iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Michael Salmon @michaelsalmon0.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

And now the Digital and Technology Committee is itself no more, no doubt to the interest of @martinrsmith.bsky.social www.researchagenda.news/articles/sci...

researchagenda.news

Science committee to go back to its old remit

Changes to parliamentary and cabinet committees following government reorganisation

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Delighted to discover that the Science Minister is a fellow brass band player, and much amused by @dkernohan.bsky.social’s REF analogy here. For the uninitiated - this is indeed a strange world of competition and transfer markets. But so is brass banding…

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David Kernohan @dkernohan.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I endorse this. Also: write a proper report, don't just send out a press release promising one (looking at you, Taxpayers Alliance!)

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vincentholst.bsky.social @vincentholst.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

In 2023, @nature.com published 'Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time', receiving world-wide media attention. Our Matters Arising, published after a 32 month delay (more on that soon), shows that the reported decline can largely be attributed to dataset artefacts. 🧵

The average CD_5 index per year for Web of Science. The original Park et al. decline (top curve) becomes essentially flat (bottom curve) when removing papers with CD_5=1. Those papers largely correspond to dataset artefacts.

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Pattern through the leaves of a bush

Shadow eclipse picture with lots of little crescents of light overlapping each other against a cream coloured wall

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Bethany Black @bethanyblack.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Solar eclipse coming up so here’s one of my favourite maps

Top is a map of the US with “Google search volume for “eyes hurt” April 3 to April 10 2024” with a hot line running from Texas north east through to Maine. The bottom map shows the path of the total solar eclipse which runs in a lone from Texas through to Maine

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Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I no longer use X/Twitter, so here I am to support @stianwestlake.bsky.social who has written well on @ukri.org 's strategy I believe his argument is correct: a science funder must fund both curiosity driven and applied research, and that will demand difficult choices 🧵 x.com/stianwestlak...

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

So. Farewell then July Thirty-one opportunities To do the things We needed to do Before August But now your days Are truly Numbered

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John Williams @johnhuww.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Trump’s systematic assault on science “By attempting to politicise scientific research today, the current administration risks hampering US leadership in the technologies of tomorrow.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

giftarticle.ft.com

Trump’s systematic assault on science

The government is politicising funding for basic research

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

'Universities were central to our DSIT comms strategy; we probably did more ministerial visits to higher education institutions than any other type of organisation....This is about to change.' 1/3

wonkhe.com

How to work with the department formerly known as DSIT

Former DSIT director of communications Abigail Morris explains what Whitehall's latest reshuffle means for universities Former DSIT director of communications Abigail Morris explains what Whitehall's ...

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Excellent meta news for all research professionals

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Update #2 The Labour business relations team (part of Labour HQ) have said McDonald is the science minister Somewhat bizarrely, DBT won't confirm Nonetheless, seems pretty nailed on... Story updated: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

researchprofessionalnews.com

Chris McDonald to be UK science minister, Labour HQ says - Research Professional News

MP appointed to new business and science department has industrial research background

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Since Patrick Vallance resigned on Monday the question has been who will replace him as science minister It looks like the answer is Chris McDonald He has the chops: - chemical engineering degree from Cambridge - CEO of materials research institute - industry adviser to unis - Fellow of RAEng

researchprofessionalnews.com

Chris McDonald in frame to be UK science minister - Research Professional News

MP appointed to new business and science department has industrial research background

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Eyebrows raised as new PM appoints Dan Burn to Defence. Big appointment, can definitely fill his predecessor’s shoes, but we can’t just park the bus for three years, Etc

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Chris Hewson @chrishewson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Chagos with Ed Milliband! [Am I doing this right?]

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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

There's gonna be a new PM. What he needs is an op-ed telling him what to do, of which there's no doubt a lamentable absence. Here's the time-hallowed method for creating one: 1. Set out the problem cleanly, as if the PM had literally no idea that growth, the cost of living and deficit matter. 1/

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

O’Neill: we need to “ensure there is more investment going into R&D and risk‑taking with new ideas, both regionally and nationally”. “If we’re serious about growth—especially regional growth and national competitiveness—R&D cannot remain the first line item chopped whenever the budget is tight.”

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 14/07/2026

An amazing quote from Lindsey Graham in this Atlantic story. It really captures an essential truth about politics that too few people ever really come to terms with. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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Philip Lewis @pslewis.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

There are 4️⃣ roles open in my team at @britishacademy.bsky.social Please do share with those you think may be interested. A new Deputy Head of Global Strategy, Policy & Engagement focused on global research and innovation policy closing on 28 July: www.prospect-us.co.uk/job/195324-d...

prospect-us.co.uk

Deputy Head of Global Strategy, Policy & Engagement - Prospectus Recruitment Agency

Prospectus is delighted to be supporting The British Academy – the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences - in seeking a Deputy Head of Global Strategy, Policy & Engagement. The pos...

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Trip to the beach today near Brighton included sharing the sea with a seal

Choppy seawater, a seal’s head is sticking up from the waves

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Dr Naomi Scott @drnaomiscott.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

A lot of media coverage of the ‘AI’ reading of the Herculaneum scrolls really fails to understand what’s happened here. There’s no language processing happening, the AI/ML is not trained on a corpus of texts or language. It can detect ink to see shapes. HUMAN EXPERTS are then transcribing the text.

