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'She moved to Manchester in 2003 at the age of 18 to study politics and modern history at the University of Manchester. After graduating, she began her career in local government.' Hist/Pol graduate replaces English graduate as Mayor of Manchester. Not degrees in favour with governments. Sadly.

Labour's Bev Craig elected mayor of Greater Manchester, replacing Andy BurnhamThe contest was triggered when now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham stood down from the role following his election as an MP last month.www.bbc.co.uk

'“It’s the fastest spreading Ebola epidemic that we have ever seen,” Carl Skau, acting head of the United Nations World Food Programme, told the Reuters news agency. “The world needs to pay much more attention.”' 1/2

Utility outbids data centre developer to purchase coal plant to meet AI-driven electricity surge as the world burns.

Coal back in favour as US plant bidding war highlights rising demand to power AITop utility fought ‘aggressively’ to outbid data centre developer for control of West Virginia facilitywww.ft.com

'The Pathways trial, run by researchers at King's College London (KCL), will start recruiting more than 220 children aged between 11 and 16 years old from 1 August.' 'The judge...refused the application for a judicial review saying that none of the claims...had a realistic chance of success.'

Puberty blockers trial can start recruiting children after judge rejects legal challengeCampaigners brought the legal action to try and stop the trial going ahead.www.bbc.co.uk

More clouds over Dundee, very sadly. 1/2

Scottish Funding Council hunts for new chief executive to preside over Dundee University crisisFrancesca Osowska is stepping down from the challenging role following a series of close family bearavements.www.thecourier.co.uk

@profserious.bsky.social is getting serious about Arts & Humanities. But how serious is serious? A 🧵part 1/3 1) How many of these questions could/should be asked of all subjects? (Me: all). 2) Where are universities' actual costs for different subjects (research & teaching) in this assessment?

Whither the Arts and Humanities?... arguments and adaptationsprofserious.substack.com

And Research England released QR grant allocations for 2026-27 yesterday, so everyone can see what research income will flow into their university based on REF results. Get clicking. www.ukri.org/publications...

Research England payment profiles for grant allocationsThe timing of Research England payments of allocated grant funding to individual higher education providers.www.ukri.org

Health warning p. 6 of the English funding letter: government grant for future years may decrease so revisions down may occur: 'We urge providers to take this into account and be prudent in their financial planning.' Total recurrent grant down 4.8%; -100% for C1.1 and C1.2 subjects (Table 4). 1/2

Today PM's office has announced that mayors are to receive funding for 16-19 year olds' skills training as part of devolution. Details in the autumn. (Expect devils in details).

'"We played a part in the transatlantic slave trade. That is clear. Part of the Christian belief in repentance is about action, so we are putting in place action to support those communities that feel the legacy of the slave trade," she added.' 1/2

Archbishop of Canterbury committed to £100m slavery fundDame Sarah Mullally has renewed her commitment to the fund on a visit to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.www.bbc.co.uk

Hmmm. Many STEM scientists argue that science isn't and shouldn't be political, a view many in Humanities and Social Sciences view with great scepticism. Big literatures on this. But should we really be using Jodrell Bank to argue for a more politically-inflected science policy at UKRI? Really?

'Applicants holding the Ph.D. at the time of application must have received the degree after January 1, 2025. Applicants not yet holding the Ph.D. are expected to have completed a substantial portion of the dissertation – at least half – at the time of application.' 4 August deadline.

2026 Call for ApplicationsThe Princeton Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts, an interdisciplinary group of scholars in the humanities and social sciences, invites applications for the 2027-2030 fellowship competition. Appli...sf.princeton.edu

'Papers with open peer-review reports are less likely to be retracted, says a preprint study.'

Daily briefing: Ice-age art hints at how humans flourishedTiny bird figurines hint at the sophistication of Europe’s earliest Homo sapiens. Plus, open peer-review reports are less likely to be retracted and a mission to fly over dangerous ‘fire clouds’.www.nature.com

'Back in October 2023, OfS announced the criteria for selecting providers for its 2024 round of “boots on the ground” B3 inspections. It was, we were told, to specifically consider business and management courses and courses delivered through sub-contractual partnerships.' 1/2

Why are all the risks that students face being kept a secret?A couple of weeks ago now, you may have seen that the FT picked up the stat that the Global Banking School is now the UK’s biggest HE provider.wonkhe.com