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News & Views Index |
2009 Academic Ranking of World's Research Universities Compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 31/10/09
Shanghai Jiao Tong University has released its rankings for the world's top 500 research universities. Australia scored three in the top 100. [More]
Funding on 'Sheriff of Nottingham' Model a Moot Approach. 30/10/09
Five elite Canadian universities propose a model that funnels research dollars to top-performing schools and lets the rest focus on undergraduate education. [More]
Presidential Council of Advisors Told Some Home Truths About Teaching STEM. 30/10/09
Arne Duncan: "In the end of the day, it's about how do you get more adults with those skills in front of children." [More]
18 Leading US Scientific Organizations Send Climate Letter to US Senators. 29/10/09
Sent October 21 and signed by leaders from 18 organizations -- climate change driven by human activities is occurring and will have broad impacts on society. [More]
Richard Larkins: Having More Students Doing Second-Rate Courses at Under-Resourced and Second-Rate Universities Does [No One] Any Favours. 28/10/09
The former vice-chancellor of Monash University, favours uncapping student fees. [More]
Minister for Education Makes a Couple of Promises. 28/10/09
On ABC Radio's AM yesterday the federal Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, made a couple promises when challenged by her interlocutor. [More]
Michael Roderick Awarded 2009 Australasian Science Prize for Climate Change Research. 27/10/09
The Australian scientist who overturned some "obvious" assumptions regarding climate change was today awarded the 2009 Australasian Science Prize. [More]
CSIRO's CEO, Megan Clark, is Interviewed on Sunday Profile. 27/10/09
This past Sunday the ABC's Monica Attard interviewed CSIRO's Chief Executive Officer, Megan Clark on the network's half-hour Sunday Profile spot. [More]
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Announces Successful ARC Discovery, Linkage and Indigenous Researchers Development Grants. 26/10/09 [More]
That US$20.5 Billion Stimulus for R&D -- A Radical Suggestion. 26/10/09
For its October 15th issue Nature asked six "experts" regarding "what concerns them most about the US stimulus spending" as regards the injection of US$20.5 billion over two years. [More]
President Barack Obama's October 23rd Speech at MIT About American Leadership on Clean Energy. 25/10/09 [More]
European Commission Agrees to Some Suggested Administrative Changes for the European Research Council. 23/10/09
A 53-page report published on July 23, 2009 made nine recommendations for immediate implementation. [More]
Augustine Panel: NASA Told to Scrub Moon Missions. 23/10/09
A high profile panel chaired by retired aerospace executive Norman Augustine has now released its full report. [More]
Australia's Chief Scientist Revamps Her Website. 23/10/09
The facelift gives it the potential of becoming far more informative and useful than its predecessor. [More]
Go8 Comments on Federal Government's "Commercialisation Australia". 22/10/09
Yesterday the Federal Government announced details of its $196 million "Commercialisation Australia" initiative. [More]
US National Science Foundation Report on Federal R&D Support to US Universities. 22/10/09 [More]
European Research Area Board Urges EU to Raise R&D Spending to 5% of GDP by 2030. 17/10/09
In addition to urging EU nations to boost R&D spending to 5% of GDP by 2030, ERAB recommends there be a tripling of spending on higher education. [More]
Lead Editorial in The Sydney Morning Herald in Support of University Research. 16/10/09
It's not often that an Australian mass circulation paper publishes as its lead editorial a powerful advocacy for fundamental university research and with an admonition to beware the conflict of interest. [More]
The Second PCAST Meeting is to Take Place on October 22-23, 2009. 14/10/09
On April 27, 2009, US President Barack Obama announced the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). PCAST is an advisory group of the United States' leading scientists and engineers. The agenda for its second meeting is now available. [More]
Adding $2 Million to Maths Education. 13/10/09
The Federal Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today announced funding of $2 million to help improve mathematics education in Australian schools and universities. [More]
Paul Clark, Universities UK: Innovative Ways of Achieving the Increase We Need in Highly-Skilled Graduates to Lead Us Out of Recession Are Welcome. 13/10/09 [More]
2009 Nobel Prize for Economics Honours Work on "Economic Governance: The Organization of Cooperation". 13/10/09
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for 2009" to Elinor Ostrom, Indiana University, and Oliver E. Williamson University of California, Berkeley. [More]
NIH Director Francis Collins Answers a Few Questions. 12/10/09
Following a visit to the US National Institutes of Health's Headquarters by president Barack Obama, its director of six weeks took time out to answer some questions put to him by Science. [More]
The Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings - 2009. 08/10/09
Martin Ince, Founding Editor of the Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings describes the methodology. ANU=17 and Australia takes nine of the top 200. [More]
2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry Awarded to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath. 08/10/09
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2009 jointly "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome". [More]
European Research Area Board: A New Governance Model for Arms-length Agencies to Deliver Research and Innovation is Essential... 07/10/09 [More]
Oxford's Outgoing and Newly Installed V-Cs Air Their Views. 07/10/09
On October 1 New Zealand born John Hood retired from the vice-chancellorship of Oxford University handing the reins over to Cambridge University educated Andrew Hamilton. [More]
2009 Nobel Prize for Physics Awarded to Charles Kao, Willard Boyle and George Smith. 07/10/09
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2009 for transmission of light in fibers for optical communication and for the invention of the charged coupled device for optical imaging. [More]
European Research Council to Address “Fundamental Problems” Undermining Governance, Administration and Operations. 06/10/09
On February 24, 2009 the European Commission announced the formation of a committee of leading experts in science policy to review the work of the European Research Council (ERC). [More]
2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Awarded to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak. 06/10/09
...for the discovery of "how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase". [More]
Andrew Hamilton Succeeds John Hood as Oxford's Vice-Chancellor. 05/10/09
Professor Hamilton wouldn't be drawn as to his agenda for the university but did emphasise that any move to raise the current £3,225 a year cap on fees would have to be matched with a big expansion of financial support for students. [More]
UK's University Quality and Assurance Agency Gets a New Head. 05/10/09
Anthony McClaran, has taken over as the new chief executive of Britain's university watchdog the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. [More]
Germany's "Excellence Initiative" Deemed a Success. 05/10/09
In 2005 Germany's federal government launched its "Excellence Initiative" to allow it to compete with that of England and the United States. [More]
2009 Ig Nobel Prizes Awarded. 02/10/09
The 2009 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded on Thursday night, October 1, at the 19th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre. [More]
Is a Corporate Management Culture Alienating Australian Academics? 02/10/09
The University of Melbourne's LH Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Management finds there is widespread dissatisfaction with academic life in Australia engendered by a corporate management culture. [More]
French HE and R&D Budget to Increase Above Inflation. 02/10/09
France's minister for higher education and research, Valérie Pécresse, has announced that the French draft budget for 2010 has made higher education and research "the top priority..." [More]
Nobel Laureates Meet With Young Scientists on Lindau Island. 01/10/09
Every summer a meeting between Nobel Laureates and young scientists takes place on Germany's Lindau Island. This year it was the turn of the chemists and Nature was there. [More]