University Registrars Talking About Stuff Paul Greatrix

It's time for more exciting bonus content. Whilst on this podcast you will usually find me in conversation with registrars and other higher ed notables, I've got some other diversions to share.  There will be some new podcasts along soon but in the meantime I wanted to provide a bit of bonus content.

In this short Registrarologue then you can hear me going on yet again about regulation and setting out a a very personal perspective. This time it is a 10 point plan to save a whole load of much-needed money for the sector by cutting the regulatory burden. 

In this episode of University Registrars (and Others) Talking About Stuff I talk to someone who is very much not a registrar but a notable figure nevertheless. Dr Vince Wilson recently retired as Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham and among the stuff we learn about is Vince's distinctive academic journey from a degree in pharmacy to a research degree, a Royal Society fellowship - as part of which he spent a period in Germany - and then a post-doc in Glasgow.


Vince joined Nottingham in 1989 where he was based in the Queen's Medical Centre and being in the same building as a hospital was a big attraction, particularly for translational research. We discuss some of the differences in scale and technology in HE since the 80s but also the increased pressure on academics.


Other significant developments which Vince highlights are the outreach and widening participation agenda which he was involved in and a specific transnational medical education partnership with Thailand which had delivered strong results over many years, as well as enabling him to enjoy a period of work in the sun during the cold winter months.


Vince's passion for music has been ever-present - as well as providing a vehicle for engaging with the public when he was a locum pharmacist and students in the classroom, he highlights the hitherto largely under-reported contribution of one of his heroes, the late, great Gil Scott-Heron, to academia. However, it is to Miles Davis and John Coltrane he turns for his priority Desert Island disc selection.


It's a really different and entertaining conversation and I am sure you will enjoy it.

In the latest episode of University Registrars Talking About Stuff I chat with Dr George Turner, University Secretary and Clerk to the Council at the University of Roehampton.


We naturally discuss George's early academic career which, quite distinctively, started out with him forming a punk band at 16 and then being inspired to study music at Sheffield. He stuck with music as a discipline, ending up with a PhD thesis on the place of the electric guitar before deciding he needed to earn some money, taking the first job he could which happened to be at the University of Derby. After a period working as a cleaner at the university he moved into the challenging area of student complaints and then turned down a job offer at the University of Nottingham in favour of an opportunity at Brunel.


Following a brief diversion on the changing emphasis on the importance of strong written English in university administration, noting the bigger issue for George is skills in data presentation, we move on to his next step, being  encouraged by a great boss to apply for the job of Deputy Secretary at Roehampton.


Whilst a big step up he had a real opportunity to grow in the role including honing those governance skills through taking on support for Council committees. A change in VC resulted in the creation of a new role of University Secretary which George successfully applied for. Although admitting to his fair share of imposter syndrome he cites the really strong and supportive environment at Roehampton.


We talk about the features of the university including its long history from its original constituent colleges, three of which include a religious dimension, bringing interesting perspectives to Council. Naturally we discuss regulation too and the approaches to dealing with regulators' expectations on Council in terms of compliance and the impact on its work.


Finally, we discover that, like me George is a big fan of campus security reports.


It's a really good conversation and I hope you enjoy it.

It's time for more exciting bonus content. Whilst on this podcast you will usually find me in conversation with registrars and other higher ed notables, I've got some other diversions to share.  There will be some new podcasts along soon but in the meantime I wanted to provide a bit of bonus content.


In this short Registrarologue then you can hear me going on a bit about some of the challenges of dealing with Freedom of Information requests in universities. But I also thought I would share with you some FOI examples which highlight the concerns I have with the operation of the legislation in HE.

This episode of University Registrars and Others Talking About Stuff finds me in discussion with higher education sector data guru Andy Youell. 


Whilst Andy started his working life at Rolls Royce working on various aircraft he soon found the appeal of data and HE funding (not to mention sector acronyms) irresistible and joined PCFC just before it merged with UFC and then HEFCE. He became heavily involved in data collection and indeed it was his phone number given as the contact for HESES enquiries. This certainly helped build his sector network, something he continued to develop upon joining HESA in 1996, the beginning of a long engagement which saw him work on all sorts of exciting data projects, including a three year stint running a major sector data improvement programme, HEDIIP (another acronym).


Andy has some excellent insights about the use and misuse of data by both regulators and institutions and the challenges of data governance and the risks for what is still an immature science. We also talk about learner analytics and the data work Andy is doing for his current employer, the University College of Estate Management. 


Finally we learn about Andy's ongoing part-time rock star lifestyle - he loves drums and music as well as data - and we uncover a little known fact about his enduring data legacy in relation to the origins of the naming of higher education subject codes.


(With apologies for some background noise in the first part of this recording.)

It's time for more exciting bonus content. Whilst on this podcast you will usually find me in conversation with registrars and other higher ed notables, I've got some other diversions to share.  There will be some new podcasts along soon but in the meantime I wanted to provide a bit of bonus content.


In this short Registrarologue then you can hear me going on a bit about one of my favourite topics - regulation.