Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Ecologists have discussed the need for quantitative training reform for over a century. Why does progress remain limited? Our new perspective argues how progress has been constrained, and offers an integrated vision to overcome the inertia. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.comA century of inertia in quantitative ecology educationEcology has undergone a profound methodological transformation through the rapid growth in new technologies, data volume, statistical innovation and analytical sophistication. These developments c... 122
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Kicking off day 2 of the @britishecologicalsociety.org Movement Ecology Annual Meeting with an invited seminar from Fabiola Iannarilli. @cardiffuni.bsky.social 021
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Delighted to welcome ~70 movement ecologists to @cardiffuni.bsky.social School of Biosciences, many travelling thousands of miles, to attend #BESMove2026. We start with an invited plenary from Thomas Mueller on "Animal Movements in the Anthropocene". 2 days, 28 presentations, 14 posters! 010
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 02/07/2026This book is now available to purchase in paperback for the very reasonable (and curiously precise) sum of £17.02 (+postage)! Purchase here: www.lulu.com/shop/brittan.... Or still read online for free here: teaching-programming.github.io/book/ 010
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 24/06/2026Hugely enjoyed the last two days at #Burwalls 2026, Aston University 🌞 Excellent discussions; from trends in misuse of #statistics to shaping curricula for a #data literate society 📊 I presented an example of how to teach statistics using biscuits! 🍪 Also loved exploring Birmingham's Shoreditch 🧑🎨 000
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 23/06/2026And that book is now published! Free here: teaching-programming.github.io/book/ Phenomenal work by the editors. Pleased to have co-authored two chapters w/ @chrissuthy.bsky.social @talom.bsky.social @chrisoldnall.bsky.social @brittneuropsych.bsky.social @colquhoun.bsky.social Rob Young & Ozan Evkaya 074
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 12/02/2026A pleasure to be at CREEM, @uniofstandrews.bsky.social today and yesterday for an invited seminar on quantitative education for ecologists. My first time visiting the Observatory. An energising couple of days! @fergusjchadwick.bsky.social @chrissuthy.bsky.social @talom.bsky.social 141
Reposted by Dr William KayZack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 07/02/2026Reform Vs Green. Hate Vs Hope. Hundreds and hundreds of people out on the streets today making sure hope wins. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukGorton and Denton by-election: Zack Polanski urges 'hope over hate'Zack Polanski joined candidate Hannah Spencer, a councillor and plumber, on the campaign trail. 331407343
Reposted by Dr William Kayrichiebryan.bsky.social @richiebryan.bsky.social · 26/12/2025Immigration is good for this country! Let the truth ring out 🔔 117440
Reposted by Dr William KayZack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 25/12/2025Watching the total donations shooting up after the Xmas Day Message is so beautiful. Thank you all! 💚🎄 www.justgiving.com/campaign/tog...justgiving.comTogether in SolidarityAt Calais Appeal, we come together with varied areas of expertise to provide essential support. We are committed to continuing this essential network of solidarity, but we need your support to do so. 7558148
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 25/12/2025The real man of the people. A far more important, memorable, and humanitarian Christmas message than the "King's" speech. Great work @zackpolanski.bsky.social. Merry Christmas indeed. #kind2026 010
Reposted by Dr William KayZack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 25/12/2025A Christmas Day tale in 3 parts. 1) Steve Reed - Housing Minister - launches a Xmas Day attack. 2) It's the Labour Governments usual shit. 3) join.greenparty.org.uk Merry Xmas! www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/exclus...huffingtonpost.co.ukExclusive: Cabinet Minister Brands Zack Polanski A 'Con Artist' In Outspoken AttackSteve Reed also suggested the Green Party leader is immoral. 1151146240
Reposted by Dr William KayAndy Williams @llantwit.bsky.social · 19/12/2025Some really (and qualifiedly) good news from Cardiff UCU @cardiffucu.bsky.social : No redundancies next year, no downgrading of professional services staff. And all without the need for disruptive industrial action, which nobody at all wants. nation.cymru/news/cardiff...nation.cymruCardiff University agrees to no compulsory redundancies in 2026Martin Shipton Union members at Cardiff University have welcomed “major concessions” from management including no compulsory redundancies in 2026 in an ongoing dispute about job cuts and working condi... 35617
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 16/12/2025Today's the day! This is looking to be a very well attended session! Exciting! 030
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 12/12/2025Excited to host #BES2025 Thematic Session next week! The future of quantitative learning and literacy in ecology. 16 Dec 16:00-18:00 Edinburgh EICC @fiebergjohn.bsky.social @nhcooper123.bsky.social @fergusjchadwick.bsky.social @talom.bsky.social @chrissuthy.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org 084
