Iraq needs academics to rebuild reputation of its university sector

“As Iraqis prepare to go to the polls to vote in parliamentary elections ten years on from the invasion, the country is a lifetime away from where things used to be. Iraq’s education system, once one of the best in the Middle East with a series of flourishing universities in the 1960s and 1970s, has …

The science that makes us spend more in supermarkets, and feel good while we do it

“When you walk into a supermarket, you probably want to spend as little money as possible. The supermarket wants you to spend as much money as possible. Let battle commence.” … so starts the article that we recenty published in TheConversation. It looks at some of the strategies that supermarkets use to try to get …

It still makes sense to build an overseas campus

“Students have always travelled in search of the best study opportunities and researchers have always collaborated across borders. But until fairly recently …” … so starts the piece that Chris Ennew has just published in the TheConversation (other posts featuring TheConversation can be seen here).

TheConversation launches Education Section

A few days ago (03 Fe 2014), TheConversation launched an Education section. Not only is it interesting reading, but it would be great to see authors from The University of Nottingham writing for it, particularly people based at UNMC (both academics and professional services). There are a few people on campus who have already written …

How to get ants to solve a chess problem

We have just had a piece published in TheConversation (other posts featuring TheConversation can be seen here). The article looks at a mathematical problem that asks whether a knight can visit every square on a chess board, exactly once, using legal knoight moves. The piece starts “Take a set of chess pieces and throw them …

What is carbon capture and utilisation?

TheConversation has a category called explainer articles. These are a really good way of finding out the basics of a particular topic. We thought that it would useful to feature some of these on this blog. In this post we’d like to feature What is carbon capture and utilisation?. The article starts: “Carbon and carbon …

How Does Islamic Finance Work?

TheConversation has a category called explainer articles. These are a really good way of finding out the basics of a particular topic. We thought that it would useful to feature some of these on this blog. In this post we’d like to feature How Does Islamic Finance Work?. The article starts: “At the World Islamic …

What is Creative Commons?

TheConversation has a category called explainer articles. These are a really good way of finding out the basics of a particular topic. We thought that it would useful to feature some of these on this blog. In this post we’d like to feature Creative Commons. The article starts: “The digital age has presented many and …

Get your message out there

We are doing some fantastic research and knowledge exchange at UNMC and it is important that we get the message out to a wider audience. The benefits of further dissemination are wide ranging. Not only does it raise your own profile and reputation beyond the academic world, but it only promotes the work that is …

Can a Chess Computer Play Poker and Deliver Groceries?

We have just had a piece published in TheConversation (other posts featuring TheConversation can be seen here) that discusses more general algorithms. Using Chess and Poker to draw people in is a good way to generate interest, but the real story is about hyper-heuristics, an area that the ASAP research group has pioneered in recent …