This is the third in my trilogy of blogs as I leave Hallam. The first looked at the way the external environment has changed over my time as Vice-Chancellor, the second at the University’s development and this third one is more personal. I have loved my time as Hallam’s Vice-Chancellor. As my old friend, and…
There will be three more blogs before I leave the University at the end of December. This blog is the first of a trilogy. In this, I look out at the world and at higher education at the end of 2023; in the second, I’ll look from the outside in to the University, and in…
I was in London last Wednesday evening for a meeting of a group of Vice-Chancellors with the Shadow Higher Education Minister. On Thursday morning, I walked along the Euston Road to get the 7.00 train to Sheffield, and was soaked to the skin by Storm Ciaran. I’d just about dried off by the time I…
It was winter in Australia. There had been high winds and rain for several weeks, but the weather had broken and the skies were a crisp blue, with frosty mornings – even if you are on the other side of the world, you have to scratch your head a bit and get used to the…
Lord Kerslake, who died at the weekend was an outstanding public servant and outstanding chair of the Sheffield Hallam University Board of Governors. Bob was born in the West Country in 1955 and graduated from the University of Warwick with a first class degree in Mathematics, going on to be the sabbatical president of the…
Sheffield Hallam University’s chancellor, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC played a prominent role in last weekend’s coronation service. She had been asked to carry the Queen’s rod into the Abbey. At the start of the service, she processed with due solemnity past the assembled ranks of dignitaries beside Baroness Floella Benjamin, who had been asked to…
Sheffield is the UK’s fifth largest city by population. It has exceptional assets, including its diverse population and its green spaces. More than 60% of the city’s area is open space, and the Peak District National Park merges with the city’s borders. It has two outstanding universities, between them attracting some 70,000 students at any…
As a language model, ChatGPT has the potential to impact universities in various ways. One of the most significant impacts could be on the way students learn and interact with educational content. ChatGPT can assist students in various learning activities such as generating personalized study materials, answering questions, grading assignments, and providing feedback. By doing…
Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer made his annual budget speech. The government, and the nation, face a challenging economic outlook. Brexit has reduced the size of the economy by something like 4% – if that doesn’t sound much, it’s actually about £140 billion a year. Unanticipated high inflation – in part, though not…
We are all, I suspect, a bit ambivalent about data. On the one hand, we all make use of it most of the time: we are booking a restaurant or a holiday, buying a new domestic appliance, using a local builder or repairer, and we look up their ratings. We try to sift what others…