QUB seems determined at present to punish and demotivate all of its staff. The senate in particular should re-examine exactly what results this kind of 'management' is likely to produce. There are no universities high up in any league tables built on such punitive and degrading attitudes to staff.
D
Dr Paul Booth
10 years ago
These requirements of new staff are beyond ludicrous.
J
JAMES ANDERSON
10 years ago
This policy is not only doubly unjust, it is also plain stupid. Many staff on probation will have recently completed thesis research and should be encouraged to convert it into article and/or book publications. Spending (wasting?) time chasing grant money is the last thing many of them need at this stage. If money was the measure of all things we (academics and our 'managers') might as well become bankers.
L
Liam Kennedy
10 years ago
grant money is no indicator of merit: it is an intermediate good.
D
David Priestland
10 years ago
Policies like this will destroy the quality of academic research in the UK. Outrageous and depressing.
C
Catriona Kelly
10 years ago
It is manifestly unfair to alter criteria between the appointment of new staff and the review of appointment. These measures bring the university into disrepute and will be managerially ineffective, since obviously early career researchers can only meet targets that have been declared to them.
P
Paula McFadden
10 years ago
The changes, if imposed, will lead to high levels of attrition and talent leaving the university for stability elsewhere.
A
Ammon Cheskin
10 years ago
This is simply unfair on junior staff.
A
Aoife Foley
10 years ago
Equity and fairness
W
William Hunter
10 years ago
The current rules are particularly harmful given that the university has been placed on demand management by the NERC, limiting us to 1 application per year. This includes the new investigator scheme, which essentially punishes early career researchers for the sins of more established staff who have been submitting higher numbers of sub-standard proposals in the past. Why are ECRs being punished for past failings at the university?
A
Anonymous
10 years ago
None
A
Anonymous
10 years ago
A completely and totally unacceptable further step to erode the academic future of a once great University
D
Dr Chris Gilligan
10 years ago
Featured
Prof John Whyte (QUB) wrote two books that defined their respective fields. He wouldn't have got past probation in today's conditions. What future academic leaders are being lost through the subordination of scholarly pursuit to 'income generation'?
D
Darran McCann
10 years ago
The new "academic standards" are unworkable, counterproductive and unfair.
If they come in as proposed, they will seriously damage to the performance, reputation and standing of the institution. They will also negatively effect the research, careers and lives of the great majority of staff.
Anyone can make a mistake. It is wisdom to know when you have made one. The university leadership has the good fortune of being able to retreat from this serious mistake before they make it. I pray they will avail of this good fortune and reverse course.
V
Vincent Geoghegan
10 years ago
Universities require stewards not leaders, stewardship, not leadership. The duty of a steward is to preserve and sensitively develop the creation of generations.
A
Anonymous
10 years ago
Abhorrent
L
Luke Bannon
10 years ago
Unrealistic and dehumanising
J
Joe Gascon
10 years ago
Desproporcionate and unacceptable measure imposed from QUB senior management on young researchers.
R
Roberta Ann Quance
10 years ago
Queen's is at it again, changing the rules as they go along, with sham consultation at School level, where senior managers do not defend any thing but what comes from the top down. The union needs to come up with a good critique of the way neoliberalism is destroying the University.
A
Alyson Campbell
10 years ago
I worked at Queen's and with a colleague had to take action against very similar unfair, opaque and punitive retrospectively applied requirements for passing probation. We won but I was so disenchanted I left Queen's - and would have left even with no job to go to. I'm now a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, where my research record is admired and rewarded. I'm both sad and outraged that Queen's seems to have learnt nothing about the fair treatment of its employees.
QUB seems determined at present to punish and demotivate all of its staff. The senate in particular should re-examine exactly what results this kind of 'management' is likely to produce. There are no universities high up in any league tables built on such punitive and degrading attitudes to staff.
These requirements of new staff are beyond ludicrous.
This policy is not only doubly unjust, it is also plain stupid. Many staff on probation will have recently completed thesis research and should be encouraged to convert it into article and/or book publications. Spending (wasting?) time chasing grant money is the last thing many of them need at this stage. If money was the measure of all things we (academics and our 'managers') might as well become bankers.
grant money is no indicator of merit: it is an intermediate good.
Policies like this will destroy the quality of academic research in the UK. Outrageous and depressing.
It is manifestly unfair to alter criteria between the appointment of new staff and the review of appointment. These measures bring the university into disrepute and will be managerially ineffective, since obviously early career researchers can only meet targets that have been declared to them.
The changes, if imposed, will lead to high levels of attrition and talent leaving the university for stability elsewhere.
This is simply unfair on junior staff.
Equity and fairness
The current rules are particularly harmful given that the university has been placed on demand management by the NERC, limiting us to 1 application per year. This includes the new investigator scheme, which essentially punishes early career researchers for the sins of more established staff who have been submitting higher numbers of sub-standard proposals in the past. Why are ECRs being punished for past failings at the university?
None
A completely and totally unacceptable further step to erode the academic future of a once great University
Prof John Whyte (QUB) wrote two books that defined their respective fields. He wouldn't have got past probation in today's conditions. What future academic leaders are being lost through the subordination of scholarly pursuit to 'income generation'?
The new "academic standards" are unworkable, counterproductive and unfair. If they come in as proposed, they will seriously damage to the performance, reputation and standing of the institution. They will also negatively effect the research, careers and lives of the great majority of staff. Anyone can make a mistake. It is wisdom to know when you have made one. The university leadership has the good fortune of being able to retreat from this serious mistake before they make it. I pray they will avail of this good fortune and reverse course.
Universities require stewards not leaders, stewardship, not leadership. The duty of a steward is to preserve and sensitively develop the creation of generations.
Abhorrent
Unrealistic and dehumanising
Desproporcionate and unacceptable measure imposed from QUB senior management on young researchers.
Queen's is at it again, changing the rules as they go along, with sham consultation at School level, where senior managers do not defend any thing but what comes from the top down. The union needs to come up with a good critique of the way neoliberalism is destroying the University.
I worked at Queen's and with a colleague had to take action against very similar unfair, opaque and punitive retrospectively applied requirements for passing probation. We won but I was so disenchanted I left Queen's - and would have left even with no job to go to. I'm now a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, where my research record is admired and rewarded. I'm both sad and outraged that Queen's seems to have learnt nothing about the fair treatment of its employees.