A screenshot from here: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-02-07-inside-herculaneum-scroll-seen-first-time-almost-2000-years

It explains that the machine learning involves only the detection of ink

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Have I mentioned I play in a brass band? Patcham Silver Band celebrated its 80th anniversary this weekend with a concert attended by our local MP Sian Berry. The Argus have written up here with a nice article www.theargus.co.uk/news/2622509...

theargus.co.uk

Band celebrates eight decades of playing with special event

Patcham Silver Band marked its 80th anniversary with the event, highlighting its legacy and lasting impact on generations of musicians

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Daniel Benneworth-Gray @danielgray.com · 29/03/2026

imagine having so much authority that you get to tell people to belay things

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Mattias Björnmalm, Cesaer: “Research is not procurement. Breakthroughs come from bringing together the best people, ideas, infrastructures and data across borders. Excellence depends on openness to trusted partners, with research security frameworks used to manage risk intelligently."

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

EU urged to avoid ‘preference’ rule hampering openness of FP10. Next R&I programme should not include new restrictions for associated countries, university leaders say. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

researchprofessionalnews.com

EU urged to avoid ‘preference’ rule hampering openness of FP10 - Research Professional News

Next R&I programme should not include new restrictions for associated countries, university leaders say

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Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

It was inevitable, wasn't it🙄 Of course the Telegraph would run with something like this👇 So let's remove some of the rose-tinted spectacles and also look at some of that data comparing 1976 with modern heat waves Because the 1976 nostalgia porn is wearing a bit thin at this stage 🧵1/23

Telegraph headiline:

"Heatwave hysterics wouldn't have lasted a day in 1976", overlaid with a bold “MONK DEBUNKED” stamp.

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Jacob Aron @jjaron.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Friday temperatures are forecast to be just as hot as today, so I think people will be reasonably confused that this only merits an amber warning. The answer is humidity - it will be far more humid, and so more dangerous to human health, today and Thursday. Met Office could make that clearer...

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Leo Hickman @leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 24/06/2026

Letter in today's Times by climate scientist Sir Brian Hoskins: "The discourse around net-zero is increasingly decoupled from…science and our changing weather. "Net-zero is not an arbitrary slogan, rather it is dictated by the laws of physics."

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

From rupture to renewal - thoughts from me on the 10 year anniversary of the Brexit vote, and where we’re heading for international research collaboration wellcome.org/insights/art...

wellcome.org

Rebuilding UK-EU science collaboration | News | Wellcome

A decade on from the UK’s vote to leave the EU, research collaboration with European partners is starting to recover. Now we need to build on that progress.

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Declan Rice People of Makerfield 🤝 Putting a cross in the box

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Proportion of universities cutting research jumped in 2026. Universities UK survey shows worsening picture but more optimism about need for future research cuts. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

researchprofessionalnews.com

Proportion of universities cutting research jumped in 2026 - Research Professional News

Universities UK survey shows worsening picture but more optimism about need for future research cuts

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I'm featured on a podcast (a first for me, slowly catching everyone else up), talking about my work at Wellcome on creative methods for policy work from the last couple of years. Come for the policy chat, stay for the clip of my local Brass Band playing an Oasis cover... pod.link/meettheinflu...

pod.link

What circus arts can teach policymakers - Martin Smith

Listen to What circus arts can teach policymakers - Martin Smith from Meet the Influectuals wherever you get your podcasts!

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Including comments from me - positive news for a sunny afternoon 😎

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

New official statistics just published on the UK's performance in Horizon Europe so far. The graph says it all. A familiar Brexit story - but with light at the end of the tunnel. Decline since the vote to leave in 2016. But the recovery journey has begun.

Graph of UK funding share in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe - showing steep decline from 2016 and an uptick in 2024

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Anon Opin @anonopin.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

The most pompous academic word is 'praxis'.

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Cath Haddon @cathhaddon.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Re-upping this because i saw on the other place someone going down the 'but could they use a King's Speech defeat to oust him?'. Again, to reiterate, endlessly, a confidence defeat in the Commons means either the government *as a whole* is ousted. Not just the PM.

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Shoulda just used his Paypal account

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

We are offering two great initiatives for humanities and social sciences researchers interested in applying to Horizon Europe. On 1st June we are holding an ERC Reading Day where you can read previously successful ERC grant proposals from a selection of 50 www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/projects/eur...

thebritishacademy.ac.uk

ERC Reading Day 2026

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

It’s a spiritual thing A body thing A soul thing

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Mehwaesh @mehwaesh.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

New Policy Officer role at @universities-uk.bsky.social. You’ll work on research policy, UKRI changes, and the big questions like 'which bucket is this in?' with a straight face: www.uukjobs.co.uk/Vacancy.aspx... Deadline: 1 May

uukjobs.co.uk

Job Vacancy at Universities UK: Policy Officer

We are looking for a person that is passionate about making a difference to join the Universities UK policy team. We shape the future of higher education, which changes the lives of students, graduate...

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Ian Moss @ian.allenmoss.co.uk · 13/04/2026

I believe in the year 2026 that schools could offer their term/inset dates as calendar files and not PDFs on the website.

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Realised today that my 8yo might not have heard the classic “Doyouthinkhesaurus” joke yet. She loved it. 100% dad joke heaven 🦖

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

“The scientists at the Wellcome Genome Campus are aiming to make healthcare breakthroughs — but first they must grapple with how to get to the office” www.ft.com/content/3bf2...

ft.com

Wellcome’s flagship genetic campus seeks missing transport link

Facility near Cambridge is undergoing ambitious expansion — but faces logistical challenges

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Martin Smith @martinrsmith.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Today in political history: 25 March is the five year anniversary of Charles Walker’s ‘pint of milk protest’ “For the next few days I am going to walk around London with a pint of milk on my person, because that pint will represent my protest”

Charles Walker MP, a white clean-shaved man with greying hair, standing in Central Lobby in a dark suit and tie, holding a pint of semi skimmed milk in one hand. He is speaking to an interviewer out of frame and making an important point, gesturing with his other hand

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