Brian M. Lucey

Tag: education analysts

  • Jackie Lavin – A Meme Girl for Irish Higher Education

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    Education is a complex matter while reducing it to simple soundbites is easy. Ignorance, in the pure sense of not knowing, abounds when it comes to higher education. Alas, ignorance creates memes that are powerful.

  • What gets measured gets managed – so how can we manage research without measuring it?

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    This is an expanded version of the “Left Field” column published in the Irish Times.Over the last couple of years there has been a growing feeling amongst all stakeholders – government (supposedly representing the people), the administration (Department of Education and HEA), and the higher education sector that there is an increased scrutiny on what…

  • Do you want the Civil Service to run Universities?

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    This is an significantly extended version of an OpEd published by myself and Charles Larkin (whose name appears missing) in the Irish Times. The Universities (Amendment) Bill 2012 is a shutting of the stable door after the horse has bolted and the stable sold off to a developer. It is kneejerk reaction by regulators who…

  • What have the Romans, sorry Researchers, ever done for us?

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    Another day another paean to applied science… well, a thinly disguised call for more money to go to engineering. Coz, they make stuff y’know, not like basic researchers or heaven help us AHSS (arts, humanities and social sciences) dabblers. After all, what have the romans, sorry, researchers ever given society…This applied-basic dichotomy (and shouldn’t it…

  • What I did in the crisis….

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    So the crisis is now four years old, with the falling into recession of Ireland in september 2008 sounding the clear warning that there were rough times ahead.Somehow or other I (and others) were winkled out of our ivory towers to explain (or not) what was going on. There are  pro and con on whether…

  • Its not the points, its the system, thats a problem in the points system

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    Irish second level school students are now in the early stages of their school-leaving examinations, with oral language  and applied science examinations ongoing and the main written exams starting Wednesday 6th with English Paper 1.They take their examination in a relatively good spot , with a dip in the numbers leaving school likely to result in less…

  • Restrictive Practices in Higher Education in Ireland

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    The Chairman of the Higher education Authority is no stranger to controversy. His most recent interesting comment came when he commented against the “restrictive work practices” of the third level, stating “There are very restrictive HR practices imposed on our higher education institutions by the fact that they are regarded as part of the public service,…

  • A week in higher education

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    This is an expanded and linked version of the column “My Education Week” which appears each Tuesday in the Irish Times. This week is Trinity Week, culminating in the Trinity Ball, which means teaching semester is over. Which, if one believes everything one reads in the papers means that I and every other third level…

  • Back Inside Higher Education : Guest Post

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    A couple of weeks ago Paul Mooney, sometime president of National College of Ireland and now back in his old role as a consultant published an opinion piece in the Irish Times on his perspective on the travails of Irish higher education. Among others I commented, here.  Paul subsequently contacted me and the outcome of…

  • GERMS ! GERMS I SAY!!!!!

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    Perhaps the most annoying advert on the radio at present is the one for “safe food”.  Its brought to you by the Safe Food Agency. Of course it’s a good idea to not poison yourself or your family but the advert is imho so over the top as to ridicule the issue.  The SafeFoodAgency have,…