Juice for all...

Last week we had a visit from a Commission from the Institute of Public Policy Research who are looking at the future of Higher Education in England. I was part of the panel of staff they were talking to, and they also met a group of students. We talked about many things, including the sustainabilty of HE, and different funding models. We also raised with them the over-regulation of HE at the moment - it appears to many of us that as the amount of central funding has gone down, the amount of regulation has gone up.  For example, there's a cluttered landscape of bodies asking for data, and we have to supply it in many different forms, to many different organisations who don't seem to talk to each other. As the amount of public funding decreases, there's a possibility that some universities may become completely private, getting all of their income from student fees, research councils or other partnerships.  That could be an interesting development!

Yesterday we had our Professional Service Executive (PSE), and had some feedback from a pilot our HR department has been running. Called Juice, it's a health and well-being strategy, and offers staff a number of different options, including bootcamps, Body MOTs, Tai Chi and healthy eating workshops. It's about to be rolled out to all staff, and will aim to look at all aspects of health including physical, mental and social. I think it's a great initiative for staff, but count me out of the bootcamps at 7.30am.....