequate.
The ball is now in the employers’ court. If they fail to come forward with improved offers, they face significant disruption.
Publicație: The Guardian
University lecturers giving students time to register to vote
Campaign under way to ensure students’ voices are heard in 2019 general election
University lecturers are giving students five minutes at the start of their lectures to register to vote as a nationwide campaign gets under way to ensure that students’ voices are heard in the forthcoming general election.
The move was condemned by some on social media as “brainwashing”, but according to the universities’ regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), institutions now have a duty to facilitate the electoral registration of students.
Dan Elphick, a music lecturer, was among those to flag up his efforts to encourage student votes, when he said he was setting aside five minutes of his lecture time to allow students to register online, adding: “I see this as being a vital part of their education.”
The initiative has been supported by the University College Union (UCU), which represents university workers, and is being replicated by lecturers elsewhere in the country before the 26 November deadline for registration.
The UCU general secretary, Jo Grady, said: “It’s great that some lecturers have taken the initiative and devoted a few minutes of their lessons to reminding students how to get registered, and we would encourage others who can to do the same.
“It’s really important that students’ voices are heard in the upcoming general election, and UCU has been working closely with the National Union of Students to explore how we can support students in colleges and universities to register to vote.”
There are concerns that the date of the general election, which coincides with the end of term and the start of the Christmas holiday, could diminish the student vote as many head home. Some students are confused about whether to register at home or at university. In fact, they can register at both, although must vote only once.
All parties will be watching the student vote closely. During the 2017 election, a number of seats appeared to have been swung by students, including Canterbury, where a well-organised student vote resulted in Labour winning the seat with a 20% swing.
As well as the NUS and UCU, a #MakeTheVoterPledge campaign has been working to ensure that universities fulfil their duties to encourage students to register, highlighting the fact that, while 96% of over 65-year-olds are registered to vote, one in three young people are not.
Elphick’s initiative was quickly picked up by other university staff, who have either already taken similar action or plan to. “I gave students five minutes at the start of the lecture and I gave them the [voter registration] link,” he said later. “I explained a bit about the rules, about who can vote. Their reaction was positive.” Since then Elphick has added the link to his email signature and plans to give brief reminders in future. “I can’t afford to lose five minutes of every lecture.”
Following the introduction of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the onus is now on universities and colleges in England to enable the electoral registration of students as a condition of their registration with the OfS.
Jisc, which develops digital services for the higher, further education and skills sectors, recently launched a student voter registration service. With students’ consent, the service collects essential information at the time of university enrolment and automatically transfers it to electoral registrars at local authorities. So far, 2,000 students at 22 universities and one further education college have signed up.
Dr Paul Greatrix, a registrar at the University of Nottingham, said: “Enabling student voter registration has been a significant challenge for many years. Now that all universities in England have a legal obligation to help enable students to get on to the electoral register, every institution will want to do this, as quickly and securely as possible.”
Meanwhile, a poll of students by YouthSight on behalf of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) suggests Brexit will be a key factor when students make up their minds at the general election, with 74% of the view that the country was wrong to vote to leave the EU.
The overwhelming majority of those polled want a say on the final Brexit deal via another referendum (70%), and if there were another referendum, almost three-quarters (73%) would vote remain. Most say Brexit could affect how they vote, with 29% saying it will “strongly impact” their voting choice; a further 42% say Brexit will affect their vote “to some extent”, and 53% are willing to vote tactically over Brexit.
Nick Hillman, Hepi director, said: “The student vote may or may not make a big difference at this election. It all depends on how close the overall result is. But when the student vote is discussed, the conversation tends to dwell on issues like tuition fees. In fact, at this Brexit-focused election, candidates’ views towards the EU could be a bigger factor when students decide how to vote.”
Publicație: The Guardian
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