Prof Debby Cotton @profdcotton.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Ha, A block for me! Conveniently close to breakfast! 010
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonRuss Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Why stop there? Scrap the treasury to make the national debt go away Scrap the NHS and cure cancer Scrap the MOD and lo: world peace www.theguardian.com/politics/202...theguardian.comTories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural EnglandShadow chancellor will also promise to scrap affordable homes regulations as part of strategy to refocus on growth 29426120
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonRheumatology Advisor @rheumatologyadv.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Initiating biologic therapy within 2 years of diagnosis or at a later stage produces comparable short-term improvements in joint & skin manifestations of #PsoriaticArthritis. (@acr-journals.bsky.social) www.rheumatologyadvisor.com/news/ea…rheumatologyadvisor.comEarly vs Late Biologic Initiation Yields Similar Outcomes in PsAPatients with psoriatic arthritis experience similar short-term joint and skin improvements regardless of when biologic therapy is initiated. 011
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonBarbara Fantechi @barbarafantechi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026An ERC committee member said in front of a crowd that there was already a triage of applications based on the applicant's CV. Now he expected that AI would be used. Preparing an ERC takes MONTHS, you have to work out the financial plan as well as the science. Imagine being doomed from the start. 63712
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonGlen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I'm quoted in (and provide the headline for) this @timeshighered.bsky.social university story today. To be honest the news and messages coming from across UK Higher Ed are now so desperate, pressing and upsetting that I've stepped away a bit. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/tiered-...timeshighereducation.comTiered English tuition fee system ‘would denude rest of sector’Fallout over differential university fees suggestion continues, amid suggestions that the Russell Group head is saying the quiet part out loud 2192
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonUnofficial Guardian (UK) Bot @guardian-uk-rss.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Edinburgh joins UK universities heading for strikes as cuts spread through entire sectortheguardian.comEdinburgh joins UK universities heading for strikes as cuts spread through entire sectorStudents at Edinburgh, Dundee and Nottingham face a term without any teaching as sector struggles with rising financial uncertainty 001
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonDr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The problem isn't rogue #AI models, it's *negligent companies*. If a biomedical firm put their product in public water supply because they wanted to test it 'in the real world', they'd be treated as criminal at corporate & individual level. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...theguardian.comOpenAI halts training of latest models as reports mount of AI agents going rogueDecision follows disclosures that OpenAI agents searching government websites had acted in unexpected ways 20820327
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonKatie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility 5776502129
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonMark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026This just keeps getting bigger.bbc.co.ukOpenAI bots meddled with US government agencies, including SEC and CensusOpenAI said its bots accessed public data from a range of institutions during test exercises. 63656303
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonMargot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026'The director of the new mission group for “research-led” UK universities outside the Russell Group has said its members will not support any proposals for minimum entry standards to access student loans.'timeshighereducation.comResearchPlus at odds with Russell Group on minimum entry standardsHead of new mission group for smaller ‘research-led’ universities rejects minimum tariff and differential fee plans endorsed by larger institutions 121
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonMargot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026One of the misunderstandings about the 'excessive cost' of UK university is their comparative efficiency (both relative to apprenticeships and relative to other universities internationally) of getting 89% or so of students through their degrees in a timely manner. 111
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonLeah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 20/09/2026“People are working 12 to 13 hours a day just to press enter.” 71413354
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonRonald Hartz @ronaldhartz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026“as public funding for universities falls, there is a real danger that billionaire and corporate money begins to shape academia” (Prof Lyla Mehta, Head of the climate, environment and sustainability department at the University of Sussex) #HigherEd #UKHE www.theguardian.com/education/20...theguardian.comBacklash as Indian oil heir made professor of sustainability by Newcastle UniversityRole for Anant Ambani, son of India’s richest person, who also runs a controversial mega-zoo, met with incredulity 011
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonAlexander Kasprzyk @amkasprzyk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026#AI “triaging” of UKRI grants. Yikes. I completely appreciate the struggle they have finding timely reviewers, but surely there’s a better way than this? #UKHE 452
