#maynoothuniversity — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/ie/655020/ Maynooth-led sleep research will examine links with mental health – The Irish Times #ArtificialIntelligence #Éire #Health #IE #Ireland #MaynoothUniversity #MentalHealth #Sleep

A Little Light Relief…

I thought I’d pass on a little amusement arising from last week’s Eclipse Event in Maynooth. I gave a very short and non-technical talk about the famous 1919 Eclipse Expeditions which I have mentioned many times on this blog. As you probably know there were two expeditions, one to Sobral in Brazil and the other to the island of Principe, off the coast of Equatorial Guinea. Here’s a nice and very informative old graphic (from the London Illustrated News) about the expeditions, showing the two locations:

I finished my talk and had one or two questions but we had to move on to the next speaker, who happened to be giving the last talk of the day.

After the session finished I was packing up some things to take back to the office before heading to the pub when a little boy came up to me and asked: “So which expedition were you on, the one to Brazil or the one to Africa?”

Oh how I laughed.

A Little Light Relief…

I thought I’d pass on a little amusement arising from last week’s Eclipse Event in Maynooth. I gave a very short and non-technical talk about the famous 1919 Eclipse Expeditions which I have mentioned many times on this blog. As you probably know there were two expeditions, one to Sobral in Brazil and the other to the island of Principe, off the coast of Equatorial Guinea. Here’s a nice and very informative old graphic (from the London Illustrated News) about the expeditions, showing the two locations:

I finished my talk and had one or two questions but we had to move on to the next speaker, who happened to be giving the last talk of the day.

After the session finished I was packing up some things to take back to the office before heading to the pub when a little boy came up to me and asked: “So which expedition were you on, the one to Brazil or the one to Africa?”

Oh how I laughed.

A Little Light Relief…

I thought I’d pass on a little amusement arising from last week’s Eclipse Event in Maynooth. I gave a very short and non-technical talk about the famous 1919 Eclipse Expeditions which I have mentioned many times on this blog. As you probably know there were two expeditions, one to Sobral in Brazil and the other to the island of Principe, off the coast of Equatorial Guinea. Here’s a nice and very informative old graphic (from the London Illustrated News) about the expeditions, showing the two locations:

I finished my talk and had one or two questions but we had to move on to the next speaker, who happened to be giving the last talk of the day.

After the session finished I was packing up some things to take back to the office before heading to the pub when a little boy came up to me and asked: “So which expedition were you on, the one to Brazil or the one to Africa?”

Oh how I laughed.

A Little Light Relief…

I thought I’d pass on a little amusement arising from last week’s Eclipse Event in Maynooth. I gave a very short and non-technical talk about the famous 1919 Eclipse Expeditions which I have mentioned many times on this blog. As you probably know there were two expeditions, one to Sobral in Brazil and the other to the island of Principe, off the coast of Equatorial Guinea. Here’s a nice and very informative old graphic (from the London Illustrated News) about the expeditions, showing the two locations:

I finished my talk and had one or two questions but we had to move on to the next speaker, who happened to be giving the last talk of the day.

After the session finished I was packing up some things to take back to the office before heading to the pub when a little boy came up to me and asked: “So which expedition were you on, the one to Brazil or the one to Africa?”

Oh how I laughed.

Week (and Academic Year) Ending

I know many people think that University staff are on holiday all the way through the summer, particularly August, but this week has been very busy indeed, not only because of the Eclipse Event. It is somewhat cooler today, but the heat this week has also contributed to my general sense of exhaustion.

For a start I had repeat examinations to correct. I collected my first scripts Monday 10th and managed to correct them all the same day as I wanted to get everything done before the Eclipse on Wednesday afternoon. The other modules I had to grade involved fewer students so I achieved that goal satisfactorily.

Monday 10th also saw the for the dissertations for our MSc course in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics. I’m glad to say all the students handed in their project reports by the deadline and all our now being graded. The presentations were held this morning (Friday 14th) and all went well.

With the repeat examinations and the MSc dissertations now in hand, next week we have two separate sets of Examination Boards, one for the undergraduate repeats and one for the (postgraduate) Masters. I have to attend the Engineering Board as well as Physics, as there were students repeating my Engineering Mathematics module. The MSc students will subsequently be given their final grades and will have completed, as will the final-year undergraduates who needed to pass a repeat in order to graduate. Other undergraduates will find out whether they can pass into the next year of their course. Only after all this will the academic year 2025/26 really come to close.

Conferrring (graduation) ceremonies will be held from 7th to 10th September for those who have already completed – the Masters students and students who need to repeat paper(s) in order to graduate will have to wait until November for their ceremony.

On Friday next (21st August), school students in Ireland will get their Leaving Certificate results, which signals the onset of student enrolment for the 2026/27 academic year. I noticed that in the UK A-level students got their results this week. In Ireland we will find out over the following weeks, we will find out exactly how many new students we have coming in, and how many continuing. Then it will be orientation week, followed by the start of lecturing for the new term, by which point we will know how many people we will have in our classes.

And so it continues. But, for me, not for much longer…

Week (and Academic Year) Ending

I know many people think that University staff are on holiday all the way through the summer, particularly August, but this week has been very busy indeed, not only because of the Eclipse Event. It is somewhat cooler today, but the heat this week has also contributed to my general sense of exhaustion.

For a start I had repeat examinations to correct. I collected my first scripts Monday 10th and managed to correct them all the same day as I wanted to get everything done before the Eclipse on Wednesday afternoon. The other modules I had to grade involved fewer students so I achieved that goal satisfactorily.

Monday 10th also saw the for the dissertations for our MSc course in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics. I’m glad to say all the students handed in their project reports by the deadline and all our now being graded. The presentations were held this morning (Friday 14th) and all went well.

With the repeat examinations and the MSc dissertations now in hand, next week we have two separate sets of Examination Boards, one for the undergraduate repeats and one for the (postgraduate) Masters. I have to attend the Engineering Board as well as Physics, as there were students repeating my Engineering Mathematics module. The MSc students will subsequently be given their final grades and will have completed, as will the final-year undergraduates who needed to pass a repeat in order to graduate. Other undergraduates will find out whether they can pass into the next year of their course. Only after all this will the academic year 2025/26 really come to close.

Conferrring (graduation) ceremonies will be held from 7th to 10th September for those who have already completed – the Masters students and students who need to repeat paper(s) in order to graduate will have to wait until November for their ceremony.

On Friday next (21st August), school students in Ireland will get their Leaving Certificate results, which signals the onset of student enrolment for the 2026/27 academic year. I noticed that in the UK A-level students got their results this week. In Ireland we will find out over the following weeks, we will find out exactly how many new students we have coming in, and how many continuing. Then it will be orientation week, followed by the start of lecturing for the new term, by which point we will know how many people we will have in our classes.

And so it continues. But, for me, not for much longer…

Week (and Academic Year) Ending

I know many people think that University staff are on holiday all the way through the summer, particularly August, but this week has been very busy indeed, not only because of the Eclipse Event. It is somewhat cooler today, but the heat this week has also contributed to my general sense of exhaustion.

For a start I had repeat examinations to correct. I collected my first scripts Monday 10th and managed to correct them all the same day as I wanted to get everything done before the Eclipse on Wednesday afternoon. The other modules I had to grade involved fewer students so I achieved that goal satisfactorily.

Monday 10th also saw the for the dissertations for our MSc course in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics. I’m glad to say all the students handed in their project reports by the deadline and all our now being graded. The presentations were held this morning (Friday 14th) and all went well.

With the repeat examinations and the MSc dissertations now in hand, next week we have two separate sets of Examination Boards, one for the undergraduate repeats and one for the (postgraduate) Masters. I have to attend the Engineering Board as well as Physics, as there were students repeating my Engineering Mathematics module. The MSc students will subsequently be given their final grades and will have completed, as will the final-year undergraduates who needed to pass a repeat in order to graduate. Other undergraduates will find out whether they can pass into the next year of their course. Only after all this will the academic year 2025/26 really come to close.

Conferrring (graduation) ceremonies will be held from 7th to 10th September for those who have already completed – the Masters students and students who need to repeat paper(s) in order to graduate will have to wait until November for their ceremony.

On Friday next (21st August), school students in Ireland will get their Leaving Certificate results, which signals the onset of student enrolment for the 2026/27 academic year. I noticed that in the UK A-level students got their results this week. In Ireland we will find out over the following weeks, we will find out exactly how many new students we have coming in, and how many continuing. Then it will be orientation week, followed by the start of lecturing for the new term, by which point we will know how many people we will have in our classes.

And so it continues. But, for me, not for much longer…

Week (and Academic Year) Ending

I know many people think that University staff are on holiday all the way through the summer, particularly August, but this week has been very busy indeed, not only because of the Eclipse Event. It is somewhat cooler today, but the heat this week has also contributed to my general sense of exhaustion.

For a start I had repeat examinations to correct. I collected my first scripts Monday 10th and managed to correct them all the same day as I wanted to get everything done before the Eclipse on Wednesday afternoon. The other modules I had to grade involved fewer students so I achieved that goal satisfactorily.

Monday 10th also saw the for the dissertations for our MSc course in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics. I’m glad to say all the students handed in their project reports by the deadline and all our now being graded. The presentations were held this morning (Friday 14th) and all went well.

With the repeat examinations and the MSc dissertations now in hand, next week we have two separate sets of Examination Boards, one for the undergraduate repeats and one for the (postgraduate) Masters. I have to attend the Engineering Board as well as Physics, as there were students repeating my Engineering Mathematics module. The MSc students will subsequently be given their final grades and will have completed, as will the final-year undergraduates who needed to pass a repeat in order to graduate. Other undergraduates will find out whether they can pass into the next year of their course. Only after all this will the academic year 2025/26 really come to close.

Conferrring (graduation) ceremonies will be held from 7th to 10th September for those who have already completed – the Masters students and students who need to repeat paper(s) in order to graduate will have to wait until November for their ceremony.

