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davieG

The Good News thread, local jobs, economy etc

By davieG, in General Chat

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purpleronnie

purpleronnie

Posted
Posted

Record number of UK universities join league of global elite with four among the best ten

  • Cambridge was the top ranked UK university in the global list
  • The university came third in the rankings overall down one place

 

Four of the best 10 universities in the world are in the UK, according to a new international table.

And a record six British institutions have made it into the top 20 in the latest annual QS World University Rankings.

But experts warned that the UK's leading position could be under threat without more funding.

The top-ranked UK university is Cambridge, which has slipped down a place to third this year, behind Massachusetts Institute of Technology - which also topped the rankings last year - and Harvard, both leading US universities.

 

Highly rated: Cambridge University was the highest ranked UK institution coming third in the QS world University rankings

 

 

Highly regarded: University College London came just behind Cambridge in the rankings, rated as the fourth best institution in the world

Also in the top 10 were University College London (UCL) in fourth place, Imperial College London in fifth, and Oxford in sixth.

The other institutions in the top 10 were all in the United States.

Edinburgh and King's College London both moved up into the top 20 in 17th and 19th place respectively.

 

 

There were eight UK universities in total in the top 50 and 18 in the top 100.

QS head of research Ben Sowter said the prestige of a UK degree is recognised by employers around the world.

The authors said that of the 45 British institutions in top 400, 29 rank lower than they did at the time of the economic crisis in 2008/09.

Since the recession, 21 institutions in the UK have dropped by more than 10 places in the rankings, while five are now 10 places higher than in 2007.

 

Climber: Imperial College London in Kensington was up one place in the ratings from sixth to fifth

Cambridge was the only UK university to make the global top 30 for research, with UCL, Oxford and Imperial making it into the top 50. This suggests that the UK is struggling to keep up with the US in producing cutting-edge research, the authors said.

THE TOP 10 INSTITUTIONS

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (last year 1)

  2. Harvard (3)

  3. Cambridge (2)

  4. University College London (4)

  5. Imperial College London (6)

  6. Oxford (5)

  7. Stanford (15)

  8. Yale (7)

  9. Chicago (8)

  10. California Institute of Technology (10) AND Princeton (9)

John O'Leary, member of the QS Global Academic Advisory Board, said: 'The UK invests below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average in higher education, so it is unrealistic to expect its universities to continue to punch above their weight indefinitely.

'The current success of leading institutions shows how vital it is that the Government matches the investments being made by other countries in order to maintain their world-class status.'

UCL's new president and provost, Professor Michael Arthur, said: 'UCL is undoubtedly one of the world's leading universities and I am pleased to see this reflected in this latest league table position.

'I believe that success in these rankings is down to both our established institutional strengths and our ongoing determination to play a leading role in higher education as it continues to evolve, both in the UK and globally.

'As pleasing as it is, rankings success will not divert us from focusing on our core mission of educating and inspiring our students and delivering world-class research.'

Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, which represents 24 leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, said: 'The focus on research excellence and high-quality teaching means the UK performs formidably well against other nations in spite of its size.

'But while funding announced in the recent spending review is welcome, public expenditure on higher education in the UK remains far less than the United States, China and other Western European countries.

 

Mover: Harvard leapfrogged Cambridge to take second place this year

'If our universities are to compete in the future, they need the Government to provide light-touch regulation and continued investment, and to be welcoming to genuine international students.'

Universities minister David Willetts said the results were 'fantastic news' and that UK universities are world-class.

He added: 'We are not complacent, and we know we must work hard to remain the best. Our reforms to undergraduate finance have put universities on a sustainable financial footing and sharpened incentives to deliver a world-class student experience.'

 

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Jon the Hat

Jon the Hat

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The rate of unemployment in the UK dropped to 7.7% between May and July from 7.8% in the previous three months.

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has said that interest rates are unlikely to be raised before the rate falls to 7%.

The number of people unemployed fell 24,000 in the period to 2.487 million.

The official figures also showed the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell 32,600 to 1.402 million, its lowest level since February 2009.

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Rincewind

Rincewind

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The rate of unemployment in the UK dropped to 7.7% between May and July from 7.8% in the previous three months.

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has said that interest rates are unlikely to be raised before the rate falls to 7%.

The number of people unemployed fell 24,000 in the period to 2.487 million.

The official figures also showed the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell 32,600 to 1.402 million, its lowest level since February 2009.

 

What are the figures for part time work and no contract jobs?

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Rincewind

Rincewind

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Don't know but its better than being unemployed isnt it?

In some ways. But not if you were on full time then moved to part time or no contract. What I am saying is part time work has increased which makes the overall figures look better. It does not mean the amount of benefits being handed out has fallen.

I don't want to argue just wondered if anyone had counter figures. I'm sure I could find them but I have a lot of stick and anything which goes against good figures would be considered crazy leftie propoganda so I'll leave it for others to do the research. I doubt anyone will though.

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purpleronnie

purpleronnie

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In some ways. But not if you were on full time then moved to part time or no contract. What I am saying is part time work has increased which makes the overall figures look better. It does not mean the amount of benefits being handed out has fallen.

I don't want to argue just wondered if anyone had counter figures. I'm sure I could find them but I have a lot of stick and anything which goes against good figures would be considered crazy leftie propoganda so I'll leave it for others to do the research. I doubt anyone will though.