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonBen 🏔️🏃♂️🇫🇷 @beninchamonix.eurosky.social · 22/09/2026“National news” being the problem. 90% driven by right-wing ideologues looking to push their latest culture war issue - in this case for the oil & gas / climate change sceptic lobby. Totally at odds with public opinion on the fossil fuel vs renewables debate. 052
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonCaroline Dodds Pennock @carolinepennock.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Ditto 30,000 roles in universities in the past three years. 7491180
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonSantanu Vasant PFHEA @santanuvasant.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Small White Fluffy Clouds across a Dawn Sky #Autumn #Sunrise #London #Surrey 062
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton🌳🌿Lover of Trees🌿🌳 @gwtreelover.bsky.social · 22/09/2026The Lone Tree at Rydal in is so iconic and beautifully captured here by Lake District photographer Natasha Roberts. My #treeoftheday definitely, do repost of it is yours too! #trees #nature #photography 0288
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonMichael Eades @drmichaeleades.bsky.social · 19/09/2026This is so depressing to read. Raising fees (yet again) is not going to save #UKHE. Particularly not as a bogus ‘quality’ marker. Sorry to be boring but the answer to the problem lies in good old fashioned state investment in education… #academicsky www.timeshighereducation.com/news/russell...timeshighereducation.comRussell Group backs higher fees as £3,000 loss per student revealedChief executive Libby Hackett says top universities should charge more as scale of teaching deficit is revealed 1213
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonHardeep Matharu @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026The story of Jason Arday is the story of James Orr. Of the ideology which has found a foothold in Cambridge University, fostering the sorts of ideas that formed the undercurrents – sometimes explicit; sometimes unconscious – against Arday. I returned to my alma mater for an in-depth exploration 👇bylinetimes.comThe Two Professors and a ‘War On Ideas’The different stories of the Cambridge academics Jason Arday and James Orr reveal the wider cultural and ideological forces around hierarchies and structural power – and who gets to belong in our inst... 11397173
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonMargot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 09/09/2026“UK university management teams have so far struggled to take a principled position on AI, often embracing the technology uncritically and seeking to ‘partner’ with AI providers rather than consider its longer-term impact on pedagogy." (Steve Jones, University of Manchester)timeshighereducation.comAre device-free classrooms the way forward?US universities embrace laptop and phone bans, but professor suggests policies may be more about political positioning than pedagogy 35022
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonTheodore Alysandratos @thalysandratos.bsky.social · 10/09/2026The government made enrolling at UK universities less desirable for international students. International students responded to (dis-)incentives by...enrolling less at UK universities. One would expect quite a bit of satisfaction at a successful -on its own terms- policy. Own it or reverse it. 152
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonAlexander Kasprzyk @amkasprzyk.bsky.social · 12/09/2026I love this aspect of the UK university system. Pick basically any university with a maths department, and there will be world-class researchers there. Which is great for students. It’s a big mistake to imagine that top research is all concentrated in a few high-prestige centres of excellence. 061
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonMargot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 10/09/2026From October, methods 'include “exploring the safe use of AI-assisted assessment, supported by appropriate controls and safeguards, starting with a retrospective trial with the UK Metascience Unit to compare what AI would have concluded from past applications against the decisions that were made”.' 234
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonEmi @emiphemera.bsky.social · 10/09/2026I am still furious about this, so let's go: my abortion story aka why I am not dead yet. I intentionally got pregnant in 2015. I was so excited to be a mom, took extra care with nutrition and safety (I had a heavy-duty job at the time). Normal first-trimester nausea and tiredness, nothing crazy. 310569
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonPeter Whitewood @pwhitewood.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Why is the answer to employers wanting more work ready graduates always that universities should provide more workplace training, rather than employers providing more training in the workplace? 27375112
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonRoland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Can a cat be knighted? 17537100
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonMrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 08/09/2026There have been so many impeachable offenses, but lying about how you were a hero on a day that 2,753 people died in NYC in the 9/11 disaster—when you were on the other side of town, safely calling local media to brag about how you now had the tallest downtown building—is such a despicable one 1692244078465
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonJohn Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 09/09/2026Also, why is this basically written up as "quirky crowd make an embarrassing mistake" and not "violent racists form mob because Asian people use hotel"? 5133641130