On Friday next (21st August), school students in Ireland will get their Leaving Certificate results, which signals the onset of student enrolment for the 2026/27 academic year. I noticed that in the UK A-level students got their results this week. In Ireland we will find out over the following weeks, we will find out exactly how many new students we have coming in, and how many continuing. Then it will be orientation week, followed by the start of lecturing for the new term, by which point we will know how many people we will have in our classes.

And so it continues. But, for me, not for much longer…

That was the (Partial) Eclipse that was…

Today been a very busy but hugely enjoyable day. We had a big turnout for the Eclipse Event at Maynooth University – I don’t have attendance figures right now, but will update when I do – and good weather in the build-up to the eclipse. Unforunately just as maximum coverage approached, clouds intervened. That was a little disappointing but there were some lovely colour effects that made up for it and it did also get eerily dark…

I heard only nice things about the event from people who attended. Here are some random snaps taken throughout the day:

The combination of heat and exertion meant that I couldn’t resist going for a pint or three afterwards so I think I’ll leave it there, except to congratulate Emma Whelan, whose brainwave today was, plus all the lecturers, technicians and students who made it possible, as well as all the members of the public who participated. It was great to see so many people of all ages release their inner nerd.

That was the (Partial) Eclipse that was…

Today been a very busy but hugely enjoyable day. We had a big turnout for the Eclipse Event at Maynooth University – I don’t have attendance figures right now, but will update when I do – and good weather in the build-up to the eclipse. Unforunately just as maximum coverage approached, clouds intervened. That was a little disappointing but there were some lovely colour effects that made up for it and it did also get eerily dark…

I heard only nice things about the event from people who attended. Here are some random snaps taken throughout the day:

The combination of heat and exertion meant that I couldn’t resist going for a pint or three afterwards so I think I’ll leave it there, except to congratulate Emma Whelan, whose brainwave today was, plus all the lecturers, technicians and students who made it possible, as well as all the members of the public who participated. It was great to see so many people of all ages release their inner nerd.

That was the (Partial) Eclipse that was…

Today been a very busy but hugely enjoyable day. We had a big turnout for the Eclipse Event at Maynooth University – I don’t have attendance figures right now, but will update when I do – and good weather in the build-up to the eclipse. Unforunately just as maximum coverage approached, clouds intervened. That was a little disappointing but there were some lovely colour effects that made up for it and it did also get eerily dark…

I heard only nice things about the event from people who attended. Here are some random snaps taken throughout the day:

The combination of heat and exertion meant that I couldn’t resist going for a pint or three afterwards so I think I’ll leave it there, except to congratulate Emma Whelan, whose brainwave today was, plus all the lecturers, technicians and students who made it possible, as well as all the members of the public who participated. It was great to see so many people of all ages release their inner nerd.

That was the (Partial) Eclipse that was…

Today been a very busy but hugely enjoyable day. We had a big turnout for the Eclipse Event at Maynooth University – I don’t have attendance figures right now, but will update when I do – and good weather in the build-up to the eclipse. Unforunately just as maximum coverage approached, clouds intervened. That was a little disappointing but there were some lovely colour effects that made up for it and it did also get eerily dark…

I heard only nice things about the event from people who attended. Here are some random snaps taken throughout the day:

The combination of heat and exertion meant that I couldn’t resist going for a pint or three afterwards so I think I’ll leave it there, except to congratulate Emma Whelan, whose brainwave today was, plus all the lecturers, technicians and students who made it possible, as well as all the members of the public who participated. It was great to see so many people of all ages release their inner nerd.

That was the (Partial) Eclipse that was…

Today been a very busy but hugely enjoyable day. We had a big turnout for the Eclipse Event at Maynooth University – I don’t have attendance figures right now, but will update when I do – and good weather in the build-up to the eclipse. Unforunately just as maximum coverage approached, clouds intervened. That was a little disappointing but there were some lovely colour effects that made up for it. I heard only nice things about the event from people who attended. Here are some random snaps taken throughout the day:

The combination of heat and exertion meant that I couldn’t resist going for a pint or three afterwards so I think I’ll leave it there, except to congratulate Emma Whelan, whose brainwave today was, plus all the lecturers, technicians and students who made it possible, as well as all the members of the public who participated.

https://www.europesays.com/uk/1142572/ What ‘smart’ watches get wrong and right when tracking the quality of your sleep – The Irish Times #ForYou #Gadgets #Health&Wellness #MaynoothUniversity #MentalHealth #Sleep #Technology #ucd #UK #UnitedKingdom #UniversityCollegeDublinUcd #YourStories

https://www.europesays.com/ie/631124/ What is quality sleep? Don’t ask your ‘smart’ watch – The Irish Times #Éire #ForYou #HealthWellness #IE #Ireland #MaynoothUniversity #MentalHealth #Sleep #Technology #UCD #UniversityCollegeDublinUcd #YourStories

Maynooth Eclipse Weather Watch

As I mentioned last week, the Department of Physics at Maynooth University will be hosting an Eclipse Event, this week on Wednesday August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. In the last few days we have been featured prominently in articles in the Irish Times and The Journal and on the RTÉ website. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. I’ve been checking the forecast on the Met Éireann app quite regularly. As of last week it wasn’t very good, with cloud and rain likely but since then it has improved. In the light of my recent post that one can’t really trust Irish weather forecasts more than three days in advance, I thought it would be fun to track the forecast until the big event to see how stable it is.

Here are the summaries for yesterday (Saturday, when it only gave a prediction every three hours for Wednesday), and today (Sunday, where there is an hourly forecast). The peak of the (partial) eclipse is around 7pm (19.00 hours) in Maynooth.

As you can see, the Sunday forecast predicts the temperature on Wednesday to be rather high, with little chance of rain, though with more cloud than the Saturday forecast. I’ll update on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see how it progresses…

Update: Wednesday 12th, 7.30am. As you can see from the above the forecast for the eclipse is quite good. There is quite a lot of rain out to the west, but it is tracking noreth-eastwards and most of it is forecast to miss Maynooth.

P.S. In the Irish language, “eclipse” can be either urú or éiclips. The former is interesting as it is also the name for a form of initial mutation that occurs certain grammatical situations in Irish, the change at the beginning of a word, where a new letter is placed in front of the original consonant, so that the new letter’s sound replaces (or “eclipses”) the old one.

Maynooth Eclipse Weather Watch

As I mentioned last week, the Department of Physics at Maynooth University will be hosting an Eclipse Event, this week on Wednesday August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. In the last few days we have been featured prominently in articles in the Irish Times and The Journal and on the RTÉ website. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. I’ve been checking the forecast on the Met Éireann app quite regularly. As of last week it wasn’t very good, with cloud and rain likely but since then it has improved. In the light of my recent post that one can’t really trust Irish weather forecasts more than three days in advance, I thought it would be fun to track the forecast until the big event to see how stable it is.

Here are the summaries for yesterday (Saturday, when it only gave a prediction every three hours for Wednesday), and today (Sunday, where there is an hourly forecast). The peak of the (partial) eclipse is around 7pm (19.00 hours) in Maynooth.

As you can see, the Sunday forecast predicts the temperature on Wednesday to be rather high, with little chance of rain, though with more cloud than the Saturday forecast. I’ll update on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see how it progresses…

Update: Wednesday 12th, 7.30am. As you can see from the above the forecast for the eclipse is quite good. There is quite a lot of rain out to the west, but it is tracking noreth-eastwards and most of it is forecast to miss Maynooth.

P.S. In the Irish language, “eclipse” can be either urú or éiclips. The former is interesting as it is also the name for a form of initial mutation that occurs certain grammatical situations in Irish, the change at the beginning of a word, where a new letter is placed in front of the original consonant, so that the new letter’s sound replaces (or “eclipses”) the old one.

Maynooth Eclipse Weather Watch

As I mentioned last week, the Department of Physics at Maynooth University will be hosting an Eclipse Event, this week on Wednesday August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. In the last few days we have been featured prominently in articles in the Irish Times and The Journal and on the RTÉ website. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. I’ve been checking the forecast on the Met Éireann app quite regularly. As of last week it wasn’t very good, with cloud and rain likely but since then it has improved. In the light of my recent post that one can’t really trust Irish weather forecasts more than three days in advance, I thought it would be fun to track the forecast until the big event to see how stable it is.

Here are the summaries for yesterday (Saturday, when it only gave a prediction every three hours for Wednesday), and today (Sunday, where there is an hourly forecast). The peak of the (partial) eclipse is around 7pm (19.00 hours) in Maynooth.

As you can see, the Sunday forecast predicts the temperature on Wednesday to be rather high, with little chance of rain, though with more cloud than the Saturday forecast. I’ll update on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see how it progresses…

Update: Wednesday 12th, 7.30am. As you can see from the above the forecast for the eclipse is quite good. There is quite a lot of rain out to the west, but it is tracking noreth-eastwards and most of it is forecast to miss Maynooth.

P.S. In the Irish language, “eclipse” can be either urú or éiclips. The former is interesting as it is also the name for a form of initial mutation that occurs certain grammatical situations in Irish, the change at the beginning of a word, where a new letter is placed in front of the original consonant, so that the new letter’s sound replaces (or “eclipses”) the old one.

Maynooth Eclipse Weather Watch

As I mentioned last week, the Department of Physics at Maynooth University will be hosting an Eclipse Event, this week on Wednesday August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. In the last few days we have been featured prominently in articles in the Irish Times and The Journal and on the RTÉ website. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. I’ve been checking the forecast on the Met Éireann app quite regularly. As of last week it wasn’t very good, with cloud and rain likely but since then it has improved. In the light of my recent post that one can’t really trust Irish weather forecasts more than three days in advance, I thought it would be fun to track the forecast until the big event to see how stable it is.

Here are the summaries for yesterday (Saturday, when it only gave a prediction every three hours for Wednesday), and today (Sunday, where there is an hourly forecast). The peak of the (partial) eclipse is around 7pm (19.00 hours) in Maynooth.

