University HR departments are facing the end of times. Longstanding practice has been to lie, dissemble and cover up. This reduces most victims to pulp. In a small minority of cases, the victim takes external action. Then an insurance policy Read more…
The Dean of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, Prof Soumitra Dutta, has resigned after three years in the role. According to Bloomberg, an investigation upheld three harassment policy breaches reported by a female academic. Prof Dutta’s name has been removed from Read more…
The 21 Group runs an occasional series on the fictional doings of the Masters of the Colleges. Readers may remember the controversial election of Kerris Bowles-Ottery as Master at St Judas, as well as a spot of bother for Wendell Read more…
The University of Limerick (UL) has been busy writing its own comic verse. The foxes were guarding the pen,Investigating their own sins again,Conflicts ran rife,As Transparency’s knife,Was blunted by paper and pen. At the centre of the doggerel is a Read more…
Over the past five years, the culture of Cambridge University has deteriorated substantially, as judged by the numbers of Data Subject Access Requests. These are often used by individuals in dispute with the University. They are a rough proxy for Read more…
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), introduced in 2018, was designed to give individuals greater control over their personal data. One of its key provisions is the Right of Access, which allows you to ask an organisation what information it holds Read more…
An interesting blog comment appeared on our earlier posting A Sum of Adders. Readers may recall this fable provided a graphic example of DARVO. This stands for Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender and is a standard response of Human Read more…
In June 2025, two pressure groups — the 21 Group and For the 100 — announced that they were carrying out the first survey of both staff and students in UK Universities. A description of the purpose of the CTRL+ALT+DEL+UNIVERSITY Read more…
One of the rewarding aspects of a blog is the exchange of thoughtful comments. In this posting, we highlight a contribution from Justius in the thread here. While he or she is describing events at Cambridge University, the 21 Group Read more…
Freedom of speech was a defining issue in Cambridge University’s recent Chancellorship race. The victor, Lord Smith of Finsbury, told The Observer that it is “our touchstone”. He praised the Vice Chancellor’s passionate advocacy: “It’s why I’m delighted that since she arrived Read more…