Closure at Birmingham

[barkingdigger]

Hang on - all that, and 40 grand too, just for having a Masters? Where do I sign!!!...

[HammerOfThor]

I recently graduated from the IAA as some of you might know. There is a trip organised this Saturday to stonehenge to discuss the work Birmingham have done there and the IAA in general, so I will let you know what occurs

[Carrickavoy]

Kevin, what language skills do you need? I'm pretty terrible at languages but I would love to be able to work as an archaeologist again...

[kevin wooldridge]

A Scandianavian language and English.....you need to contact one of the 5 university departments around about February of each year for details of work for the coming season. Unlike the UK there are no 'job adverts' for Norwegian projects...it is all arranged via the universities. Needless to say that does give an advantage to Norwegian students and graduates, but there are a few Brits working in different parts of the country so it is not impossible to get work. As in the UK there are far more qualified archaeologists than there are jobs, so prepare for disappointment. It helps a lot if you actually live in Norway (or Sweden) as there isn't any help with costs of travel or accommodation, other than when you are at work....You would be expected to provide evidence of qualification along with your application form and beware that degrees in non-archaeological subjects are not normally considered. Next season a lot of projects will probably ask that participants have experience of site survey work (using robotic total station or similar), GIS procedures (ArcGIS 9.3 and 10) and especially use of the Intrasis digital recording system....

[Unitof1]

it is all arranged via the universities

sounds a bit like an interlectual monopoly. Surprised that they do not insist that you do one of their degrees.

[Carrickavoy]

Wow the tech stuff sounds pretty amazing. Never used Intrasis but after having a google I'd be well up for adding it to my skills list. Unfortunately though it has taken me a couple of decades to get a grasp of the English language so I doubt I'd be able to compete in the Scandinavian market. Thanks for the low down though Kevin. Maybe I'll try and score a few weeks volunteering next summer on some viking-age site to bask in the nordic techy side of things. :face-approve:

[monty]

Next season a lot of projects will probably ask that participants have experience of site survey work (using robotic total station or similar), GIS procedures (ArcGIS 9.3 and 10) and especially use of the Intrasis digital recording system....

I would be wanting forty grand a year for remembering how to use all that techy stuff !!

[barkingdigger]

Kevin, do they run Intrasis in Norwegian or Swedish? (Or are they close enough for it not to matter? I struggle enough with English, let alone other languages...)

[kevin wooldridge]

Kevin, do they run Intrasis in Norwegian or Swedish? (Or are they close enough for it not to matter? I struggle enough with English, let alone other languages...)

We have the options of Swedish and Norwegian, but as we design our own templates, mainly Norwegian. There is also an English option available, but as it uses different sub-class coding it isn't compatible with the Scando version....so not recommended

[BAJR]

Just to return this thread to Birmingham.. and with Intrasis a topic in itself. I have started a new one on this...

Back to Birmingham

From
http://birminghamucu.org/

At the graduation ceremony on the 9th of July, Vice Chancellor Professor David Eastwood gave a speech extolling the virtues of several archaeological projects, including Stonehenge (which was also reported on in a recent Alumni magazine), which he claimed represented flagship projects at Birmingham. Dig for Shakespeare was also singled out as an example of how Birmingham were involved in groundbreaking research and community outreach. UCU would like to point out that the public views expressed by the Vice Chancellor directly contradict the findings of the recent review of the IAA, as a result of which the College of Arts and Law (CAL) is dismissing the same world-leading research.
The IAA review update of July 2012 reports that the main activity that will cease is ‘contract or project archaeology’. In contrast to the Vice Chancellor, CAL management have identified the research at Dig for Shakespeare as a good example of the kind of public engagement project that the University of Birmingham should not be doing. It has been identified as a project which represents‘commercial, contract work’ and the staff involved are now all at risk of redundancy. Another world leading project praised by the Vice Chancellor, ‘The Stonehenge project’ is yet another archaeology project where it has been proposed to make the majority of the research staff redundant.
The Vice Chancellor was also happy to mention Dr. Jeff Rose (an academic in Archaeology who is on a fixed term contract), winner of a National Geographic Emerging Explorer award, calling him a new upcoming academic and pioneer. Whilst Dr. Rose has been rightly lauded by Prof. Eastwood as a world leading researcher, Dr Rose, a member of the archaeology department on a fixed term contract (thus not even included in the redundancy figures), was told by the Head of the IAA prior to the review that the University would no longer support his UoB affiliation. This position by CAL management has prevented a researcher, whom the Vice Chancellor acknowledges to be pioneering, from even applying for grants to continue his research. Such an inflexible treatment is potentially damaging to what is internationally acknowledged as a promising career. The timing of this further suggests that the outcomes of the preceding review were pre-decided.
The claim of Prof. Michael Whitby (head of CAL) that CAL will continue to support archaeology is disingenuous. The University is planning up to 14 redundancies in Archaeology which would constitute the majority of those working in dedicated archaeological posts at the University. The University’s insistence that it is committed to the subject of archaeology by pointing out that a number of staff outside the IAA have ‘archaeological interests’ appears rather strained when compared with that number. Research that includes aspects of archaeology is not the same as years of subject specific experience and international research profiles, and this number of redundancies will undoubtedly have an effect on the provision of archaeology at our University.
BUCU continues to oppose the closure of the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity.
–
Sign the petition – Save the IAA – http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-the-iaa/ – already 1000 signatures collected
Sign the petition – Extend the 90-day consultation period - http://www.change.org/petitions/the-univ...ger-review