Don't worry about that I'm a crazy lefty too.

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leicsmac

leicsmac

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Don't know but its better than being unemployed isnt it?

 

I think the lack of certainty from having part-time/zero-hour contracts leads to almost as much stress as being unemployed as far as money management goes.

 

How can you plan for the future when you don't know how much money is going to come in next week?

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MooseBreath

MooseBreath

Posted
Posted (edited)

A lot better than you can if you've got no money coming in at all (not that this ever happens in the UK due to the generous hand outs, but you get the point).

I wouldn't like to be on a zero hours contract myself but I'd prefer it to being unemployed. Zero hours contracts give employers flexibility and help then to hire more staff. If it wasn't for the flexibility, they'd probably hire no-one.

Ultimately I think it's the total amount of work available you need to look at, and that is clearly on the rise.

Edited by MooseBreath
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leicsmac

leicsmac

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A lot better than you can if you've got no money coming in at all (not that this ever happens in the UK due to the generous hand outs, but you get the point).

I wouldn't like to be on a zero hours contract myself but I'd prefer it to being unemployed. Zero hours contracts give employers flexibility and help then to hire more staff. If it wasn't for the flexibility, they'd probably hire no-one.

Ultimately I think it's the total amount of work available you need to look at, and that is clearly on the rise.

 

True enough, but it's still hardly an ideal situation for someone who wants to plan for the future, and more and more people are having to go on them.

 

You've actually highlighted the inherent problem - it's an employers market right now due to the after-effects of the recession, and as a result employees/jobseekers are getting screwed when it comes to getting good reliable working hours.

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Rincewind

Rincewind

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People seem to fail to realise that low paid workers are entitled to 'handouts' There is a living income set out by law and if a person does not earn that then it is made up to that amount from the pool which workers contribute to via NI.

Would you rather a child dies than the parents given benefits to help towards their rent?

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MooseBreath

MooseBreath

Posted
Posted (edited)

People seem to fail to realise that low paid workers are entitled to 'handouts' There is a living income set out by law and if a person does not earn that then it is made up to that amount from the pool which workers contribute to via NI.

Would you rather a child dies than the parents given benefits to help towards their rent?

I don't know anyone who fails to realise this ken. You make this point at least twice a week. Who is it aimed at, and what point are you trying to make? I really can't work out why you make this post over and over again. Edited by MooseBreath
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leicsmac

leicsmac

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Yeah but these things tend to go in cycles. It'll be an employees market again soon enough. You can hardly blame employers, who are themselves very much at the mercy of market conditions, for using any flexibility the labour market provides.

 

Yeah, this is right. I just wish the bloody cycle would start speeding back round again.  :P

 

Amazing how a series of poor decisions by incompetent gambling investors in the American mortgage market and the general volatility of the market itself has led to all this, isn't it? Mind you, hardly the first time.

 

Being out of work is no fun at all. (For anyone with half a conscience, anyway.)

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The People's Hero

The People's Hero

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Posted (edited)

I'll leave it at that. Has it ever been an employees market? Workers have had to fight for every right given them.

That's simply not true. Workers have many many rights. Especially compared to the situation in other countries - including the states.

Workers have not had to fight for a lot of these rights, they've simply been given them by a government who thought it was the right thing to do.

Your heart is probably in the right place, but you don't half talk some Bol locks.

Believe me. I've known staff know their exact rights and take the piss with it.

Edited by The People's Hero
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The People's Hero

The People's Hero

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OK the majority of rights. At one time the normal working man was not even entitle to vote. By sticking together they changed it as did votes for women factory conditions etc

I know. I'm a history graduate. I've studied this.

If you really think workers are badly treated in this country, look abroad. I believe workers have too many rights. It's actually quite difficult to get rid of someone who is lazy, incompetent or both.

We work too long hours in my opinion, but that's how it is here. In terms of rights and protections, workers in the UK are amongst the best off in the world so please stop moaning.

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MooseBreath

MooseBreath

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I'll leave it at that. Has it ever been an employees market?

Often. It is one now in some industries. There are currently 14 pages of jobs on the government's shortage occupation list. Most of them highly skilled of course, but if you've put in the years required to become competent in one of those professions you can almost name your price.

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Rincewind

Rincewind

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I know. I'm a history graduate. I've studied this.

If you really think workers are badly treated in this country, look abroad. I believe workers have too many rights. It's actually quite difficult to get rid of someone who is lazy, incompetent or both.

We work too long hours in my opinion, but that's how it is here. In terms of rights and protections, workers in the UK are amongst the best off in the world so please stop moaning.

Workers are better than they were in the past and I agree the hours are too long but wages are low ATM and some have to.

 

Watched an interesting two part series on the working class the other week with Paul O'Grady (Lily Savage) I sent off for the booklet that went with it. Bit disappointed with it really, it was small and there was only a brief description on each page. It was an OU thing.

The series told how when workers were in slums they tended to be more sociable. The terraced houses were built for factory, miners, and dockyard workers. Off course those industries have all but died out and there are high rise flats and comfortable housing estates. Attitudes and standard of living have improved somewhat.

 

I have an interest in history but more on the people and sociological anthropology side of things whatever that is. It was said to me once when I mentioned the interest. :)

Think its the way customs and stories are passed on and how your environment affects what you are, Sounds highbrow stuff so out of league for someone as thick as me.

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