As you can see, the Sunday forecast predicts the temperature on Wednesday to be rather high, with little chance of rain, though with more cloud than the Saturday forecast. I’ll update on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see how it progresses…

Update: Wednesday 12th, 7.30am. As you can see from the above the forecast for the eclipse is quite good. There is quite a lot of rain out to the west, but it is tracking noreth-eastwards and most of it is forecast to miss Maynooth.

P.S. In the Irish language, “eclipse” can be either urú or éiclips. The former is interesting as it is also the name for a form of initial mutation that occurs certain grammatical situations in Irish, the change at the beginning of a word, where a new letter is placed in front of the original consonant, so that the new letter’s sound replaces (or “eclipses”) the old one.

Maynooth Eclipse Weather Watch

As I mentioned last week, the Department of Physics will be hosting an Eclipse Event, this week on Wednesday August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. In the last few days we have been featured prominently in articles in the Irish Times and The Journal and on the RTÉ website. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. I’ve been checking the forecast on the Met Éireann app quite regularly. As of last week it wasn’t very good, with cloud and rain likely but since then it has improved. In the light of my recent post that one can’t really trust Irish weather forecasts more than three days in advance, I thought it would be fun to track the forecast until the big event to see how stable it is.

Here are the summaries for yesterday (Saturday, when it only gave a prediction every three hours for Wednesday), and today (Sunday, where there is an hourly forecast). The peak of the (partial) eclipse is around 7pm in Maynooth

As you can see, the Sunday forecast predicts the temperature on Wednesday to be rather high, with little chance of rain, though with more cloud than the Saturday forecast. I’ll update on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see how it progresses…

P.S. In the Irish language, “eclipse” can be either urú or éiclips. The former is interesting as it is also the name for a form of initial mutation that occurs certain grammatical situations in Irish, the change at the beginning of a word, where a new letter is placed in front of the original consonant, so that the new letter’s sound replaces (or “eclipses” the old one).

Autumn Repeats Again

The repeat examination period at Maynooth University has begun. In fact the first papers were sat yesterday (5th August); the period goes on for ten days or so, I will have four different papers to grade, though I’m expecting only one candidate each for three of them. My first is tomorrow (Friday 7th August).

A couple of years ago, Maynooth University produced this nice good luck message for those resitting so I’ll repeat it here:

Every year at this time I mention the difference between the system of repeats in Maynooth compared to other institutions with which I am familiar, especially in the UK. Elsewhere, students generally take resits when, because they have failed one or more examinations the previous May, they have not accumulated sufficient credits to proceed to the next year of their course. Passing the resit allows them to retrieve lost credit, but their mark is generally capped at a bare pass (usually 40%). That means the student gets the credit they need for their degree but their average (which determines whether they get 1st, 2nd or 3rd class Honours) is affected. This is the case unless a student has extenuating circumstances affecting the earlier examination, such as bad health or family emergency, in which case they take the resit as a `sit’, i.e. for the first time with an uncapped mark.

Here in Maynooth, however, the mark obtained in a repeat examination is usually not capped. Indeed, some students – though not many – elect to take the repeat examination even if they passed earlier in the summer, in order to increase their average mark.

Some people don’t like the idea of uncapped repeats because they feel that it would lead to many students playing games, i.e. deliberately not taking exams in May with the intention of spreading some of their examination  load into August. For this reason the Institute of Physics has decided to impose capped resits as part of its accreditation requirements. Some people here seem to think IOP accreditation is worth having so we’re being pushed into that requirement. I find it heavy-handed and unhelpful. I also think it imposes a dreary uniformity on physics courses in the UK. In any case, IOP accreditation is unimportant unless you want to do postgraduate study in physics in the UK (and often not even then). It doesn’t matter at all anywhere else.

If you think students have an unfair advantage if they don’t take a full diet of examinations in May, then the logical conclusion is that part-time students have an unfair advantage as do students taking micro-credentials consisting of just one or two modules. It’s the essence of the modular system that each module result should be considered on its own merit, not in relation to other modules a student may or may not have taken at the same time. One can of course argue whether the modular system is good or not, but if you have it then you should act consistently in accordance with it. You wouldn’t penalize students who have to work to support their study relative to those who don’t, would you?

And there’s no real evidence of students in Maynooth actually playing the system in the way the IOP thinks they do anyway. For one thing, the results from the repeat examination period are not confirmed until early September so that students that deploy this strategy do not know whether they are going to be able to resume their course until just a couple of weeks before term. That could cause lots of problems securing accommodation, etc, so it doesn’t seem to me to be a good ploy. Finalists adopting this strategy will not be able to graduate with the rest of their cohort and may miss several months of potential employment. I think most of our students are smart enough to realize that it’s a risky strategy.

Anyway, I’d welcome comments for or against whether resits/repeats should be capped/uncapped and on what practice is adopted in your institution.

Autumn Repeats Again

The repeat examination period at Maynooth University has begun. In fact the first papers were sat yesterday (5th August); the period goes on for ten days or so, I will have four different papers to grade, though I’m expecting only one candidate each for three of them. My first is tomorrow (Friday 7th August).

A couple of years ago, Maynooth University produced this nice good luck message for those resitting so I’ll repeat it here:

Every year at this time I mention the difference between the system of repeats in Maynooth compared to other institutions with which I am familiar, especially in the UK. Elsewhere, students generally take resits when, because they have failed one or more examinations the previous May, they have not accumulated sufficient credits to proceed to the next year of their course. Passing the resit allows them to retrieve lost credit, but their mark is generally capped at a bare pass (usually 40%). That means the student gets the credit they need for their degree but their average (which determines whether they get 1st, 2nd or 3rd class Honours) is affected. This is the case unless a student has extenuating circumstances affecting the earlier examination, such as bad health or family emergency, in which case they take the resit as a `sit’, i.e. for the first time with an uncapped mark.

Here in Maynooth, however, the mark obtained in a repeat examination is usually not capped. Indeed, some students – though not many – elect to take the repeat examination even if they passed earlier in the summer, in order to increase their average mark.

Some people don’t like the idea of uncapped repeats because they feel that it would lead to many students playing games, i.e. deliberately not taking exams in May with the intention of spreading some of their examination  load into August. For this reason the Institute of Physics has decided to impose capped resits as part of its accreditation requirements. Some people here seem to think IOP accreditation is worth having so we’re being pushed into that requirement. I find it heavy-handed and unhelpful. I also think it imposes a dreary uniformity on physics courses in the UK. In any case, IOP accreditation is unimportant unless you want to do postgraduate study in physics in the UK (and often not even then). It doesn’t matter at all anywhere else.

If you think students have an unfair advantage if they don’t take a full diet of examinations in May, then the logical conclusion is that part-time students have an unfair advantage as do students taking micro-credentials consisting of just one or two modules. It’s the essence of the modular system that each module result should be considered on its own merit, not in relation to other modules a student may or may not have taken at the same time. One can of course argue whether the modular system is good or not, but if you have it then you should act consistently in accordance with it. You wouldn’t penalize students who have to work to support their study relative to those who don’t, would you?

And there’s no real evidence of students in Maynooth actually playing the system in the way the IOP thinks they do anyway. For one thing, the results from the repeat examination period are not confirmed until early September so that students that deploy this strategy do not know whether they are going to be able to resume their course until just a couple of weeks before term. That could cause lots of problems securing accommodation, etc, so it doesn’t seem to me to be a good ploy. Finalists adopting this strategy will not be able to graduate with the rest of their cohort and may miss several months of potential employment. I think most of our students are smart enough to realize that it’s a risky strategy.

Anyway, I’d welcome comments for or against whether resits/repeats should be capped/uncapped and on what practice is adopted in your institution.

Autumn Repeats Again

The repeat examination period at Maynooth University has begun. In fact the first papers were sat yesterday (5th August); the period goes on for ten days or so, I will have four different papers to grade, though I’m expecting only one candidate each for three of them. My first is tomorrow (Friday 7th August).

A couple of years ago, Maynooth University produced this nice good luck message for those resitting so I’ll repeat it here:

Every year at this time I mention the difference between the system of repeats in Maynooth compared to other institutions with which I am familiar, especially in the UK. Elsewhere, students generally take resits when, because they have failed one or more examinations the previous May, they have not accumulated sufficient credits to proceed to the next year of their course. Passing the resit allows them to retrieve lost credit, but their mark is generally capped at a bare pass (usually 40%). That means the student gets the credit they need for their degree but their average (which determines whether they get 1st, 2nd or 3rd class Honours) is affected. This is the case unless a student has extenuating circumstances affecting the earlier examination, such as bad health or family emergency, in which case they take the resit as a `sit’, i.e. for the first time with an uncapped mark.

Here in Maynooth, however, the mark obtained in a repeat examination is usually not capped. Indeed, some students – though not many – elect to take the repeat examination even if they passed earlier in the summer, in order to increase their average mark.

Some people don’t like the idea of uncapped repeats because they feel that it would lead to many students playing games, i.e. deliberately not taking exams in May with the intention of spreading some of their examination  load into August. For this reason the Institute of Physics has decided to impose capped resits as part of its accreditation requirements. Some people here seem to think IOP accreditation is worth having so we’re being pushed into that requirement. I find it heavy-handed and unhelpful. I also think it imposes a dreary uniformity on physics courses in the UK. In any case, IOP accreditation is unimportant unless you want to do postgraduate study in physics in the UK (and often not even then). It doesn’t matter at all anywhere else.

If you think students have an unfair advantage if they don’t take a full diet of examinations in May, then the logical conclusion is that part-time students have an unfair advantage as do students taking micro-credentials consisting of just one or two modules. It’s the essence of the modular system that each module result should be considered on its own merit, not in relation to other modules a student may or may not have taken at the same time. One can of course argue whether the modular system is good or not, but if you have it then you should act consistently in accordance with it. You wouldn’t penalize students who have to work to support their study relative to those who don’t, would you?