Reposted by Dr William KayCameron Patrick @cameronpat.bsky.social · 19/09/2025eight years as a statistical consultant and ecologists still manage to collect weird data that I'm not immediately sure what to do with (it's fun though!) 1327
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 08/09/2025I'm excited to share that this Wednesday (10th Sept at 12:00 BST) I'll be presenting this year's first National Centre for Statistical Ecology (NCSE) invited seminar: "How should we train the next generation of statistical ecologists?" #ecology #rstats 120
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 04/09/2025~4hrs of work planned for the journey this morning with @transportforwales.bsky.social only to find, yet again, that the WiFi won't connect. Very disappointing. Appears to be a consistent issue on trains on the Holyhead line... 000
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 04/09/2025Very wet and early start this morning to travel to Liverpool for CETL-MSOR 2025! 000
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 31/07/2025The RoSE conference is now live! A marathon 13 hr day of talks all about statistics education - what more could you want? It's not too late to join - register at this link: forms.gle/ebM2kPyYAhbv.... #RoSE2025Conf #StatsEd #EduSky #statistics 032
Reposted by Dr William KayRoSE Network @rosenetwork.bsky.social · 10/07/2025Do your students suffer from statistics anxiety? Don't miss our free #StatsEd conference on July 31st, and learn more about who struggles with statistics and potential solutions! Register to attend here: bit.ly/roseconferen... #EduSky #statistics #teaching #mathanxiety 044
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 25/06/2025On the move again, this time to the Year 2 Coastal Ecology field course in Dale, Pembrokeshire. 000
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 24/06/2025Thoroughly enjoyed my day return to Glasgow University for @ukcots.bsky.social #UKCOTS25. Another city with stunning architecture. 120
Reposted by Dr William KayJames Bartlett @bartlettje.bsky.social · 20/06/2025Nearly there #UKCOTS2025! Looking forward to meeting everyone at the pre-conference social on Monday. Just need to make sure I make the registration desk for 8am on Tuesday... 022
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 21/06/2025As both an academic staff member at Cardiff University and an active seafarer (volunteer lifeboat coxswain), this is devastating news. 011
Reposted by Dr William KayRoSE Network @rosenetwork.bsky.social · 21/06/2025Good news, researchers and educators in #StatsEd! The RoSE 2025 e-conference registration has just opened up! Sign up for our free international conference happening July 31st here: bit.ly/roseconferen... 01314
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 21/05/2025Interested in external training courses on biological data analysis (and more!)? Follow @prstats.bsky.social! I've taught on their courses and sent students to them. I'd highly recommend! I attended my first spatial analysis course with them back in 2016. Website: www.prstats.orgprstats.org 010
Reposted by Dr William KayPR Stats @prstats.bsky.social · 20/05/2025Online Course - Live and Online Full course details and registration: www.prstats.org/course/onlin... #SpeciesDistributionModelling #BayesianStatistics #EcologicalModelling #RStats #QuantitativeEcology #SpatialEcology #EnvironmentalDataScience #Biostatistics #EcologyTraining #StatisticalModelling 0103
Reposted by Dr William KayPR Stats @prstats.bsky.social · 21/05/2025Live & Online Sep 22nd–26th Instructor: Dr. Neftalí Sillero Key concepts, data preparation, model calibration and validation. Registration: www.prstats.org/course/speci... #SpeciesDistribution #Ecology #RStats #SpatialAnalysis #ENM #SDM #EcologicalModelling #EnvironmentalScience #RProgramming 0132
Dr William Kay @willpkay.bsky.social · 19/04/2025Very pleased to share the news that I'm now a Lifeboat Coxswain at @SevernRescue. This comes after 3 years of training with SARA Newport, and ~5 years of prior service as Crew with @TheMumblesRNLI @RNLI. 000
Reposted by Dr William KayLeighton Andrews @leightonandrews.bsky.social · 12/03/2025Six weeks ago today I and 1806 other academics @cardiffuni were told our jobs were at risk of redundancy. Six weeks on, and the University has failed to give us information promised in the consultation document which is crucial to the submission of critiques by Friday. nation.cymru/news/cardiff...nation.cymruCardiff University releases breakdown of academics 'in scope' for redundancyMartin Shipton Cardiff University has released to Nation.Cymru the breakdown by School of the 1,807 academics who have been told their jobs are “in scope” to be cut. The university announced in Januar... 35431
Reposted by Dr William KayRob Thomas @robthomasbirds.bsky.social · 15/03/2025For the urgent attention of university vice-chancellors. 1124
Reposted by Dr William KayDarren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · 10/03/2025Its frustrating since there are a lot of statistical misunderstandings found in even the most prestigious medical journals, so they become enshrined as "correct" but contradict the expert statistician's understanding. statsepi.substack.com/p/how-bad-st...statsepi.substack.comHow bad statistical practices drive away the good onesI am interested in research integrity and reproducibility. 0154
