If you were planning avoid entertaining and chores by writing a submission on the national science statement and priorities, you are out of luck. Today not Tuesday, as CMM thought, is deadline.

Chores complete or not, CMM will be back Tuesday.

In Features this morning

Michelle Whitford on the power of peer assisted study sessions. New in Commissioning Editor Sally Kift’s celebrated series, Need now in learning and teaching.

with Tim Cahill (Research Strategies Australia) on why the research strategies Australian universities create all look the same, and often aren’t strategies, HERE

VC Colin Stirling tells CMM why it’s a great job at a great uni, HERE

Remote work is a big bargaining issue for the Community and Public Sector Union, which wants codified rights in the next enterprise agreement

“Members have consistently reported … the uneven approach and application of UNSW departments to flexible work arrangements in this area and the current policy is unhelpful in enforcing their rights,” the CPSU tells members.

This appears to refer to a bit in the 2021 flexible work policy, “depending on the nature of their role, staff may choose to work from home or in an alternative work location outside the office that is both safe and productive.”

UNSW should have seen this one coming.

In 2020 a staff survey there found 3 per cent wanted to work on campus full-time (CMM July 22 2020)

The Medical Research Future Fund reports the outcome of its first early and mid career grants – it’s not great for many

There were 428 applications from universities and MRIs, which, the MRFF suggests, “demonstrates the significant demand amongst early to mid-career researchers for funding that allows them to lead research projects.”

Ten of the applications were ruled ineligible and the rest were assessed by three “independent experts” who sent 99 to an independent committee, which selected 23, or 5.4 per cent of the original applications.

Of 255 original applicants who are “woman or female” 12 were funded, compared to 11 for “man or male.”

The largest proportion of grants went to people five-ten years post PhD. The largest number went to earlier researchers

National Tertiary Education Union members at Monash U met yesterday to discuss what to do following their vote to take nine forms of protected industrial action (CMM )

They may have had more to talk about than originally anticipated, given on Tuesday the university presented staff with a pay rise proposal for a new staff agreement, not far off what the national union specified last year. The university is offering a 13.6 per cent compound increase across 30 months (CMM yesterday).

However the Monash branch tweets that members voted to go out for a day, May 3. “Members are unhappy with the current pay offer from the University, poor working conditions, and the slow progress of enterprise negotiations,” is the message.

And yesterday, union state secretary Sarah Roberts adds university surpluses in the previous two financial years means the university can do better.

“Monash has the cash to relieve cost of living pressures in a far more meaningful way,” she states.

She’s right on substantial surpluses in 2020 and ’21m however the university group had a $78m loss in ’22.

VC Margaret Gardner commits to using past surpluses in part for salary increases, (CMM March 27) question now is how much of them.

In March Vice Chancellor Iain Martin set out student numbers, course costs and subjects (CMM March 13). He added a bit the other day

In an interview with TV news channel ABP, the VC said DU’s GIFT city (in Gujurat) campus would;

* have same trimesters as Australia

* courses accredited by the Australian Computer Society

* staff recruited in India “expected” to complete a graduate certificate in HE learning and teaching in three years

* staff in India “supported” to visit Australia once in 12-18 months to learn from and share with colleagues

Shamit Saggar moves from UWA to Curtin U to head the “revitalised” National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education.

At Uni Auckland, Martin Hookham-Simms becomes director of the International Office

Jo Tilly becomes director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at UTS. She has been with the university’s e Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion since 2016.

 Jasmine Vreugdenburg starts next month as director of the Innovation Centre at University of the Sunshine Coast. She moves from Uni South Australia.