And there’s no real evidence of students in Maynooth actually playing the system in the way the IOP thinks they do anyway. For one thing, the results from the repeat examination period are not confirmed until early September so that students that deploy this strategy do not know whether they are going to be able to resume their course until just a couple of weeks before term. That could cause lots of problems securing accommodation, etc, so it doesn’t seem to me to be a good ploy. Finalists adopting this strategy will not be able to graduate with the rest of their cohort and may miss several months of potential employment. I think most of our students are smart enough to realize that it’s a risky strategy.

Anyway, I’d welcome comments for or against whether resits/repeats should be capped/uncapped and on what practice is adopted in your institution.

Autumn Repeats Again

The repeat examination period at Maynooth University has begun. In fact the first papers were sat yesterday (5th August); the period goes on for ten days or so, I will have four different papers to grade, though I’m expecting only one candidate each for three of them. My first is tomorrow (Friday 7th August).

A couple of years ago, Maynooth University produced this nice good luck message for those resitting so I’ll repeat it here:

Every year at this time I mention the difference between the system of repeats in Maynooth compared to other institutions with which I am familiar, especially in the UK. Elsewhere, students generally take resits when, because they have failed one or more examinations the previous May, they have not accumulated sufficient credits to proceed to the next year of their course. Passing the resit allows them to retrieve lost credit, but their mark is generally capped at a bare pass (usually 40%). That means the student gets the credit they need for their degree but their average (which determines whether they get 1st, 2nd or 3rd class Honours) is affected. This is the case unless a student has extenuating circumstances affecting the earlier examination, such as bad health or family emergency, in which case they take the resit as a `sit’, i.e. for the first time with an uncapped mark.

Here in Maynooth, however, the mark obtained in a repeat examination is usually not capped. Indeed, some students – though not many – elect to take the repeat examination even if they passed earlier in the summer, in order to increase their average mark.

Some people don’t like the idea of uncapped repeats because they feel that it would lead to many students playing games, i.e. deliberately not taking exams in May with the intention of spreading some of their examination  load into August. For this reason the Institute of Physics has decided to impose capped resits as part of its accreditation requirements. Some people here seem to think IOP accreditation is worth having so we’re being pushed into that requirement. I find it heavy-handed and unhelpful. I also think it imposes a dreary uniformity on physics courses in the UK. In any case, IOP accreditation is unimportant unless you want to do postgraduate study in physics in the UK (and often not even then). It doesn’t matter at all anywhere else.

If you think students have an unfair advantage if they don’t take a full diet of examinations in May, then the logical conclusion is that part-time students have an unfair advantage as do students taking micro-credentials consisting of just one or two modules. It’s the essence of the modular system that each module result should be considered on its own merit, not in relation to other modules a student may or may not have taken at the same time. One can of course argue whether the modular system is good or not, but if you have it then you should act consistently in accordance with it. You wouldn’t penalize students who have to work to support their study relative to those who don’t, would you?

And there’s no real evidence of students in Maynooth actually playing the system in the way the IOP thinks they do anyway. For one thing, the results from the repeat examination period are not confirmed until early September so that students that deploy this strategy do not know whether they are going to be able to resume their course until just a couple of weeks before term. That could cause lots of problems securing accommodation, etc, so it doesn’t seem to me to be a good ploy. Finalists adopting this strategy will not be able to graduate with the rest of their cohort and may miss several months of potential employment. I think most of our students are smart enough to realize that it’s a risky strategy.

Anyway, I’d welcome comments for or against whether resits/repeats should be capped/uncapped and on what practice is adopted in your institution.

https://www.europesays.com/ie/622366/ ‘Thousands of special viewing glasses’ sold for most prominent solar eclipse in 27 years – The Irish Times #AstronomicalSociety #AstronomyIreland #cork #dublin #Éire #galway #IE #Ireland #kerry #Limerick #MaynoothUniversity #Offaly #PhoenixPark #Science #Spain #Waterford

Lá Saoire i mí Lúnasa

Today, Monday 3rd August 2026, being the first Monday in August, is a Bank Holiday in Ireland. This holiday was created by the Bank Holiday Act of 1871 when Ireland was under British rule. While the August Bank Holiday was subsequently moved to the end of August in England and Wales, it has remained at the start of August in Ireland. It has been a nice morning weather-wise, but in true Bank Holiday fashion we’re promised heavy rain later on, with a chance of thunderstorms.

As I mentioned on Saturday, the first day of August marks the old pagan festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh, on which is celebrated the beginning of the harvest season. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. Traditionally this is the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Two years ago at this time I was still on sabbatical. That seems like ages ago! When I resumed teaching, in September 2024, I had to teach two modules I’d never taught before: a fourth-year Mathematical physics course on Differential Equations and Complex Analysis and a second-year Engineering Mathematics course. I am doing both of these again so resumption of teaching in September won’t be as challenging, although I will be changing a few things in the light of last year’s experience. Lectures start on Monday 22nd September.

After I return to work tomorrow the next big item on the agenda is the repeat examination period, which starts on Wednesday August 5th. The first paper for which I have responsibility is on Friday 7th, but I won’t be able to get the scripts until Monday 10th so I have a bit of time to do other stuff before I start marking. I am not expecting many scripts, actually, so it shouldn’t be too onerous a task to get them done promptly.

Next week also sees the deadline for the dissertations for our MSc course. I have been supervising a student this year and will probably be asked to give comments on the final draft of his report. Then the MSc students have their presentations on Friday 14th August. They have all completed the taught component of the course so the only thing left to assess are these projects. Students will get their final results later this month, along with the resitting undergraduate students.

In between all this we have our Eclipse Event on August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. The event was advertised quite a bit in the local media, e.g. here. The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

Anyway, after the repeat examinations and project assessments are done, the marks uploaded, and the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Examination Boards have done their work, the next job will be to prepare for the new intake of students. This year’s Leaving Certificate results will be announced on Friday 21st August, at which point we’ll see how many students (if any) we have studying Physics next academic year (which, if all goes to plan, will be my penultimate…)

Lá Saoire i mí Lúnasa

Today, Monday 3rd August 2026, being the first Monday in August, is a Bank Holiday in Ireland. This holiday was created by the Bank Holiday Act of 1871 when Ireland was under British rule. While the August Bank Holiday was subsequently moved to the end of August in England and Wales, it has remained at the start of August in Ireland. It has been a nice morning weather-wise, but in true Bank Holiday fashion we’re promised heavy rain later on, with a chance of thunderstorms.

As I mentioned on Saturday, the first day of August marks the old pagan festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh, on which is celebrated the beginning of the harvest season. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. Traditionally this is the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Two years ago at this time I was still on sabbatical. That seems like ages ago! When I resumed teaching, in September 2024, I had to teach two modules I’d never taught before: a fourth-year Mathematical physics course on Differential Equations and Complex Analysis and a second-year Engineering Mathematics course. I am doing both of these again so resumption of teaching in September won’t be as challenging, although I will be changing a few things in the light of last year’s experience. Lectures start on Monday 22nd September.

After I return to work tomorrow the next big item on the agenda is the repeat examination period, which starts on Wednesday August 5th. The first paper for which I have responsibility is on Friday 7th, but I won’t be able to get the scripts until Monday 10th so I have a bit of time to do other stuff before I start marking. I am not expecting many scripts, actually, so it shouldn’t be too onerous a task to get them done promptly.

Next week also sees the deadline for the dissertations for our MSc course. I have been supervising a student this year and will probably be asked to give comments on the final draft of his report. Then the MSc students have their presentations on Friday 14th August. They have all completed the taught component of the course so the only thing left to assess are these projects. Students will get their final results later this month, along with the resitting undergraduate students.

In between all this we have our Eclipse Event on August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. The event was advertised quite a bit in the local media, e.g. here. The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

Anyway, after the repeat examinations and project assessments are done, the marks uploaded, and the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Examination Boards have done their work, the next job will be to prepare for the new intake of students. This year’s Leaving Certificate results will be announced on Friday 21st August, at which point we’ll see how many students (if any) we have studying Physics next academic year (which, if all goes to plan, will be my penultimate…)

Lá Saoire i mí Lúnasa

Today, Monday 3rd August 2026, being the first Monday in August, is a Bank Holiday in Ireland. This holiday was created by the Bank Holiday Act of 1871 when Ireland was under British rule. While the August Bank Holiday was subsequently moved to the end of August in England and Wales, it has remained at the start of August in Ireland. It has been a nice morning weather-wise, but in true Bank Holiday fashion we’re promised heavy rain later on, with a chance of thunderstorms.

As I mentioned on Saturday, the first day of August marks the old pagan festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh, on which is celebrated the beginning of the harvest season. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. Traditionally this is the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Two years ago at this time I was still on sabbatical. That seems like ages ago! When I resumed teaching, in September 2024, I had to teach two modules I’d never taught before: a fourth-year Mathematical physics course on Differential Equations and Complex Analysis and a second-year Engineering Mathematics course. I am doing both of these again so resumption of teaching in September won’t be as challenging, although I will be changing a few things in the light of last year’s experience. Lectures start on Monday 22nd September.

After I return to work tomorrow the next big item on the agenda is the repeat examination period, which starts on Wednesday August 5th. The first paper for which I have responsibility is on Friday 7th, but I won’t be able to get the scripts until Monday 10th so I have a bit of time to do other stuff before I start marking. I am not expecting many scripts, actually, so it shouldn’t be too onerous a task to get them done promptly.

Next week also sees the deadline for the dissertations for our MSc course. I have been supervising a student this year and will probably be asked to give comments on the final draft of his report. Then the MSc students have their presentations on Friday 14th August. They have all completed the taught component of the course so the only thing left to assess are these projects. Students will get their final results later this month, along with the resitting undergraduate students.

