Vote on University Fees

In addition to teaching duties, Cambridge academics are involved in running the University. Academics are members of The Regent House which is the governing body of the University and responsible for deciding on the rules and regulations of the University.  Changes to University regulations are subject to a democratic vote by all members of The Regent House. We are currently being asked to vote on increasing the fees that undergraduates will have to pay to study here from 2012 onwards. The two options in the vote are to charge fees at £6000 per annum or £9,000 per annum. The current University fees for UK and EU students are £3,375 per year and this will have to increase from 2012 as the Government is cutting the teaching grant money it gives to all Universities in the UK. The current teaching grant to Cambridge is around £51 million and to recoup the loss of this teaching grant, Cambridge will have to charge at least £8,400 per year based on the current number of undergraduates. Cambridge is not alone in this as several other Universities in the UK have already decided to raise the fees to £9,000 per annum which is the maximum allowed by the Government. My moral dilemma is that I completely disagree with any increase in University fees and if they have to go up, I would like them to be kept as small as possible. Morally, I should vote for the £6,000 per annum option but that would not leave the University in a financially viable position and jobs would have to be lost. This would be like a turkey voting for Christmas. The only financially viable option which has been forced upon us by the unholy alliance of the Tories and Liberal Democrats is to vote for the £9,000 per annum increase. I simply cannot do that because, unlike the Lib Dems, I will stick with my principles. I guess the only option I have is to abstain.

Cambridge Science Festival

National Science Week in the UK and Cambridge University is doing its bit to entertain and educate the public. For more information see http://comms.group.cam.ac.uk/sciencefestival/. Science departments have thrown open their doors and are giving lectures and presentations to anyone brave enough to enter the buildings. My department is giving a series of hands-on experiments and demonstrations in one of our large teaching classrooms at the week-end. Academics, post-docs, graduate students and classroom support staff all give their time freely to prepare and host this event. Our contribution is based on the stuff that we teach the undergraduates and also on the research activities in the department. It can be quite challenging trying to explain complex scientific concepts to the general public, many of whom have only basic scientific knowledge. It requires a certain skill in communication to explain difficult concepts in terms that can be understood by the person you are talking to. You have to try to quickly judge what their level of scientific knowledge might be and adapt your explanations accordingly. No point explaining the structure of an atom to a nuclear physicist or a 5 year old. Sometimes it's clear from the glazed eyes that you have pitched your explanation at the wrong level and lost them completely. In general, however, I have always been impressed by the enthusiasm of the visitors and how quickly most people can understand the concept of what you are telling them. The most important thing is to be passionate about what you are explaining; enthusiasm can hold an audience and a monotone drone will lose them.

Aims of this blog

There are a lot of misconceptions about what members of staff actually do at Cambridge University. I hope that through this blog I will inform the general public about the way in which Cambridge University functions and what it is like to work here. I hope to dispel the impression amongst some people that all we do is sit around drinking port and growing senile.