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonAlexander Kasprzyk @amkasprzyk.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Woke up to find 57 submissions to the journal overnight. I haven’t looked, but I expect approx. 56 will be AI-written slop. To put these numbers in perspective, we publish 40 papers per year. The volume of garbage is getting unmanageable. #MathSky 13012
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonSam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026New PISA data out England is now top ten in all three areas (reading, maths, science) and the second highest performing country outside of east Asia (after Estonia). This is a huge public policy success. 451038253
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonRuss Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 05/09/2026I'm not corrupt. I'm completely incompetent. And corrupt. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...theguardian.com‘I wasn’t even listening,’ Farage says of donations scandal meetingReform UK leader maintains innocence in overseas funding controversy on last day of party conference 32455100
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonLooking at the stars @lookingatthestars.bsky.social · 05/09/2026In her Reform conference speech, Suella Braverman said that under a Reform government, schoolchildren will be obliged to sing the national anthem and “our great hymns”. I cannot imagine that this anything but a net vote loser. 24646
Prof Debby Cotton @profdcotton.bsky.social · 05/09/2026I feel like I was there but can’t quite remember! 000
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonNicola Chester @nicolawriting.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Masked men, blockading a port & roads, & apparently refusing to speak to anyone don’t get arrested. Climate protesters, after the summer we’ve had, chatty, non-threatening, visible & open, politely explaining their cause & reason are treated as terrorists. Where the hell are we going with this? 213444
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonAndy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Were I the prime minister, right now the chief constable and police & crime commissioner for Kent would be in my office having a meeting strictly without tea or biscuits, and this evening I’d be doing a broadcast reassuring the nation that fascist mobs will not be tolerated on our streets. 14391114
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonTom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 04/09/2026THREAD. A collection of charismatic scarecrows I have met and photographed on walks in the countryside over the last 17 years. You will find the all-important caption to each photo in the alt text. 613443
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonLiesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 27/08/2026<opens wikipedia to check on this 'Global University Systems' thingy that's so keen to absorb UK universities in distress> Excellent work by the UK government. Very wise to get tuition fees neatly flow out of the country instead of reforming the system that puts unis in distress in the first place. 13016
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonProf Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇪🇺 @katherineschof8.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Fantastic piece @carolecadwalla.bsky.social This stuck out for me: "Any [UK worker] has the right to minimum health & safety protections in the workplace." Universities are _atrociously bad_ at protecting staff mental H&S and staff with mental health disabilities 1/2 substack.com/home/post/p-...substack.comA Digital LynchingA practical guide for individuals and organisations when the mobs gather 2194
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonBen Griffin @historygriffin.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Always keep a file of the nice things that people say about your work: it’s basic self-care in a profession in which everyone is incentivised to find fault. 3212
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonAlistair King @alistairking.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Struggling to work out why Jenrick would single out these three Commonwealth countries rather than, say, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, whose citizens have exactly the same rights. It’s a head-scratcher. 31168871707
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonStephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 30/08/2026This was from 2024 but I did the exact same thing two weeks ago because I never learn 1229753
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonJohn Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 30/08/2026Men will suggest "vassalage for young people" before making the case for "broad based tax rises". 18452117
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonJon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Academic freedom is when a foreign government dictates how and even whether a university investigates misconduct 62167597
Reposted by Prof Debby CottonPascal Jacquemain @jacquep.bsky.social · 22/08/2026BEIJING: Tesla and eight other automakers said on Friday (Aug 21) they will recall a total of about 4.3 million vehicles in China over concerns that doors may be difficult to open in an emergency, marking the country's largest automotive recall. www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/ch...channelnewsasia.comTesla and others begin record vehicle recall in ChinaChina has said it will ban concealed door handles from 2027, making it the first country to phase out a design popularised by Tesla and widely adopted by domestic Chinese EV makers. 095
Prof Debby Cotton @profdcotton.bsky.social · 25/08/2026I’d be interested to know which you think the seven or eight might be (no, I don’t expect you to answer this publicly!) Until recently I would have had Exeter on that list but here we are… 000