In between all this we have our Eclipse Event on August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. The event was advertised quite a bit in the local media, e.g. here. The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

Anyway, after the repeat examinations and project assessments are done, the marks uploaded, and the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Examination Boards have done their work, the next job will be to prepare for the new intake of students. This year’s Leaving Certificate results will be announced on Friday 21st August, at which point we’ll see how many students (if any) we have studying Physics next academic year (which, if all goes to plan, will be my penultimate…)

Lá Saoire i mí Lúnasa

Today, Monday 3rd August 2026, being the first Monday in August, is a Bank Holiday in Ireland. This holiday was created by the Bank Holiday Act of 1871 when Ireland was under British rule. While the August Bank Holiday was subsequently moved to the end of August in England and Wales, it has remained at the start of August in Ireland. It has been a nice morning weather-wise, but in true Bank Holiday fashion we’re promised heavy rain later on, with a chance of thunderstorms.

As I mentioned on Saturday, the first day of August marks the old pagan festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh, on which is celebrated the beginning of the harvest season. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. Traditionally this is the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Two years ago at this time I was still on sabbatical. That seems like ages ago! When I resumed teaching, in September 2024, I had to teach two modules I’d never taught before: a fourth-year Mathematical physics course on Differential Equations and Complex Analysis and a second-year Engineering Mathematics course. I am doing both of these again so resumption of teaching in September won’t be as challenging, although I will be changing a few things in the light of last year’s experience. Lectures start on Monday 22nd September.

After I return to work tomorrow the next big item on the agenda is the repeat examination period, which starts on Wednesday August 5th. The first paper for which I have responsibility is on Friday 7th, but I won’t be able to get the scripts until Monday 10th so I have a bit of time to do other stuff before I start marking. I am not expecting many scripts, actually, so it shouldn’t be too onerous a task to get them done promptly.

Next week also sees the deadline for the dissertations for our MSc course. I have been supervising a student this year and will probably be asked to give comments on the final draft of his report. Then the MSc students have their presentations on Friday 14th August. They have all completed the taught component of the course so the only thing left to assess are these projects. Students will get their final results later this month, along with the resitting undergraduate students.

In between all this we have our Eclipse Event on August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. The event was advertised quite a bit in the local media, e.g. here. The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great. Although it is officially full, there may be a few returns, so it is worth checking on the day to see if we can fit you in.

Anyway, after the repeat examinations and project assessments are done, the marks uploaded, and the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Examination Boards have done their work, the next job will be to prepare for the new intake of students. This year’s Leaving Certificate results will be announced on Friday 21st August, at which point we’ll see how many students (if any) we have studying Physics next academic year (which, if all goes to plan, will be my penultimate…)

Lá Saoire i mí Lúnasa

Today, Monday 3rd August 2026, being the first Monday in August, is a Bank Holiday in Ireland. This holiday was created by the Bank Holiday Act of 1871 when Ireland was under British rule. While the August Bank Holiday was subsequently moved to the end of August in England and Wales, it has remained at the start of August in Ireland.

As I mentioned on Saturday, the first day of August marks the old pagan festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh, on which is celebrated the beginning of the harvest season. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. Traditionally this is the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Two years ago at this time I was still on sabbatical. That seems like ages ago! When I resumed teaching, in September 2024, I had to teach two modules I’d never taught before: a fourth-year Mathematical physics course on Differential Equations and Complex Analysis and a second-year Engineering Mathematics course. I am doing both of these again so resumption of teaching in September won’t be as challenging, although I will be changing a few things in the light of last year’s experience.

After I return to work tomorrow the next big item on the agenda is the repeat examination period, which starts on Wednesday August 5th. The first paper for which I have responsibility is on Friday 7th, but I won’t be able to get the scripts until Monday 10th so I have a bit of time to do other stuff before I start marking. I am not expecting many scripts, actually, so it shouldn’t be too onerous a task to get them done promptly.

Next week also sees the deadline for the dissertations for our MSc course. I have been supervising a student this year and will probably be asked to give comments on the final draft of his report. Then the MSc students have their presentations on Friday 14th August. They have all completed the taught component of the course so the only thing left to assess are these projects. Students will get their final results later this month, along with the resitting undergraduate students.

In between all this we have our Eclipse Event on August 12th. This sold out very quickly so we expect a good turnout. The event was advertised quite a bit in the local media, e.g. here. The viewing of the eclipse will of course depend on the weather, but we have talks lined up indoors and a pop-up planetarium so I hope people will turn up even if the weather isn’t great.

Anyway, after the repeat examinations and project assessments are done, the marks uploaded, and the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Examination Boards have done their work, the next job will be to prepare for the new intake of students. This year’s Leaving Certificate results will be announced on Friday 21st August, at which point we’ll see how many students (if any) we have studying Physics next academic year (which, if all goes to plan, will be my penultimate…)

Lughnasadh – The Start of Autumn

Today is 1st August, which is marked by the old Celtic festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. The word for August in modern Irish is Lúnasa, a name derived from the old Celtic word.

Traditionally 1st August marks the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

In the Northern hemisphere, from an astronomical point of view, the solar year is defined by the two solstices (summer, around June 21st and winter, around December 21st) and the equinoxes (Spring, around March 21st, and Autumn, around September 21st). These four events divide the year into four roughly equal parts of about 13 weeks each. If you divide each of these intervals in two you divide the year into eight pieces of six and a bit weeks each. The dates midway between the astronomical events mentioned above are (roughly) :

• 1st February: Imbolc (Candlemas)
• 1st May: Beltane (Mayday)
• 1st August: Lughnasadh (Lammas)
• 1st November: Samhain (All Saints Day)

The names I’ve added are taken from the Celtic/neo-Pagan (and Christian terms) for these cross-quarter days. These timings are rough because the dates of the equinoxes and solstices vary from year to year. Imbolc is often taken to be the 2nd of February (Groundhog Day) and Samhain is sometimes taken to be October 31st, Halloween. But hopefully you get the point. All four of thes days have a Bank Holiday associated with them (on the first Monday after the respective date); this Monday (3rd August) is a Bank Holiday in Ireland.

Some folk in Ireland regard August 1st as the first day of Autumn, just as 1st February is regarded as the first day of Spring and 1st May is the start of Summer. Indeed, our annual cycle of repeat examinations at Maynooth always happens in early to mid-August and these examinations are officially called the Autumn repeats. I rest my case. In my time here I have also noticed that May, June and July do tend to have significantly better weather than August, although I’m pleased to say that the weather isn’t particularly autumnal today.

Lughnasadh – The Start of Autumn

Today is 1st August, which is marked by the old Celtic festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. The word for August in modern Irish is Lúnasa, a name derived from the old Celtic word.

Traditionally 1st August marks the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

In the Northern hemisphere, from an astronomical point of view, the solar year is defined by the two solstices (summer, around June 21st and winter, around December 21st) and the equinoxes (Spring, around March 21st, and Autumn, around September 21st). These four events divide the year into four roughly equal parts of about 13 weeks each. If you divide each of these intervals in two you divide the year into eight pieces of six and a bit weeks each. The dates midway between the astronomical events mentioned above are (roughly) :

• 1st February: Imbolc (Candlemas)
• 1st May: Beltane (Mayday)
• 1st August: Lughnasadh (Lammas)
• 1st November: Samhain (All Saints Day)

The names I’ve added are taken from the Celtic/neo-Pagan (and Christian terms) for these cross-quarter days. These timings are rough because the dates of the equinoxes and solstices vary from year to year. Imbolc is often taken to be the 2nd of February (Groundhog Day) and Samhain is sometimes taken to be October 31st, Halloween. But hopefully you get the point. All four of thes days have a Bank Holiday associated with them (on the first Monday after the respective date); this Monday (3rd August) is a Bank Holiday in Ireland.

Some folk in Ireland regard August 1st as the first day of Autumn, just as 1st February is regarded as the first day of Spring and 1st May is the start of Summer. Indeed, our annual cycle of repeat examinations at Maynooth always happens in early to mid-August and these examinations are officially called the Autumn repeats. I rest my case. In my time here I have also noticed that May, June and July do tend to have significantly better weather than August, although I’m pleased to say that the weather isn’t particularly autumnal today.

Lughnasadh – The Start of Autumn

Today is 1st August, which is marked by the old Celtic festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. The word for August in modern Irish is Lúnasa, a name derived from the old Celtic word.

Traditionally 1st August marks the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

In the Northern hemisphere, from an astronomical point of view, the solar year is defined by the two solstices (summer, around June 21st and winter, around December 21st) and the equinoxes (Spring, around March 21st, and Autumn, around September 21st). These four events divide the year into four roughly equal parts of about 13 weeks each. If you divide each of these intervals in two you divide the year into eight pieces of six and a bit weeks each. The dates midway between the astronomical events mentioned above are (roughly) :

• 1st February: Imbolc (Candlemas)
• 1st May: Beltane (Mayday)
• 1st August: Lughnasadh (Lammas)
• 1st November: Samhain (All Saints Day)

The names I’ve added are taken from the Celtic/neo-Pagan (and Christian terms) for these cross-quarter days. These timings are rough because the dates of the equinoxes and solstices vary from year to year. Imbolc is often taken to be the 2nd of February (Groundhog Day) and Samhain is sometimes taken to be October 31st, Halloween. But hopefully you get the point. All four of thes days have a Bank Holiday associated with them (on the first Monday after the respective date); this Monday (3rd August) is a Bank Holiday in Ireland.

Some folk in Ireland regard August 1st as the first day of Autumn, just as 1st February is regarded as the first day of Spring and 1st May is the start of Summer. Indeed, our annual cycle of repeat examinations at Maynooth always happens in early to mid-August and these examinations are officially called the Autumn repeats. I rest my case. In my time here I have also noticed that May, June and July do tend to have significantly better weather than August, although I’m pleased to say that the weather isn’t particularly autumnal today.

Lughnasadh – The Start of Autumn

Today is 1st August, which is marked by the old Celtic festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. The word for August in modern Irish is Lúnasa, a name derived from the old Celtic word.

