In Conversation with John Kingman

Leach and Kingman: a masterclass in body language

John Kingman is one of the most powerful figures in UK research. After all, he was the man who appointed the '£6 million man', Mark Walport. He is the non-executive chair of UKRI.

At Wonkfest this year, Kingman spoke to Mark Leach about UKRI, working with the government, the REF and post-Brexit life.

Surviving Conference Coffee

Conference coffee: a killer (Image: Max Pixel, CC0)

It's the conference season. It can be a battering and bewildering time for both seasoned delegates and novices alike. How can you make the most of it and not be defeated in the process? Well, avoid the coffee and you're half way there, but we have six more tips that will help you benefit from the experience.

Royal Society Cuts Conference Grants

In a move that will surprise no one, the Royal Society has followed its sister academy the BA in cutting funding for conference attendance. In a statement in their latest funding newsletter, the Society said:

"Following the latest Comprehensive Spending Review, the Society has unfortunately had to discontinue the International Travel Grants scheme and International Joint Projects scheme. Instead applications for international collaborations will from now on be managed through a new International Exchanges Scheme. However, the Society will unfortunately no longer be able to support conference attendance through this scheme. Whilst we acknowledge that conference attendance is important in raising the profile of UK science and scientists, the Society felt that facilitating international collaborations should be the priority during a period of budget constraints."

I think their belief is that universities should be providing this kind of funding themselves. However, in a time of cuts, I know that departments will be forced to trim their budgets, and the losers are going to be the individual academics, particularly the early career ones.

Still, not to worry. Rather than highlighting this on their news page, the Society is going instead with a story about it raining ants. It'll be skateboarding dogs next.

Tories: Assessment of Impact 'Clunky'

David Willetts, the Conservative shadow education secretary, has queried the assessment of impact in the Research Excellence Framework (Ref), according to ResearchResearch.
At a fringe meeting at the Tory conference, Willetts criticised the "clunky" assessment of impact now required by the research councils. Its saving grace, he said, was that leaders of the research councils had told him that they didn't let it affect their grant-making decisions. And he went on to warn: "We don't want to import that into the Ref."
The statement sharpens the differences between Conservative and Labour over the future of the Ref. While Willetts has shifted the Conservatives away from the new approach outlined in the consultation published by HEFCE last month, vice-chancellors are saying that the impact agenda has come directly from Alistair Darling's Treasury.
Willetts also said at the meeting that he thought the biggest challenge for universities was in teaching, not research, and gave a warm endorsement to the importance of research in the social sciences and humanities.

Innovation, Innovation, Innovation

Shadow science minister Adam Afriyie has said that a future Conservative government would reverse Labour’s approach of centrally driving innovation through the universities and instead let innovation come through business by reducing regulatory and fiscal “obstacles”. Quoted in Nature, he said that “we want to create an environment such that science and research can easily be translated into innovation.”
His comments come shortly after Peter Mandelson's speech to the Labour Conference, at which he said that he wanted 'an innovation nation', and 'closer links between businesses and universities'.

Research Ethics Committees: Help or Hindrance?

UCL are holding a two day conference examining the work of university research ethics committees. It will take place on 12 and 13 November 2009.
While ethics committees are now a familiar feature of research institutions especially within the NHS, academic work on their role, remit and function is still in its infancy. The theme for the conference is how effective ethics committees are in reducing risks to subjects of research without over-burdening researchers with bureaucracy.
More details available here.