Recent posts
£20 uplift debate shines a light on inadequate benefit rates and design flaws of Universal Credit
- Dr Rita Griffiths is a Research Fellow in the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at the University of Bath. She is co-author of the recently published report, Uncharted Territory: Universal Credit, Couples and Money. It’s taken a pandemic to bring the unacceptably low benefit rates in this country into the public conversation. Issues of foodbank use, children going ...more
How I created a psychedelic nano-moon
- Author: Pierre Chausse - Art and Science are, I think, profoundly linked. Throughout most of human history, both artists and scientists have tried to represent reality precisely as they saw it. However, during the last two centuries we’ve seen artists break with this convention, moving away from the literal to the abstract, unnatural and sometimes even ...more
Reflections on a semester of teaching the Bath Blend: Independent Learning
- Along with the rest of the UK educational community, Dr Steve Cayzer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been working to ensure that his courses are Covid-ready. Here at Bath, this has meant designing them according to the Bath Blend, which includes independent (self-paced) learning, Live Online Interactive Learning (LOIL) and In Person Time (IPT). This ...more
Update from GWR - 20 January 2021
- We have received the following update from Great Western Railway: "Government advice is to only travel for work if essential, or for other legally permitted reasons. This means customer numbers are very low. We have therefore been reviewing our timetables to make sure that they are reflecting demand, and supporting key worker and essential travel. As a ...more
School of Management Project Update - January 2021
- The team made good progress on multiple fronts on the run up to Christmas and have returned in the new year progressing with new work faces throughout. The external façade continues to take shape and over the period activity has been maintained on all elevations. Works to the north elevation continue to install capping. On the ...more
Weekly update from the Vice-Chancellor - 15/01/2021
- Dear colleague, At the outset, I want to acknowledge that, for many of us across our University, the first two weeks back at work have felt very difficult. I know we were all hoping the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic was behind us, but I am very aware that for many the current situation is concerning. Of ...more
Learning about the climate: the Earth
- I gave a talk the other day to an attentive and appreciative group of PGCE geography students. I did this from home, of course, using a rather slick platform that I never quite learned the name of. Although the talk was about climate, environment and the curriculum and what we might now be helping young people ...more
Why you should stop worrying about your smartphone use
- January is “Debating Digital Detox” month on the Business and Society blog. An increasing number of people are choosing to give up their electronic devices in January, as a type of new year's resolution. We are exploring why people feel the need to do this - why we see our relationship with digital technology so ...more
Apply now for the Engage Grants 2020/21
- Do you have a brilliant idea to engage public groups with your research? Do you want some money to make those ideas a reality? Great news, the Public Engagement Unit's Engage Grants funding call is now open. The Engage Grants If you're brand new to engagement or have years of experience, the Engage Grants are designed to ...more
Student Perspective: First year Katie shares her personal journey to finding her degree (and Bath!) and trying not to worry about the future
- For some people, having a structured career plan established from a relatively young age is the norm. For me, this wasn’t the case at all. Going into my A-Levels, I chose subjects on the basis of what I enjoyed rather than selecting a combination which merely ‘suited each other well’: in the end settling on ...more
Why we Should Change Young People’s View of Gendered Careers
- Copyright, Standsome Worklifestyle. Candice Broad graduated from the University of Bath recently with a BA (Hons.) in Education with Psychology. What do you want to be when you grow up? If you remember being asked this question as a child, do you think your answer reflected the embedded gender-norms of a male-controlled society? Perhaps you don’t, but the ...more
From recession graduate to real-estate mogul
- Simon S. Mass (BEng Manufacturing Systems – Engineering & Management 1991) is Founder & CEO of The Condo Store, a Toronto-based real-estate company with annual sales of over $500 million. He talks to us about work ethic, building a business from scratch and resisting the lure of reality TV. "I’m driven to help current students because ...more
University of Bath alumni and staff feature strongly in the Architects' Journal 40 Under 40
- Author: Prof. Alexander Wright - Congratulations to alumni and staff from the University of Bath who have been selected for the Architects' Journal prestigious ’40 Under 40’ list, published in December 2020! It’s a significant achievement to be included in this list of the UK’s top young architects, which has been compiled by the Architects' Journal for ...more
Finding Hope
- I was out doing my socially-distanced, family bubble, once a day, local, exercise as approved by HM Government when I saw a heartening sight. On a very cold, murky day, in the middle of winter I saw a drift of snowdrops flowering on a grassy verge beside an old stone wall. I was delighted by ...more
Further reflections on shared prosperity…and regress
- By Mohd Umair Khan The World Bank recently published the Poverty and Shared Prosperity (SP) report for 2020 (see this CDS blog). In this blog, I reflect further on the adoption of SP as the second core goal for the World Bank to accompany its other goal of extreme poverty reduction. I argue that while the ...more
Using neutrons to research sustainable technologies
- Niamh Leaman, CSCT student in Cohort '19, is investigating how to use polysaccharides to improve the sustainability of home and care products. She is part of the Edler Research Group and her industrial partner is Unilever. In March 2020, Niamh had the opportunity to attend a 10-day training course at ISIS, a neutron and muon source ...more
‘Discrepancies in funding reported by the drug industry and patient organisations. What do they mean?’
- Industry-patient ties The pharmaceutical industry’s financial ties to patient organisations have long been discussed, predominately from a critical standpoint but with some advocates. Patient organisations are often registered charities, many of which may have limited funds, making conflicts of interests with industry unavoidable given the valuable funding they can provide. However, despite the importance of the ...more
The 28th Conference on Transdisciplinary Engineering (TE2021) Goes Virtual
- Transdisciplinary Engineering for Resilience: Responding to system disruptions Hosted by the University of Bath, UK (July 2021) As the uncertainty around travel continues, we have taken the decision that TE2021 will be held virtually. Making this decision early ensures that we can focus on delivery and on exploring innovative ideas to maximise interaction, enjoyment and benefit to ...more
IRO 2020 In Review
- As we head into 2021, we would like to take a moment to reflect on what 2020 brought for our International Relations Team. Despite a number of international challenges, we continued to work with our students and partners throughout the year and want to share some of our key successes and how we adapted to ...more
Bath students take action against climate change with Student Switch Off
- Student Switch Off is an international not-for-profit campaign, delivered by NUS and designed to encourage students to take action on climate change. Student Switch Off runs energy-saving, water-saving and recycling competitions in University accommodation across the UK, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania and Romania. Over 25,000 students at 27 Universities have got involved this year. Here at ...more