Traditionally 1st August marks the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

In the Northern hemisphere, from an astronomical point of view, the solar year is defined by the two solstices (summer, around June 21st and winter, around December 21st) and the equinoxes (Spring, around March 21st, and Autumn, around September 21st). These four events divide the year into four roughly equal parts of about 13 weeks each. If you divide each of these intervals in two you divide the year into eight pieces of six and a bit weeks each. The dates midway between the astronomical events mentioned above are (roughly) :

• 1st February: Imbolc (Candlemas)
• 1st May: Beltane (Mayday)
• 1st August: Lughnasadh (Lammas)
• 1st November: Samhain (All Saints Day)

The names I’ve added are taken from the Celtic/neo-Pagan (and Christian terms) for these cross-quarter days. These timings are rough because the dates of the equinoxes and solstices vary from year to year. Imbolc is often taken to be the 2nd of February (Groundhog Day) and Samhain is sometimes taken to be October 31st, Halloween. But hopefully you get the point. All four of thes days have a Bank Holiday associated with them (on the first Monday after the respective date); this Monday (3rd August) is a Bank Holiday in Ireland.

Some folk in Ireland regard August 1st as the first day of Autumn, just as 1st February is regarded as the first day of Spring and 1st May is the start of Summer. Indeed, our annual cycle of repeat examinations at Maynooth always happens in early to mid-August and these examinations are officially called the Autumn repeats. I rest my case. In my time here I have also noticed that May, June and July do tend to have significantly better weather than August, although I’m pleased to say that the weather isn’t particularly autumnal today.

Lughnasadh – The Start of Autumn

Today is 1st August, which is marked by the old Celtic festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. The word for August in modern Irish is Lúnasa, a name derived from the old Celtic word.

Traditionally 1st August marks the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

In the Northern hemisphere, from an astronomical point of view, the solar year is defined by the two solstices (summer, around June 21st and winter, around December 21st) and the equinoxes (Spring, around March 21st, and Autumn, around September 21st). These four events divide the year into four roughly equal parts of about 13 weeks each. If you divide each of these intervals in two you divide the year into eight pieces of six and a bit weeks each. The dates midway between the astronomical events mentioned above are (roughly) :

• 1st February: Imbolc (Candlemas)
• 1st May: Beltane (Mayday)
• 1st August: Lughnasadh (Lammas)
• 1st November: Samhain (All Saints Day)

The names I’ve added are taken from the Celtic/neo-Pagan (and Christian terms) for these cross-quarter days. These timings are rough because the dates of the equinoxes and solstices vary from year to year. Imbolc is often taken to be the 2nd of February (Groundhog Day) and Samhain is sometimes taken to be October 31st, Halloween. But hopefully you get the point. All four of thes days have a Bank Holiday associated with them (on the first Monday after the respective date); this Monday (3rd August) is a Bank Holiday in Ireland.

Some folk in Ireland regard August 1st as the first day of Autumn, just as 1st February is regarded as the first day of Spring and 1st May is the start of Summer. Indeed, our annual cycle of repeat examinations at Maynooth always happens in early to mid-August and these examinations are officially called the Autumn repeats. I rest my case. In my time here I have also noticed that May, June and July do tend to have significantly better weather than August, although I’m pleased to say that the weather isn’t particularly autumnal today.

https://www.europesays.com/people/174109/ Dysfunction in Ireland a poor reason to not back Andy Burnham’s plan to devolve power – The Irish Times #AndyBurnham #MaynoothUniversity #NorthernIreland

Invigilator Training?

I saw the above cartoon in the latest Private Eye and, with Repeat Examinations rapdily approaching I thought I’d share it here without permission.

Years ago, academic staff had to invigilate their own examinations. I had to do this in my first teaching job at Queen Mary and, later, at Nottingham, but more recently the job has generally been done by support staff rather than academics. I moved from Nottingham to Cardiff in 2007 and don’t think I ever had to invigilate examinations there, so I haven’t done it for almost twenty years. Nowadays we are just expected to be “on call” to deal with any queries that arise in the Exam Hall by phone.

The cartoon reminded me of one of the funniest April Fool jokes I can recall. I think it was when I was at Queen Mary, but it’s so long ago I can’t remember who was responsible. Anyway, whichever colleague it was sent an email to all academic staff passing on what appeared to be a message from the University Management stating that all staff would be required to attend a compulsory day-long invigilator training workshop, including a “role play” session (the mind boggles). This message managed to trigger a significant number of staff members who made use of the “ReplyAll” on their email to vent their outrage at such a waste of time. It was a good April Fool, because the idea of it was quite plausible. Most April Fools are far too obvious.

Anyway, I’m not sorry that I no longer have to perform the task of exam invigilation, as it was always one of my least favourite jobs, and not only because I don’t enjoy seeing people under stress. Initially I thought supervising an examination might allow me time to do something useful, but there always seemed to be some interruption, such as students wanting an extra answer book, or asking about some issue with the examination paper, or wanting to leave to go to the toilet, etc.

The most dramatic interruption I can remember was when a student who suffered from epilepsy had a seizure in the examination hall. Fortunately we invigilators had been briefed as to what to do in such an eventuality, namely to move the furniture so the student didn’t hurt themselves but otherwise not to intervene until they went to sleep – which usually happens after a minute or two. This was done about 15 minutes before the exam started, not in a day-long training session. We were told that such an episode was unlikely as the student was taking medicine to prevent them occurring. It was quite when it actually happened, but happily the student recovered quickly and was perfectly OK afterwards. Apparently he had been so busy preparing for the examination that day he had forgotten to take his medication in the morning.

Having given up on the idea of doing some other work during an examination, I used to take a few crosswords to do. These are good for passing the time because you can solve a few clues then pause to look around the hall. Other things I used to do included walking around counting the number of right-handed and left-handed students, for example, though I never did any detailed statistical analysis of the results.

The primary purpose of invigilation is to prevent cheating or other misbehaviour, and I only ever saw a few examples of that – most of them involving calculators with, e.g., graph-plotting facilities which are not allowed.

Anyway, I’m glad I no longer have to invigilate examinations, and that makes me all the more grateful for the people who do. Here in Maynooth there are three examinations per day during the Examination Period, with a brief period between to put out the next set of papers, which means a long day for those who do this job. Hats off to the staff of the Exams Office at Maynooth who carry out this thankless task three times a year!

Invigilator Training?

I saw the above cartoon in the latest Private Eye and, with Repeat Examinations rapdily approaching I thought I’d share it here without permission.

Years ago, academic staff had to invigilate their own examinations. I had to do this in my first teaching job at Queen Mary and, later, at Nottingham, but more recently the job has generally been done by support staff rather than academics. I moved from Nottingham to Cardiff in 2007 and don’t think I ever had to invigilate examinations there, so I haven’t done it for almost twenty years. Nowadays we are just expected to be “on call” to deal with any queries that arise in the Exam Hall by phone.

The cartoon reminded me of one of the funniest April Fool jokes I can recall. I think it was when I was at Queen Mary, but it’s so long ago I can’t remember who was responsible. Anyway, whichever colleague it was sent an email to all academic staff passing on what appeared to be a message from the University Management stating that all staff would be required to attend a compulsory day-long invigilator training workshop, including a “role play” session (the mind boggles). This message managed to trigger a significant number of staff members who made use of the “ReplyAll” on their email to vent their outrage at such a waste of time. It was a good April Fool, because the idea of it was quite plausible. Most April Fools are far too obvious.

Anyway, I’m not sorry that I no longer have to perform the task of exam invigilation, as it was always one of my least favourite jobs, and not only because I don’t enjoy seeing people under stress. Initially I thought supervising an examination might allow me time to do something useful, but there always seemed to be some interruption, such as students wanting an extra answer book, or asking about some issue with the examination paper, or wanting to leave to go to the toilet, etc.

The most dramatic interruption I can remember was when a student who suffered from epilepsy had a seizure in the examination hall. Fortunately we invigilators had been briefed as to what to do in such an eventuality, namely to move the furniture so the student didn’t hurt themselves but otherwise not to intervene until they went to sleep – which usually happens after a minute or two. This was done about 15 minutes before the exam started, not in a day-long training session. We were told that such an episode was unlikely as the student was taking medicine to prevent them occurring. It was quite when it actually happened, but happily the student recovered quickly and was perfectly OK afterwards. Apparently he had been so busy preparing for the examination that day he had forgotten to take his medication in the morning.

Having given up on the idea of doing some other work during an examination, I used to take a few crosswords to do. These are good for passing the time because you can solve a few clues then pause to look around the hall. Other things I used to do included walking around counting the number of right-handed and left-handed students, for example, though I never did any detailed statistical analysis of the results.

The primary purpose of invigilation is to prevent cheating or other misbehaviour, and I only ever saw a few examples of that – most of them involving calculators with, e.g., graph-plotting facilities which are not allowed.

Anyway, I’m glad I no longer have to invigilate examinations, and that makes me all the more grateful for the people who do. Here in Maynooth there are three examinations per day during the Examination Period, with a brief period between to put out the next set of papers, which means a long day for those who do this job. Hats off to the staff of the Exams Office at Maynooth who carry out this thankless task three times a year!

Invigilator Training?

I saw the above cartoon in the latest Private Eye and, with Repeat Examinations rapdily approaching I thought I’d share it here without permission.

Years ago, academic staff had to invigilate their own examinations. I had to do this in my first teaching job at Queen Mary and, later, at Nottingham, but more recently the job has generally been done by support staff rather than academics. I moved from Nottingham to Cardiff in 2007 and don’t think I ever had to invigilate examinations there, so I haven’t done it for almost twenty years. Nowadays we are just expected to be “on call” to deal with any queries that arise in the Exam Hall by phone.

The cartoon reminded me of one of the funniest April Fool jokes I can recall. I think it was when I was at Queen Mary, but it’s so long ago I can’t remember who was responsible. Anyway, whichever colleague it was sent an email to all academic staff passing on what appeared to be a message from the University Management stating that all staff would be required to attend a compulsory day-long invigilator training workshop, including a “role play” session (the mind boggles). This message managed to trigger a significant number of staff members who made use of the “ReplyAll” on their email to vent their outrage at such a waste of time. It was a good April Fool, because the idea of it was quite plausible. Most April Fools are far too obvious.

