iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Erika Gaffney @erikagaffney.bsky.social · 9h

I'm so pleased to see that this volume is now published! Congratulations to the editors & contributors - Alice Thornton’s Books Reassessing the Life Writings of a 17th-Century Woman Edited by Cordelia Beattie, Suzanne Trill, Jo Edge / @hagenilda.bsky.social www.routledge.com/Alice-Thornt...

Front cover of a book, featuring in the top half a Vermeer painting of a woman sitting at a desk writing while another woman stands behind her, looking out a window.

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Priyamvada Gopal @priyamvadagopal.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I promise you if I tried this even once I'd be hauled up into a disciplinary. But Dr Orr? Little research, no teaching, no problem. www.varsity.co.uk/news/32175

varsity.co.uk

Orr’s lectures covered by a postgrad

James Orr had a postgrad cover approximately seven lectures, allegedly without the Divinity Faculty’s knowledge

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Chenchen Zhang 🤦🏻‍♀️ @chenchenzhang.net · 30/09/2026

this time can you apply to join Schengen (for the first time) as well?? crying in the days and months and £££ spent on applying Schengen visas & waiting in border queues etc

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Sophia Woodman @sophisteria.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In response to @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social strikes, our VC says "we remain firmly committed to constructive and transparent engagement with our joint unions.” No mention of "negotiations", which are needed NOW so I can get back to teaching my students www.theguardian.com/education/20...

theguardian.com

Edinburgh joins UK universities heading for strikes as cuts spread through entire sector

Students at Edinburgh, Dundee and Nottingham face a term without any teaching as sector struggles with rising financial uncertainty

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Sophia Woodman @sophisteria.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Closing off the options for future students to understand and engage with the rest of the world is vandalism, and ultimately self-destructive. It must stop! c.org/yF7rC4wgWR

c.org

Firma la petizione

Stop redundancies at the University of Birmingham

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

'The University and College Union (UCU)’s Edinburgh branch said staff had been called into “informal meetings at less than 24 hours' notice” and told not to bring union representatives.'

heraldscotland.com

Fear and anger as university set to announce 'massive course and programme closures'

Asked to respond, a university spokesperson said that staff and students were recently informed of changes to “our future academic offering across…

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Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Hi, #UCU. UCU's Anti-casualisation committee are running an Equality & Anticas webinar on 23rd September, at 12.30pm and 5pm. Come and hear from chair Ben Pope, and speakers Suzi Toole, Andy Ward and Kevin Daws. Links to register and more info in linked post. Please share and pass to contacts!

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 04/09/2026

The general secretary is spot on here. Our own poll exposed Reform’s data and now this report has exposed the dodgy money that paid for it.

A tweet by the general secretary Dr Jo Grady

The poll commissioned by Reform was paid for by dodgy money.

This poll said union members were backing reform.

UCU commissioned our own poll and overwhelming members rejected that lie.

Get Farage and his fake working class act out of politics.

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David Bretherton @dtbretherton.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Excellent news. Management backed down before the strike ballot even closed. Congratulations to Exeter UCU. This is why union membership and solidarity is so important. #UCU

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Exeter UCU @exeterucu.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The University of Exeter has confirmed that it won’t proceed with compulsory redundancies “at this time”. This means colleagues do not need to complete the pro forma, and there will be no selection process.

photo of Nicole Kidman looking incredibly joyful and free after her divorce from Tom Cruise was finalised

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Exeter UCU @exeterucu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

While there is some relief in the threat of compulsory redundancies being removed, we are also thinking of the amazing colleagues we are losing through so-called voluntary redundancy. These colleagues are experts in their fields, they are our academic community, and they are fantastic educators

SO MANY EXPERTS, INSPIRING EDUCATORS, SUPERVISORS, TOP RESEARCHERS, COLLEAGUES LOST THROUGH TERS (THE EXETER RELEASE SCHEME). WE'LL CONTINUE TO FIGHT TO #DEFENDEXETERUNI

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Sophia Woodman @sophisteria.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

'British universities are becoming not so much managerialist as authoritarian... Consultation still exists but nothing anyone says can change the decision or remove those who made it.' Exactly this. www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/uk-d...

timeshighereducation.com

UK devolution must extend to its authoritarian universities

Institutions whose managers are unaccountable to their staff can never be truly civic universities, says Krzysztof Nawratek

