Awesome stuff that you don't hear about because it's not bad news...

Last Wednesday the University of Canterbury Council voted to accept the proposal of the student reps to raise fees only by the rate of inflation, that being 3.3%, instead of the 4.5% recommended by the Budget Advisory Committee.

This is a very significant event; University Councils rarely if ever do anything other than put the fees up as much as they can. By Canterbury declining to do so, it sends a strong message to the government that students and institutions simply cannot afford to supplement the shortfalls of their lack of funding.

After years of protests and an 'us v them' relationship between students and university management, the professional way in which the student reps on the Council, Belinda Bundy and Dave Stevens, went about making the case for the limited fee rise is a watershed moment. It shows that students and management are empathetic about each other's situation and are willing to work together to make the point to government that the future integrity of tertiary education in New Zealand is suffering due to a lack of public investment.

Still not sure about that Blue Gene situation though...