Cambridge presses ahead with expansion plan
Cambridge University is planning the biggest expansion in its 800-year history with the addition of 5,000 students, three colleges and 3,000 staff in a 25-year plan. The plans have been issued for consultation prior to a planning application to develop a 120 hectare Green Belt site in North West Cambridge.
Cash incentive announced for nurses
Student nurses are to receive a 10.4 per cent rise in their bursaries, and “nurse returners” £1,000 to study, health secretary Alan Milburn announced today. In the National Health Service plan, new doctors are to get £5,000 golden hellos to work in deprived areas and those at retirement age a £10,000 incentive to stay on.
Two-thirds of Irish men obese
Men have overtaken women in the Irish obesity stakes, according to a survey by Ulster University, University College, Cork and Trinity College Dublin. Researchers found two-thirds of men and almost half of women in Ireland are obese, a significant increase over the past decade.
Farming colleges struggle as student numbers fall
Agricultural colleges’ efforts to bail themselves out of financial problems by merging with higher education institutions have resulted in falling student numbers of up to 40 per cent, Further Education Funding Council inspectors have said. The colleges have been affected by a 20 per cent reduction in funding from the FEFC over the past three years, and a decline in income from farming.