Anyway, I’m not sorry that I no longer have to perform the task of exam invigilation, as it was always one of my least favourite jobs, and not only because I don’t enjoy seeing people under stress. Initially I thought supervising an examination might allow me time to do something useful, but there always seemed to be some interruption, such as students wanting an extra answer book, or asking about some issue with the examination paper, or wanting to leave to go to the toilet, etc.

The most dramatic interruption I can remember was when a student who suffered from epilepsy had a seizure in the examination hall. Fortunately we invigilators had been briefed as to what to do in such an eventuality, namely to move the furniture so the student didn’t hurt themselves but otherwise not to intervene until they went to sleep – which usually happens after a minute or two. This was done about 15 minutes before the exam started, not in a day-long training session. We were told that such an episode was unlikely as the student was taking medicine to prevent them occurring. It was quite when it actually happened, but happily the student recovered quickly and was perfectly OK afterwards. Apparently he had been so busy preparing for the examination that day he had forgotten to take his medication in the morning.

Having given up on the idea of doing some other work during an examination, I used to take a few crosswords to do. These are good for passing the time because you can solve a few clues then pause to look around the hall. Other things I used to do included walking around counting the number of right-handed and left-handed students, for example, though I never did any detailed statistical analysis of the results.

The primary purpose of invigilation is to prevent cheating or other misbehaviour, and I only ever saw a few examples of that – most of them involving calculators with, e.g., graph-plotting facilities which are not allowed.

Anyway, I’m glad I no longer have to invigilate examinations, and that makes me all the more grateful for the people who do. Here in Maynooth there are three examinations per day during the Examination Period, with a brief period between to put out the next set of papers, which means a long day for those who do this job. Hats off to the staff of the Exams Office at Maynooth who carry out this thankless task three times a year!

Invigilator Training?

I saw the above cartoon in the latest Private Eye and, with Repeat Examinations rapdily approaching I thought I’d share it here without permission.

Years ago, academic staff had to invigilate their own examinations. I had to do this in my first teaching job at Queen Mary and, later, at Nottingham, but more recently the job has generally been done by support staff rather than academics. I moved from Nottingham to Cardiff in 2007 and don’t think I ever had to invigilate examinations there, so I haven’t done it for almost twenty years. Nowadays we are just expected to be “on call” to deal with any queries that arise in the Exam Hall by phone.

The cartoon reminded me of one of the funniest April Fool jokes I can recall. I think it was when I was at Queen Mary, but it’s so long ago I can’t remember who was responsible. Anyway, whichever colleague it was sent an email to all academic staff passing on what appeared to be a message from the University Management stating that all staff would be required to attend a compulsory day-long invigilator training workshop, including a “role play” session (the mind boggles). This message managed to trigger a significant number of staff members who made use of the “ReplyAll” on their email to vent their outrage at such a waste of time. It was a good April Fool, because the idea of it was quite plausible. Most April Fools are far too obvious.

Anyway, I’m not sorry that I no longer have to perform the task of exam invigilation, as it was always one of my least favourite jobs, and not only because I don’t enjoy seeing people under stress. Initially I thought supervising an examination might allow me time to do something useful, but there always seemed to be some interruption, such as students wanting an extra answer book, or asking about some issue with the examination paper, or wanting to leave to go to the toilet, etc.

The most dramatic interruption I can remember was when a student who suffered from epilepsy had a seizure in the examination hall. Fortunately we invigilators had been briefed as to what to do in such an eventuality, namely to move the furniture so the student didn’t hurt themselves but otherwise not to intervene until they went to sleep – which usually happens after a minute or two. This was done about 15 minutes before the exam started, not in a day-long training session. We were told that such an episode was unlikely as the student was taking medicine to prevent them occurring. It was quite when it actually happened, but happily the student recovered quickly and was perfectly OK afterwards. Apparently he had been so busy preparing for the examination that day he had forgotten to take his medication in the morning.

Having given up on the idea of doing some other work during an examination, I used to take a few crosswords to do. These are good for passing the time because you can solve a few clues then pause to look around the hall. Other things I used to do included walking around counting the number of right-handed and left-handed students, for example, though I never did any detailed statistical analysis of the results.

The primary purpose of invigilation is to prevent cheating or other misbehaviour, and I only ever saw a few examples of that – most of them involving calculators with, e.g., graph-plotting facilities which are not allowed.

Anyway, I’m glad I no longer have to invigilate examinations, and that makes me all the more grateful for the people who do. Here in Maynooth there are three examinations per day during the Examination Period, with a brief period between to put out the next set of papers, which means a long day for those who do this job. Hats off to the staff of the Exams Office at Maynooth who carry out this thankless task three times a year!

Maynooth University Library Cat Update

I’m not in Maynooth right now, but I gather it’s warm there. Not perhaps as warm as here in London (34°C), bit still a bit warm to be wearing a fur coat. Still, it seems that Maynooth Library Cat is surviving…

Maynooth University Library Cat Update

I’m not in Maynooth right now, but I gather it’s warm there. Not perhaps as warm as here in London (34°C), bit still a bit warm to be wearing a fur coat. Still, it seems that Maynooth Library Cat is surviving…

Maynooth University Library Cat Update

I’m not in Maynooth right now, but I gather it’s warm there. Not perhaps as warm as here in London (34°C), bit still a bit warm to be wearing a fur coat. Still, it seems that Maynooth Library Cat is surviving…

Maynooth University Library Cat Update

I’m not in Maynooth right now, but I gather it’s warm there. Not perhaps as warm as here in London (34°C), bit still a bit warm to be wearing a fur coat. Still, it seems that Maynooth Library Cat is surviving…

Great to see #MaynoothUniversity proudly flying the trans-inclusive pride flag as usual ♥️🏳️‍🌈

I wonder how many American universities are brave and defiant enough to do the same in these dark times? 😕

Great to see #MaynoothUniversity proudly flying the trans-inclusive pride flag as usual ♥️🏳️‍🌈

I wonder how many American universities are brave and defiant enough to do the same in these dark times? 😕

Great to see #MaynoothUniversity proudly flying the trans-inclusive pride flag as usual ♥️🏳️‍🌈

I wonder how many American universities are brave and defiant enough to do the same in these dark times? 😕

Great to see #MaynoothUniversity proudly flying the trans-inclusive pride flag as usual ♥️🏳️‍🌈

I wonder how many American universities are brave and defiant enough to do the same in these dark times? 😕

Great to see #MaynoothUniversity proudly flying the trans-inclusive pride flag as usual ♥️🏳️‍🌈

I wonder how many American universities are brave and defiant enough to do the same in these dark times? 😕

Boards of Examinations

Over the last few days we have been having our annual meetings of the Board of Examiners in the Department of Physics at Maynooth. This process began last Friday with a preliminary meeting of those involved in the theoretical side of the Department, continued on Monday with another preliminary meeting for the experimentalists, continued yesterday with a final meeting with both sides of the house and a visit by two External Examiners, and ended this morning with a meeting I couldn’t attend with feedback. This is the first time since the Departments of Theoretical Physics and Experimental Physics merged that we have run the process like this. I think one of the primary purposes of the merger was to streamline the bureaucracy, but it seems to have had the opposite effect, with everything taking much longer. It was ever thus.

Still, at least I got a nice dinner with the Externals.

Since we have reached the end of the academic year, we looked yesterday at the final grades of those students who are completing their studies this year in order to consider the classification of their degrees. Another (pleasant) duty of our Examination Board was to award prizes for the best performance, not just for finalists but for students at every stage, including the first year. These will be announced in due course.

But that’s not quite the end of it – there is an overall University Examination Board that covers all courses in the University to formally bring an end to the examination process. It is not until after all the Boards have done their business that the students get their marks. If all goes to plan, students will receive their final marks onThursday 25th June, a couple of weeks from now.

In previous years this would have been followed by a Consultation Day on which:

Staff will be available in all Departments to discuss results with students. Students are entitled to see their examination scripts if they wish, these will be generally available on this day or at another mutually convenient time.

In its drive to scrap everything that could possibly be useful to students, however, Maynooth University has now ditched the formal Consultation Day. Well, you can’t expect a University running an €11M surplus to put any resources into processes for advising students can you?

If I had my way we would actually give all students their marked examination scripts back as a matter of routine. Obviously examination scripts have to go through a pretty strict quality assurance process involving the whole paraphernalia of examination boards (including External Examiners), so the scripts can’t be given back immediately but once that process is complete there doesn’t seem to me any reason why we shouldn’t give their work, together with any feedback written on it,  back to the students in its entirety. I have heard it argued that under the provisions of the Data Protection Act students have a legal right to see what’s written on the scripts – as that constitutes part of their student record – but I’m not making a legalistic point here. My point is purely educational, based on the benefit to the student’s learning experience, so this is unlikely to be adopted.

So that’s my internal examination duties here at Maynooth done and dusted. In a month or so I have to travel abroad to be an external examiner at another institution.

Boards of Examinations

Over the last few days we have been having our annual meetings of the Board of Examiners in the Department of Physics at Maynooth. This process began last Friday with a preliminary meeting of those involved in the theoretical side of the Department, continued on Monday with another preliminary meeting for the experimentalists, continued yesterday with a final meeting with both sides of the house and a visit by two External Examiners, and ended this morning with a meeting I couldn’t attend with feedback. This is the first time since the Departments of Theoretical Physics and Experimental Physics merged that we have run the process like this. I think one of the primary purposes of the merger was to streamline the bureaucracy, but it seems to have had the opposite effect, with everything taking much longer. It was ever thus.

Still, at least I got a nice dinner with the Externals.