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 24/07/2026

To the new government: post-16 education cannot wait. Universities are cutting jobs and closing courses. College lecturers are still £10,000 behind schoolteachers. UCU vice president Mark Pendleton told Times Radio ministers must get a grip.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

It's not that simple. This has been the DfE, DSIT and UKRI argument for many months now. It's also the argument made by a number of 'think tanks' for years and has traction in more than 1 political party. Demonising a handful of universities isn't an effective way to address that damaging model. 1/2

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

'While there are no “easy answers”...research concentration...is going to work better, because there is never going to be enough money to go around”, said Tickell, who acknowledged that “everyone would hate me for saying this”. So have a think and say something less dire for the sector? 1/2

researchprofessionalnews.com

Concentrating research in fewer UK universities splits vice-chancellors - Research Professional News

Birmingham leader’s call to focus on 20-30 institutions amid surging applications contested by fellow VCs

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

‘We urge the Government to prioritise this issue. Should this situation continue unchecked, the damage to the health of higher education, research and innovation will be profound and have long-lasting consequences.’ www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/stateme...

thebritishacademy.ac.uk

British Academy President: UK higher education crisis risks irreversible damage

As course closures, shrinking provision and widening regional inequalities threaten the future of UK higher education and research, President of the British Academy, Susan J Smith calls for an immedia...

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Old School Punk Librarian @kennethf62.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Just a reminder. I'm always surprised how many people aren't aware of this. #Libraries

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Oli Mould @olimould.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Shutting the barn door so late that the horse is wearing a full-on SS uniform.

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Sophia Woodman @sophisteria.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

'These cuts represent an existential threat to humanities and social science disciplines at Exeter.' Stop academic vandalism in the name of 'financial sustainability'!! #UCU #EUCU #StopStaffCuts c.org/w7WZKpv7mQ

c.org

Sign the Petition

Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter

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Rob 🏳️‍🌈 @rotster.net · 02/07/2026

This is good news and hopefully means that our employers will stop blaming their ideological cuts on the cost of pensions for five minutes.

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Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Exceptionally important and positive news for our sectors!! #UCU #UKHE

Times Higher headline:

TPS employer contribution rate to drop below 20 per cent

Universities could save up to £900 million after years of sky-high payments

Published on July 1, 2026

Last updated July 1, 2026

Juliette Rowsell

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Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I am very glad to see how widely covered the insanity at Exeter is, but please I beg everyone, understand this is happening EVERYWHERE in UK universities. If people care about anything valuable that this sector does or contributes too, they need to get loud, now.

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Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

It is hard. I've survived a redundancy round (last year), but understand how little separates me from those who didn't. I have written extensively about how to change big structures, but right now what is needed is old fashioned pressure politics. Literally turning up with mates at Mp surgeries.

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Declassified UK @declassifieduk.org · 02/07/2026

The Charity Commission is "assessing concerns" over the Great Israeli Real Estate event where, we showed, properties from seven illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank were advertised. 👉 www.declassifieduk.org/revealed-ill... www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/regulat...

civilsociety.co.uk

Regulator assessing concerns over Great Israeli Real Estate event hosting

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Alex Prichard @profalexp.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

We just ran a branch meeting to pass a strike motion that attracted 707 members!!! I meant whaaaat?! And we passed the six amendments, and the motion itself in half an hour! WTF! And we had time for a discussion to close!!!! Boss chairing by yours truly and Michael Flexer. @exeterucu.bsky.social

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Robert Heinze @rheinze.myatproto.social · 01/07/2026

If DRC beats England and Senegal Belgium, Ghana needs to play France at some point and we have achieved decolonisation by panafrican means

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Coverage for a new report from @hepi-news.bsky.social looking at languages provision in schools www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/07/01/n...

That is probably the fact that a huge majority of secondary schools in England have pretty minimal language provision. At most schools, there is less than one modern language GCSE entry for every two pupils.
"The decline in language learning explains the difficulties universities now face in filling their language courses, as well as the spate of modern language course closures in higher education," Hepi says.
The report has caught the eye of Hetan Shah, chief executive of the British Academy. He said it highlights "a concerning picture".
"As the British Academy has long noted, provision of language subjects in secondary schools has been in decline and there are signs that the recent policy changes are making a bad situation worse," he said.
"Access is unequal, with learners in disadvantaged areas often having little to no access to language learning. This has broken the pipeline, leading to cold spots emerging in higher education and devastating our linguistic capability in research."

