Your blog category
There’s been a Grievance raised against a Professor. The Human Resources (HR) division of the University is indolently carrying out an investigation. This might be done by a group of internal academics, advised by HR. Or sometimes the University uses an outside ‘dispute resolution’ company, or a solicitor/barrister, who write Read more…
Perhaps a Professor went over the top this time and nearly killed someone with sadistic bullying. Or a Professor was a little too blatant this time and offered a female grad student a postdoc position in exchange for sex. These kind of stories don’t play well for a university’s reputation. Read more…
The 21 Group has received information from an individual who has recently worked in the HR department of a UK university. The testimony paints a picture of corruption and betrayal of trust. We are not naming the university. It may be an extreme case, but many aspects of the testimony Read more…
The 21 Group is anxious to publish accounts of bullying in Universities from the viewpoint of their victims. These stories are rarely heard. Too often, we hear the bluffing of the HR Directors that “our University does not tolerate bullying or harassment in any form“. Too often, we hear the Read more…
Dr Magdalen Connolly started as a graduate student and went on to become a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. She completed a Humboldt Fellowship at Munich University just a few months ago. Despite having all the makings of a thriving academic Read more…
The 21 Group is indebted to Dr Emily Baker for contributing a new section to the 21 Group webpages on Employment Tribunals for Beginners. This is the definitive “HowTo” on holding your University to account in the Employment Tribunals if they are guilty of discrimination, unfair or constructive dismissal, wage Read more…
Heads of Department (HoDs) run academic departments at UK Universities. They are usually professors, or at least senior academics. They normally serve a term of 4 or 5 years. Not all academics relish being HoD. Many (such as the author) do serve as HoD out of a sense of duty and Read more…
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legally binding contract that establishes a confidential relationship between two or more parties. The purpose of an NDA is to prevent the disclosure of information to third parties. Universities are gluttons for NDAs. The Guardian reported in 2019 that UK universities paid out £90m on Read more…
This is Whistleblowing Awareness Week. Universities say that they encourage an open and honest reporting culture. The websites of their Human Resources departments extol the importance of speaking out if you see abuse or bullying or discrimination. Some universities even have compulsory webinars (bought from expensive external consultancies, naturally) that Read more…
Compared to some other areas of science, cancer research is well-funded. Institutes are supported by large grants of public money, derived from charities such as Cancer Research UK or the Wellcome Trust, or from government bodies such as the Medical Research Council. A successful researcher can control many big grants Read more…