Tag Archives: students

Finals failure and longest hair competition win (Rousse)

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The University library was crammed with my final year colleagues, some of whom had apparently been revising there for the full academic year. I was yet to open a book, and with a gap of 28 years since we all … Continue reading →

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Academics work through the night to cope with workload (Rousse)

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I was both amazed and appalled to discover an office full of colleagues on campus working at 02:00 in the morning. One was just about to pack up and go home to his wife and children, but would only manage … Continue reading →

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A monochrome moon rise, a self-driving car, drunken students, a horse, frozen waves, and a train ride to Edinburgh from South Queensferry (Rousse)

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Dreamaticus

From the back seat of the car I noticed the moon rising in monochrome over Waverley Bridge. “Slow down!” I shouted at TPR, “This is amazing. I need to photograph it!” When he didn’t reply to me I leant over … Continue reading →

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The chaos of rapid expansion in UK higher education (Rousse)

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The expansion of Queen Margaret University’s portfolio of courses was so rapid that its building could not cope with the additional student numbers. Indeed something had gone terribly wrong during the extra construction work and now many of the institution’s … Continue reading →

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Dressing up for the doctoral defence (Rousse)

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Each time that I attended a doctoral defence in a Nordic country I was impressed by the trouble that my hosts took to look their best on a student’s big day. On this occasion GW wore a spangled cream and … Continue reading →

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Preparations for a stag party in Dublin (Rousse)

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I was honoured to have been invited to JG’s stag party in Dublin, along with KA (how did she know JG?), and AG. I congratulated the latter on her weight loss and enduring beauty. I had to tidy my office … Continue reading →

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Return to the staff room (Rousse)

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Since we’d all been brought together in one big open-plan office I was much happier at work. I particularly enjoyed working more closely with the PhD students. Best of all, PC identified a small area that would become a staff … Continue reading →

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Northumbria University’s funfair recruitment drive, and two naughty sisters (Rousse)

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Dreamaticus

When my sister heard that I had a meeting in Newcastle she said that she would like to see me afterwards. Northumbria University had changed considerably since my last visit. In an apparent effort to recruit more students, the campus … Continue reading →

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A deal with Oracle goes wrong (Rousse)

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Dreamaticus

X shouted an insult at me as he left campus at 4pm on Friday – just as I was arriving at work to clear my e-mail. He was convinced that I was not doing a proper job of looking after … Continue reading →

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Strange happenings at the University of Newcastle recall scenes from 1984 (Rousse)

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Dreamaticus

TPR and I called in for breakfast at my sister S’s hall of residence at Newcastle University. Each morning Barton Hall put out an elaborate spread for its undergraduates and I couldn’t resist returning to the buffet for yet another … Continue reading →

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