Whether you are considering a move out of academia either by choice or necessity this article will help you to consider the potential benefits of working in the private sector. Organisational culture Moving to a sector outside of academia will provide the opportunity to experience working in a different environment…>
Career Development
Why Do We Need Appraisals?
Much can be gained from well-conducted appraisals. They can be good for us, the people we work with, and good for our employer by helping job performance.
Work-integrated Learning in the University of the Future
Work-integrated Learning (WIL) is a new conceptual framework to help universities build on their current employability work to create forward-thinking, future-driven strategies for offering practice-orientated learning across the curriculum. Employability has long been a key part of universities’ mission to produce graduates who can transition smoothly into the workplace. Under…>
How To Beat ‘Imposter Syndrome’
How do you know that you have imposter syndrome? The imposter syndrome is a state of mind, a psychological phenomenon. It is when you have accomplished something huge but don’t permit yourself to recognise it. Remember you are not alone. The highest achievers often feel it too. Some even say…>
The Debate About Academic Freedom in China
Recent political developments in China have attracted significant attention in the western world and have posed wider questions about the potential rise of authoritarianism in the country. While the decision by the Chinese Communist Party to approve the right of the sitting president to remain in post for life (replacing…>
Unconditional Offers and the Visit Day
As outlined in my previous article Managing the (new) Admissions Cycle there have been great changes in the last year or so to the number of unconditional offers made by universities to applicants, with unintended consequences for the overall pattern of admissions across the academic year, as well as with larger, still…>
Managing the (new) Admissions Cycle
Changes are afoot in university admissions. In 2017-2018 the number of unconditional offers made to applicants shot up seventeen-fold, or 40%, from a mere 2,985 students in 2013-2014, to last year’s record of 51,615 (see UCAS’s 2017 End of Cycle Report on Offer-Making). This increase has been the subject of debates in…>
Social Media in China
The internet and social media forever changed the way that students and teachers could interact. Today, groups can keep in touch via Facebook and Whatsapp, conferences can be live-tweeted to an entire campus and a host of university tools make access to niche information a breeze. If you’ve spent the last couple of years hooked to a smartphone to help with your studies, then prepare for a big shock.
The Lessons Western Universities Can Learn From China
When I moved to China in 2010, many university officials were eager to hear my thoughts on the areas that Chinese universities could improve and learn lessons from their western counterparts. In many ways, the western education (especially the UK university system with its long history) is regarded by many…>