Sep 07 2013
I heard about Raise Your IQ a few months ago, but I never got around to blogging about it. I must admit that I know very little about it, and I would normally be quick to dismiss such a concept. However, what caught my attention was the number of well known entities that are behind this, including NUI Maynooth and Enterprise Ireland.
I hope to give it a try coming into the winter months. I will be sure to write about my experiences here :)
Comments Off on Raise Your IQ
Feb 16 2013
A friend brought this interesting infographic from Which Countries Pay Its Teachers What They’re Worth? to my attention this week (click image to see larger version):
Who Pays Teachers Best for their Time?
I expected that Ireland would have been higher on the right hand side!
Comments Off on Primary School Teachers’ Hours and Pay
Oct 23 2012
This is brilliant – it is so simple, and yet so true!
The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D.
There are some other very good articles on that site also.
Jul 31 2012
Yes – you read the title correctly! A team of researchers from Duke University has built a gigapixel camera for the US Department of Defence. The approach it has taken is to create a curved sensor (probably best understood from the drawing below). I think that is very interesting!
Gigapixel Sensor (Copyright Digital Photography Review)
You can read about it, and see a sample photo, in One-shot gigapixel camera offers a future beyond flat sensors and Megapixel Camera? Try Gigapixel.
Jul 28 2012
I noticed that DCU has recently launched a new computing degree (B.Sc.) titled Problem Solving and Software Development (PSSD). The novel thing about it is that entry is achieved by showing an aptitude for programming rather than by the traditional exams results method. For more information see DCU School of Computing launches new degree to produce top programmers.
I think that it is a really great idea, and I hope that it is a success! Of course, I assume that the course will be suitably tailored for entrants that have a natural aptitude for computing!
Jun 07 2012
The Irish Government’s spending watchdog (the Comptroller and Auditor General) has reported on the staff overspending in Irish Universities, and some of the findings are reported in University staff paid €8.1m in excess of approved rates – Comptroller & Auditor General.
The breakdown is as follows:
However, it is not all good news regarding DCU – it bailed out two of its subsidiary companies. I do not understand why these companies were created as commercial ventures in the first place.
WIT (not a university) also receives criticism:
It cites breaches of spending policy on subsistence and hospitality – including €18,452 spent on flowers and €3,067 on gifts.
Unfortunately, I am not surprised by this :o It is not the first time that WIT has been found misappropriating funds (see How WIT Spends the Taxpayers’ Money). WIT seems to have the worst reputation in Ireland based upon the people whom I have met!
I would like to think that the institutions involved have repaid the money, and that the relevant people have been demoted or fired.
Comments Off on Irish University Staff Overpayments
May 22 2012
There is another indictment of our failing third level education system described in Digital Marketing Institute says Ireland has ‘unemployable’ marketing graduates.
This time it relates to marketing graduates, and their lack of digital marketing skills.
The institute’s Ian Dodson said that 100% of marketing jobs now involve digital marketing, but that just 10% of third level graduates have those skills.
I think that digital marketing should be a mandatory requirement!
“Unfortunately, third level students are coming out, not just with poor digital literacy in Office applications, but with woeful levels of literacy when it comes to using the more modern tools and technologies, like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, to promote and market business,” he added.
I often think that academics in Irish universities become lazy, and simply regurgitate the same material despite it often being many years out of date!
It really makes a farce out of the government promoting Ireland as a knowledge economy :|
Comments Off on Unemployable Marketing Graduates
May 05 2012
I read an interesting article during the week by a UCD professor lamenting the drive by Irish Universities towards greater industrial linkage. The article is The bleak future of the Irish university.
I disagree with most of his opinions, and I think it is very important that Irish universities become more relevant to Irish industry!
Comments Off on Commercialisation of Irish Universities
May 03 2012
There have been some interesting moves by some of the top universities and academics recently regarding the costs of publishing and viewing published content. For example, see Mathematicians Organize Boycott of a Publisher, Academic publishing doesn’t add up, and Harvard University says it can’t afford journal publishers’ prices.
I wonder if this is the start of a major change!
Comments Off on The Cost of Academic Publishing
Apr 30 2012
The deadline for entry into the Annual All-Ireland Schools’ Programming Competition is the end of this week! It is a great competition, and the standard at the final in DCU is always extremely high!
For more details see How to Enter.
Comments Off on Annual All-Ireland Schools’ Programming Competition
