[reposted] The storm has broken at Cardiff University. Solidarity to everyone who is going to be affected by leaving the university, or by remaining as part of a substantially weakened workforce. Please join a union. - ThreadSky

robthomasbirds.bsky.social • 31 days ago

[reposted] The storm has broken at Cardiff University. Solidarity to everyone who is going to be affected by leaving the university, or by remaining as part of a substantially weakened workforce. Please join a union.

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Comments

joolscrow.bsky.social•31 days ago

What is happening with Geography and Planning? Surely that is a moneymaker for the university?

nickinde.bsky.social•31 days ago

Merged with social sciences and subject to cuts also

manxinwales.bsky.social•31 days ago

Ffycin ell... this is grim. So many subjects and people I worked with for so many years. And another reason there is no reason to stay in Cardiff or the sector... reducing CARBS is a shock...

hbsj.bsky.social•31 days ago

Reducing carbs very common in the new year

Sorry … I’ll get my coat …

kdclewin.bsky.social•31 days ago

Sending solidarity from Coventry. Going through similar bout of job losses (though with the addition of a fire-and-rehire for those who remain). All very grim

lowriwilliams.bsky.social•31 days ago

Thank you for taking the time to share these. Solidarity.

alanbradbury.bsky.social•31 days ago

The irony of journalism and politics being unaffected.

rmappleby.bsky.social•31 days ago

I came here to say just that too.

macca77.bsky.social•31 days ago

Unbelievable. But English and History are. Says it all.

stevejdrl.bsky.social•31 days ago

Engineering?

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

Reductions in academic staff in Engineering, I’m afraid.

stevejdrl.bsky.social•31 days ago

I don't agree with any of it, but I'm particularly surprised about Engineering, Computer Science and Maths. (For the record, my degree was in Elec Eng from Brunel, but I continue to be interested in humanities esp. history).

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

25-30 staff to go from computer science.

stevejdrl.bsky.social•31 days ago

Remind me again what everyone thinks Britain needs more of ... something to do with STEM ?

sconzani.bsky.social•31 days ago

Why on earth would they close the nursing programme when 'The NHS is facing a challenge that's becoming harder to ignore: a critical shortage of nurses ... this year, 2025, it's expected that there could be a shortfall of more than 10,000 nurses.' Madness!
https://www.nurses.co.uk/blog/impact-on-nhs-of-the-nursing-workforce-shortage-in-2025/

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

I don’t know, Annie -this all appears to be driven by the financial crisis that the university has got itself into. There is no sense of any national strategy to (for example) have enough nurses.

brassington.bsky.social•31 days ago

Absolutely dreadful. How on earth has it come to this? Dreadful for Wales too. The most talented have less reason to stay or come in the first place.

timscottwriter.bsky.social•31 days ago

What are senior management on? Are there performance-related bonuses?

telecasper.bsky.social•31 days ago

The VC got a £56k bonus last year...

timscottwriter.bsky.social•31 days ago

For being crap and running the place into the ground? That is obscene and should be on the news. That's over a year's salary for some of lecturers. I would imagine the SLT bonuses stack up nicely over all. Are any of them getting the chop?

manxinwales.bsky.social•31 days ago

Tbf, she has only been in a year - this is not the way to fix these problems, but the problems were very much inherited from a VC who loved shiny new buildings.

telecasper.bsky.social•31 days ago

Well, exactly!

rachelape.bsky.social•30 days ago

Very worrying for everyone 😞

barsha-foxman.bsky.social•31 days ago

Is there anything students and/or local residents can do?

dianade.uk•31 days ago

Respond to the consultations.

barsha-foxman.bsky.social•31 days ago

Oh, it read like they were for staff only :)

I'll keep an eye/ear out.

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

Yes, absolutely -though it may well be that we are being consulted on a set of decisions that have already been made. It’s the difference between being allowed to say things, and being listened to.

bunnyjadwiga.bsky.social•31 days ago

With a worldwide nursing shortage it seems crazy to close a Nursing program!

jayanne.bsky.social•31 days ago

School of Music affected ?

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

The school of music is to be closed, I’m afraid. Absolutely disgraceful.

paulnuk.bsky.social•31 days ago

What are the underlying causes for such cuts?

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

Poor financial planning, combined with falling income streams and a serious lack of initiative in how to fix things steadily over a series of years, rather than this attempted “handbrake turn”.

paulnuk.bsky.social•31 days ago

I guess Brexit didn't help?

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

It certainly didn’t, and created the worst possible conditions for universities that had built their funding model increasingly around income from overseas students. Our VC’s latest plan is to open a Cardiff University campus in Kazakhstan: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/cardiff-university-set-open-first-30610553

cymry.bsky.social•31 days ago

Aberystwyth university lost millions in a satellite university in Mauritius that ended up with redundancies in Aberystwyth. Universities are expanding into property development for student accommodation. It appears universities are being run as businesses. I'm amazed that Cardiff employ 7000 plus.

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

Yes, they are v much being run as businesses, but by people with v little business experience (ignoring the fact that Cardiff Uni literally has a School of Business at the VC's disposal). The lack of imagination in how to use world-class staff, expertise, buildings, etc. to break-even, is stunning.

paulnuk.bsky.social•31 days ago

Stuff like this is infuriating. Such incompetence.

🤦‍♂️

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

Very frustrating that incompetence is being compounded by further incompetence. Cardiff University is violating rafts of its own policies/strategies with the Kazakhstan plan (personally I'm most concerned about the EDI and sustainability policy violations): https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/about/our-profile/who-we-are/sustainability

dpmanchee.bsky.social•31 days ago

Even in 2023 bloated senior management pay in many universities, like Cardiff https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/public-information/corporate-information/financial-information

Key risks around reliance on fee income from international students have crystalised.

Only a few years ago they expanded the academic workforce. Are they being rewarded for failure ?

telecasper.bsky.social•31 days ago

Wow, that £56k bonus for the VC is quite something...

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

Timeline here:

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

Specific impacts on the School of Biosciences

caitlin91.bsky.social•31 days ago

any predicted reduction in FTE in any 'overhead' (i.e. non-teaching/research) departments? I've always thought this was glaringly absent in so many of the recent redundancies but just read this post which made it explicit https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cost-allocation-death-spiral-university-jonathan-mills-k5ltf/

welshlassy.bsky.social•30 days ago

Because we really need more journalists and politicians? 🤬 Really feel for everyone impacted by this and hope the outcome isn't as bad as it seems.

annhopcyn.bsky.social•31 days ago

MUSIC! 👎

macca77.bsky.social•31 days ago

Err..Nursing???

violars.bsky.social•31 days ago

Oh gosh Rob, I'm so sorry (for you and everyone at the university).

robthomasbirds.bsky.social•31 days ago

Thanks Viola, it’s a tough time for sure.

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