Page 70 - EW August 2021

International News

UNITED KINGDOM problem is that it requires upfront investment, so people
Imminent exams reform just returned to the default option,” he says. “(The forced

switch to online) has a silver lining in that universities have
reflected on how they’re doing assessments… moving away
from that standard type of three essays in three hours type
of exam, and hopefully towards more authentic assessment,
which is more relevant for how students will be working in
the future,” he adds.

GERMANY
Research video row

PRECARIOUSLY EMPLOYED GERMAN academ-
ics have forced the country’s research ministry to
take down a video that argued that temporary aca-
demic contracts are good for the economy and prevent one
generation “clogging up” scholarly positions.
The outpouring of online fury under the hashtag #Ich-
Edinburgh University’s Harmon: positive student reaction binHanna — named after a fictionalised junior researcher
featured in the video — is the culmination of years of sim-
TRADITIONAL THREE-HOUR UNIVERSITY mering anger in Germany about a system that stagnates
exams may soon be a thing of the past as leading scholars on temporary contracts until their forties or even
UK institutions eye a switch to online and more fifties, which campaigners say forces them to choose be-
“authentic” forms of assessment post-pandemic. tween academia and raising families.
Cambridge University says that over the next academic Researchers seized on a video, originally created in 2018,
year it intends to “draw on the lessons learned” from the that shows animated researchers flowing in and out of a
Covid-19 pandemic and respond “to the desire of many fac- university and making the case this “fluctuation” in employ-
ulties and departments to move away from the traditional ment promotes “the power of innovation”.
three-hour written examination format as the primary Researchers responded on Twitter over the course of
means of…” testing and assessment. a week with a stream of personal stories that showed no
Warwick University says online assessment will remain sign of letting up, describing professional and personal
its main mode of judging student performance, especially lives lived in perpetual uncertainty. “Researchers don’t
since the move away from invigilated written exams “seems know where they are going to stay until they are 45-50, so
to reveal real benefits for a range of student groups. It even they postpone families,” says Kristin Eichhorn, a literature
appears in some areas to close attainment gaps for some researcher at the University of Paderborn and one of the
groups of students,” according to a spokesperson. organisers of a campaign launched last year to overhaul
Colm Harmon, vice principal (students) at the University German research careers.
of Edinburgh, says that while the current environment isn’t Fixed-term contracts are pervasive across academia
the time to make long-term decisions, “it feels like change globally, but in Germany, critics say, the situation is par-
will come”. “Students have reacted positively to the use of ticularly extreme. According to a 2020 study, 78 percent
digital platforms for examinations. We are refining the use of academics in the country are on fixed-term contracts,
of such technology and seeing where improvements can be in comparison with just 8 percent of workers in the wider
made,” he says. economy. Making the situation worse, critics of the gov-
Nearly all institutions contacted by Times Higher Educa- ernment say, is a law introduced in 2007 that decrees that
tion said that while they won’t ban in-person assessment, researchers cannot spend more than 12 years on temporary
there will be a big reduction in their use and a significant contracts after starting their doctorates.
shift away from exams based around memory recall. The The intention was to force universities to give researchers
move towards online assessments is being accompanied by permanent contracts after this period. What tends to hap-
wider adoption of open-book exams that span several days pen, however, is that after 12 years on fixed-term contracts,
and a broader embrace of formative, rather than summa- academics are told “your time is up” and, in effect, forced
tive, assessment. out of academia, explains Dr. Eichhorn, who is herself in
Jon Scott, former pro vice chancellor (student experi- a temporary position. Some researchers have successfully
ence) at the University of Leicester and now a higher educa- sued their institutions into taking them on permanently,
tion consultant, says this shift should be welcomed. “There she adds.
has been a push to improve assessment for some time… The More than a decade of gruelling insecurity favours the al-

70 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2021