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

“Academics want to promote their research outside of the university....However, in an increasingly queerphobic and transphobic public environment, this is becoming more difficult and riskier for researchers working on LGBTQ+ topics and they often face a backlash.” (Dr Charlotte Jones) 1/3

swansea.ac.uk

Academics researching LGBTQ+ topics face hostility and career risks, study finds

They say all publicity is good publicity, but new research has revealed the significant challenges academics researching LGBTQ+ topics face when bringing their work into the public eye.

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Dr Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Newsletter #21 is here! Come and get it! #UCU #UKHE And if you're not already subscribed, why not do it now?

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Owen Jones @owenjones.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

This is such an important point.

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Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

But honestly the big problem is the deluge of clearly LLM-massaged papers that lack original research, tend to superficial summarization, artificially combine concepts, and produce numbered "principles" and "propositions" as conclusions. AI is like grit in the cogs of journals - grinding them down.

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Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Tracks. 5 years ago our little education technology journal got 300 submissions in a year. Today we passed 900 in 6 months. It's not all LLMs of course, but that is an infuriating part of the problem...

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Chenchen Zhang 🤦🏻‍♀️ @chenchenzhang.net · 30/06/2026

11 fully funded PhD positions (13 TV-L/75%) to work on China's Geoeconomic Rise and the Accumulation of Structural Power www.uni-goettingen.de/de/644546.ht...

uni-goettingen.de

Stellenanzeigen - Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Webseiten der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

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Lisa Rullsenberg @rullsenberg.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Awful that someone would so blatantly claim the work of @rachelcleves.bsky.social as their own. Single line credit. Now even that is buried by the promotion of the appropriated scholarship. Pursue the original book Charity + Sylvia by Cleves. I'm a huge graphics fan, but this is SOUR practice

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Onni Gust @onnigust.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Unlike management's race to the bottom, this 69-page alternative proposal shows how a functioning, thriving & secure university is possible. This is what happens when principled, intelligent people, who genuinely care about HE put their amazing minds together. Well done @uonucu.bsky.social

uonucu.org

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Lisa Rullsenberg @rullsenberg.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

For those who I've been talking to about how @uonucu.bsky.social is fighting back, this was the part one of our Counter Proposal on the Finances 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

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Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

And now both those overrecruiting and underrecruiting are (whether cynically or not) screwed? Who'd a thunk it. Equitable, negotiated student distribution NOW

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Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I'm sorry but history autodidacts are like, really not a thing to want, and writing in praise of a type of amateur gentleman scholar that ceased to exist by like the 1960s is the most Times Opinion it's possible to have on education.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

'Overall, 52 per cent of white working-class pupils told researchers that they were likely to attend university, versus 82 per cent of their peers.' Bit of a disconnect with the Time Higher deadline, then? 1/2

timeshighereducation.com

University ‘inaccessible or irrelevant’ to white working classes

Just half of white working-class pupils say they’re likely to attend university, compared with 82 per cent of their middle-class peers

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Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Just had a lovely email to inform me that my first book, 'Onomantic Divination in Late Medieval Britain', is coming out in paperback next year! #MedievalSky Needed some positive news, and it landed. boydellandbrewer.com/book/onomant...

boydellandbrewer.com

Onomantic Divination in Late Medieval Britain

Demonstrates the wide prevalence of supposedly impermissible divination techniques found in a wide range of manuscripts from medieval Britain.

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UCU Commons @ucucommons.org · 23/06/2026

Despicable: Uni of Exeter putting over 500 staff at risk of compulsory redundancy. Thoughts are with all Exeter branch comrades. #UCU #UKHE

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

'The University of Exeter is proposing to cut about 150 staff roles. A spokesperson for the university said it was "consulting with colleagues over limited and specific potential changes across some areas of our academic faculties".' 1/4

bbc.co.uk

University of Exeter in talks to cut about 150 members of staff

The university says it is consulting with colleagues over "limited and specific potential changes".

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Dr Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Awful news. Thinking of everyone at Exeter. #UCU #UKHE

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