Since we have reached the end of the academic year, we looked yesterday at the final grades of those students who are completing their studies this year in order to consider the classification of their degrees. Another (pleasant) duty of our Examination Board was to award prizes for the best performance, not just for finalists but for students at every stage, including the first year. These will be announced in due course.

But that’s not quite the end of it – there is an overall University Examination Board that covers all courses in the University to formally bring an end to the examination process. It is not until after all the Boards have done their business that the students get their marks. If all goes to plan, students will receive their final marks onThursday 25th June, a couple of weeks from now.

In previous years this would have been followed by a Consultation Day on which:

Staff will be available in all Departments to discuss results with students. Students are entitled to see their examination scripts if they wish, these will be generally available on this day or at another mutually convenient time.

In its drive to scrap everything that could possibly be useful to students, however, Maynooth University has now ditched the formal Consultation Day. Well, you can’t expect a University running an €11M surplus to put any resources into processes for advising students can you?

If I had my way we would actually give all students their marked examination scripts back as a matter of routine. Obviously examination scripts have to go through a pretty strict quality assurance process involving the whole paraphernalia of examination boards (including External Examiners), so the scripts can’t be given back immediately but once that process is complete there doesn’t seem to me any reason why we shouldn’t give their work, together with any feedback written on it,  back to the students in its entirety. I have heard it argued that under the provisions of the Data Protection Act students have a legal right to see what’s written on the scripts – as that constitutes part of their student record – but I’m not making a legalistic point here. My point is purely educational, based on the benefit to the student’s learning experience, so this is unlikely to be adopted.

So that’s my internal examination duties here at Maynooth done and dusted. In a month or so I have to travel abroad to be an external examiner at another institution.

Leaving Again

It is an important day for many young people in Ireland because the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate examinations both start today, so the first thing I need to do is wish everyone starting their examinations the very best of luck!

Among other things, the results of the leaving certificate examinations are important for September’s university admissions. In the system operating in England and Wales the standard qualification for entry is the GCE A-level. Most students take A-levels in three subjects, which gives them a relatively narrow focus although the range of subjects to choose from is rather large. In Ireland the standard qualification is the Leaving Certificate, which comprises a minimum of six subjects, with many students taking more than this. This gives students a broader range of knowledge at the sacrifice (perhaps) of a certain amount of depth; it has been decreed for entry into this system that an Irish Leaving Certificate subject counts as about 2/3 of an A-level subject for admissions purposes, so Irish students do the equivalent of at least four A-levels, and many do more than this. It’s also worth noting that all students have to take Mathematics at Leaving Certificate level. One can choose to do Leaving Certificate subjects at Ordinary or Higher level and there’s quite a big difference between the two, especially in Mathematics.

Overall I prefer the Leaving Certificate over the UK system of A-levels, partly the former gives the students a broader range of subjects than the latter. I would have liked to have been allowed to take at least one arts subject past O-level, for example. Another reason is that all students across the country take the same examination, so the difficulty or otherwise of the papers is a topic of national conversation. There will no doubt be many reactions in the media over the forthcoming days!

Anyway, tomorrow is a significant date for me (in more ways than one) so I’m up early this morning before heading off on a short journey to mark the occasion in style.

Leaving Again

It is an important day for many young people in Ireland because the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate examinations both start today, so the first thing I need to do is wish everyone starting their examinations the very best of luck!

Among other things, the results of the leaving certificate examinations are important for September’s university admissions. In the system operating in England and Wales the standard qualification for entry is the GCE A-level. Most students take A-levels in three subjects, which gives them a relatively narrow focus although the range of subjects to choose from is rather large. In Ireland the standard qualification is the Leaving Certificate, which comprises a minimum of six subjects, with many students taking more than this. This gives students a broader range of knowledge at the sacrifice (perhaps) of a certain amount of depth; it has been decreed for entry into this system that an Irish Leaving Certificate subject counts as about 2/3 of an A-level subject for admissions purposes, so Irish students do the equivalent of at least four A-levels, and many do more than this. It’s also worth noting that all students have to take Mathematics at Leaving Certificate level. One can choose to do Leaving Certificate subjects at Ordinary or Higher level and there’s quite a big difference between the two, especially in Mathematics.

Overall I prefer the Leaving Certificate over the UK system of A-levels, partly the former gives the students a broader range of subjects than the latter. I would have liked to have been allowed to take at least one arts subject past O-level, for example. Another reason is that all students across the country take the same examination, so the difficulty or otherwise of the papers is a topic of national conversation. There will no doubt be many reactions in the media over the forthcoming days!

Anyway, tomorrow is a significant date for me (in more ways than one) so I’m up early this morning before heading off on a short journey to mark the occasion in style.

https://www.europesays.com/ie/515669/ Daring to recognise the potential of loneliness to cause harm – and of connection to heal – The Irish Times #DublinDocklands #Éire #ElvisPresley #Health #IE #Ireland #KurtVonnegut #Loneliness #MaynoothUniversity #StJamessHospital #TrinityCollegeDublinTcd #WorldHealthOrganisation

Eclipse Event – a Date for your Diaries!

Here’s an invitation to people interested in astronomy to join staff from the Department of Physics at Maynooth University on Wednesday, August 12th 2026 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm for a special public celebration of one of the deepest solar eclipses visible from Ireland in decades. The next eclipse with > 90% obscuration of the Sun by the Moon won’t be seen again in Ireland until 2090, by which time I will have retired.

Experience the eclipse safely through:

• eclipse viewing glasses
• solar telescopes
• live astronomy demonstrations

List of Solar Talks during the evening:

• Dr. Emma Whelan – The Story of the Sun
• Dr. Joshuah Heath – The Quantum Sun
• Dr. Marcin Gradziel – (Electric) Power from the Sun. The good, the bad, and the glinty!
• Dr. Michelle McCrystall – The star of the show: How the Sun drives our climate
• Prof. Peter Coles – Einstein and the Eclipse (Who He? Ed.)
• Dr. Patrick Kavanagh – Will our Sun go Supernova?

The evening will also include:

• an immersive* astronomy show in our inflatable planetarium
• hands-on arts and crafts activities for children

*especially if it rains

Maynooth University Staff can reserve a place here until June 14th, after which booking will be opened to the general public – I’ll repost this invitation with a link at that time.

Eclipse Event – a Date for your Diaries!

Here’s an invitation to people interested in astronomy to join staff from the Department of Physics at Maynooth University on Wednesday, August 12th 2026 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm for a special public celebration of one of the deepest solar eclipses visible from Ireland in decades. The next eclipse with > 90% obscuration of the Sun by the Moon won’t be seen again in Ireland until 2090, by which time I will have retired.

Experience the eclipse safely through:

• eclipse viewing glasses
• solar telescopes
• live astronomy demonstrations

List of Solar Talks during the evening:

• Dr. Emma Whelan – The Story of the Sun
• Dr. Joshuah Heath – The Quantum Sun
• Dr. Marcin Gradziel – (Electric) Power from the Sun. The good, the bad, and the glinty!
• Dr. Michelle McCrystall – The star of the show: How the Sun drives our climate
• Prof. Peter Coles – Einstein and the Eclipse
• Dr. Patrick Kavanagh – Will our Sun go Supernova?

The evening will also include:

• an immersive astronomy show in our inflatable planetarium
• hands-on arts and crafts activities for children

Maynooth University Staff can reserve a place here until June 14th, after which booking will be opened to the general public – I’ll repost this invitation with a link at that time.

Eclipse Event – a Date for your Diaries!

Here’s an invitation to people interested in astronomy to join staff from the Department of Physics at Maynooth University on Wednesday, August 12th 2026 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm for a special public celebration of one of the deepest solar eclipses visible from Ireland in decades. The next eclipse with > 90% obscuration of the Sun by the Moon won’t be seen again in Ireland until 2090, by which time I will have retired.

Experience the eclipse safely through:

• eclipse viewing glasses
• solar telescopes
• live astronomy demonstrations

List of Solar Talks during the evening:

• Dr. Emma Whelan – The Story of the Sun
• Dr. Joshuah Heath – The Quantum Sun
• Dr. Marcin Gradziel – (Electric) Power from the Sun. The good, the bad, and the glinty!
• Dr. Michelle McCrystall – The star of the show: How the Sun drives our climate
• Prof. Peter Coles – Einstein and the Eclipse (Who He? Ed.)
• Dr. Patrick Kavanagh – Will our Sun go Supernova?

The evening will also include:

• an immersive* astronomy show in our inflatable planetarium
• hands-on arts and crafts activities for children

*especially if it rains

Maynooth University Staff can reserve a place here until June 14th, after which booking will be opened to the general public – I’ll repost this invitation with a link at that time.

Eclipse Event – a Date for your Diaries!

Here’s an invitation to people interested in astronomy to join staff from the Department of Physics at Maynooth University on Wednesday, August 12th 2026 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm for a special public celebration of one of the deepest solar eclipses visible from Ireland in decades. The next eclipse with > 90% obscuration of the Sun by the Moon won’t be seen again in Ireland until 2090, by which time I will have retired.

Experience the eclipse safely through:

• eclipse viewing glasses
• solar telescopes
• live astronomy demonstrations

List of Solar Talks during the evening:

• Dr. Emma Whelan – The Story of the Sun
• Dr. Joshuah Heath – The Quantum Sun
• Dr. Marcin Gradziel – (Electric) Power from the Sun. The good, the bad, and the glinty!
• Dr. Michelle McCrystall – The star of the show: How the Sun drives our climate
• Prof. Peter Coles – Einstein and the Eclipse
• Dr. Patrick Kavanagh – Will our Sun go Supernova?

The evening will also include:

• an immersive astronomy show in our inflatable planetarium
• hands-on arts and crafts activities for children

Maynooth University Staff can reserve a place here until June 14th, after which booking will be opened to the general public – I’ll repost this invitation with a link at that time.

A Room with a View

The spell of warm sunny weather has made a huge difference to the view from my office window:

Well, what did you expect to see from a Maynooth University office window? Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of Wildebeest sweeping majestically across …