Reposted by Dr William KayChris Satoor @nieaufgehenderrest.bsky.social · 10/03/2025"Education Is Not A Product. The Students Are Not Customers. The Professors Are Not Tools. The University Is Not A Factory." 13110
Reposted by Dr William KayAndy Williams @llantwit.bsky.social · 10/03/2025I just a BBC Radio Wales interview for Cardiff UCU. Cardiff Uni needs to work in true social partnership with the Union, and draw on its millions in available ££ to fund a more gradual recovery which doesn’t destroy 400+ jobs & irreparably harm the University/Wales. ✊👇 youtu.be/tqjaFuFdESM?...youtu.beDr Andy Williams from Cardiff UCU on the struggle to save 400+ jobs at Cardiff Uni. 10.03.25YouTube video by Llantwit1977 11614
Reposted by Dr William KayMasud Husain @masudhusain.bsky.social · 06/03/2025Why academia is sleepwalking into self-destruction. My editorial @brain1878.bsky.social If you agree with the sentiments please repost. It's important for all our sakes to stop the madness academic.oup.com/brain/articl... 51538308
Reposted by Dr William KayRob Thomas @robthomasbirds.bsky.social · 27/02/2025Correct me if I'm wrong, but are we supposed to be celebrating the news that after Cardiff University gives up on training nurses, the Welsh Government scales up its recruitment of nurses from other countries that *can* be bothered to train nurses on our behalf? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukIndian nurses to help fill 2,000 NHS vacanciesThe arrival of 200 Indian nurses in Wales is welcomed - but a union warns of far greater shortages. 197
Reposted by Dr William KayDr Seán DOOLAN 🏴 🇮🇪 @sdinpraxis.bsky.social · 23/02/2025Dystopian mismanagement. "There is no trust left. Even before the hammer fell, a survey found that only 31% of staff said they trusted the University Executive Board to be honest in their communications. People are also terrified." 022
Reposted by Dr William KayMôr Leidr @bartiddu.bsky.social · 23/02/2025Also shocking is Cardiff Uni’s VC plunging into partnership with Kazakhstan - a regime with an appalling human rights record This is what the neoliberalisation of the HE sector results in: amoral institutions, led by sociopaths, no longer capable of fulfilling their civil society role 0103
Reposted by Dr William KayMôr Leidr @bartiddu.bsky.social · 23/02/2025What’s equally shocking to me is Cardiff Uni’s Vice Chancellor eager to plunge into partnership with an authoritarian regime with an appalling human rights record. This is what the neoliberalisation of the HE sector results in: amoral institutions incapable of fulfilling their civil society rolehrw.orgWorld Report 2024: Rights Trends in Kazakhstan 086
Reposted by Dr William KayRage Against the Miocene @organiccarbon.bsky.social · 23/02/2025Key to the UK higher education crisis is that any whiff of financial concern energizes a Board of Trustees to shift from friendly advisors to aggressively interventionist. Every intervention is to impose the managerialism from their own sectors. It always fails, because universities are different. 32911
Reposted by Dr William KaySimon Cox @simonfrcox.bsky.social · 23/02/2025the arrogance and haste reminds me of when Cardiff was created through a forced merger (I was a student activist there at the time). But UC Cardiff was broke then. Now it has capital enough to build a new campus in Kazakhstan - yet is slashing courses in Wales. 1128
Reposted by Dr William KayPaul Langley @paullangley.bsky.social · 23/02/2025Weekend reading in UK universities 032
Reposted by Dr William KayMark Breeze @markyb62.bsky.social · 22/02/2025This is what happens when you turn our academic institutions into businesses. Their aims, metrics by which they measure themselves, become distorted, corrupted even. To think that not so long ago, Universities (& other HE) only focus was to build national knowledge and capability. 0122
Reposted by Dr William KayPaolo Sandro @paolosandro.bsky.social · 22/02/2025As I said before: one of the biggest root causes of the decline of UKHE has been the progressive professionalisation of a managerial class of academics, who do damages in one institution for five years or so and then simply move to another institution, with zero accountability to their colleagues./1 2318
Reposted by Dr William KayDaniela Barillà @danielabarilla.bsky.social · 22/02/2025Chilling read… Solidarity to all the colleagues at Cardiff University. “Some colleagues were told that offering to teach in Kazakhstan might save their jobs. Apparently the university will decimate itself in Cardiff and rebuild itself in Astana”. 023
Reposted by Dr William KayRob Thomas @robthomasbirds.bsky.social · 21/02/2025Spending my Friday night analysing Cardiff University’s EDI data in relation to which categories of staff have been placed “at risk of redundancy”, because the HR department seems to have forgotten to do so. #LivingTheDream #BasicDueDilligence #RStats #11pm #UnpaidOvertime 4186
Reposted by Dr William KayEd Granter @edgranter.bsky.social · 21/02/2025All too familiar journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....journals.sagepub.comSage Journals: Discover world-class researchSubscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher. 031
Reposted by Dr William KayTina Hagger @haggytea.bsky.social · 22/02/2025This sounds extraordinarily familiar, including the Friday afternoon emails of PDFs and the woeful online mental health services for staff. 032