Opinion

Mid-career learners, and some of the world’s biggest employers, are looking beyond the ‘graduate club’ for laser-targeted courses and skills

Capping the public contribution to degree costs means universities can’t move to address skills gaps, says David Lloyd

There is evidence of success in changing attitudes, but effects on admissions remain woefully under-explored, says David Robinson

As we enter REF submission year, Nicholas Stern and David Sweeney urge universities to broaden their conception of a good submission

Augar’s questions remain largely unanswered but proposals for further education are largely comprehensive and coherent, says Nick Hillman

Apparently benign aspirations have their historical origins in concern about high levels of admission of certain minorities, says Kate Eichhorn

Questioning the BBC’s agenda in highlighting the problem in Ghana and Nigeria does not make it any less serious, says Eric Fredua-Kwarteng

From alienating alumni to excluding contingent workers from governing councils, societies and university departments risk doing a disservice to 70 per cent of academics in the US, says Zeb Larson 

The proposals set out in India’s Draft National Education Policy 2019 are a positive step towards it becoming a knowledge economy, including strengthening the country’s research capacities and international collaborations, writes Tanya Spisbah 

Brave researchers who challenge powerful interests and angry activists cannot be left to fight alone: colleagues and institutions must support them

Overseeing an Athena SWAN application convinced an anonymous academic that if tasks cannot be properly resourced, they should not be attempted at all

Poor treatment of migrant academics, especially after Brexit, will severely hurt UK universities, writes Asiya Islam 

The analogy has lessons for both higher education institutions and the bodies that oversee them, says Richard Oliver

To preserve its appeal, the subject needs to overcome its reputation as a mere feeder for the oil and gas industries, say four geologists

The entire higher education sector should join the institutions that have already committed to fighting climate change by divesting from fossil fuel companies, says Joy Carter 

Actions by the current government suggest official discomfort with the basic purpose of public universities, says Jayati Ghosh

Preventing unethical behaviour requires regulatory and institutional reforms, as well as lead researchers remaining close to work done in their name, says Futao Huang

Just as the AI revolution calls for more computer scientists, engineers will be needed to develop next-generation AI hardware, says Bashir M. Al-Hashimi

Life-changing experiences will be beyond the grasp of too many students if the UK doesn’t negotiate a post-Brexit place in the EU’s student mobility scheme, says Tanja Bueltmann 

How will renewed calls for a science and innovation hub in the north of England be any different from similar attempts that have failed in the past? asks G. R. Evans

Scientific excellence is not the only relevant criterion – either morally or legally, says Alex Conway 

The looseness of regulations around collaboration with overseas contacts will intimidate scholars into silence and isolation, says Katarzyna Kaczmarska

The blessing of big data can be a curse without resources for analysis. But how much computerised help do we really want, asks Kristen Sadler

Ongoing falls in Australian postgraduate recruitment suggest a trend away from structured education for people in mid-career, says Andrew Norton

The two countries had similar tertiary enrolments in the late 1980s but literacy rates and policy strategy set them on very different paths, says Alan Ruby

Artificial and virtual reality have merit, but we should be investing in technology that will have a greater impact on student outcomes, says Dave Kenworthy 

Science is central to the European Commission’s Green Deal, but basic research and new knowledge in the arts and humanities will be crucial to its success, says Jan Palmowski

Where scientists led, society is finally starting to follow. But higher education can and must do more to address the climate crisis

Student income support is increasingly insufficient and in urgent need of reform, says Dawn Freshwater

Academics’ battles with impostor syndrome reflect the difficulty of becoming truly accepted into the cult of academia, says Michael Marinetto 

Making participant-derived data available is not a panacea but, with careful support and management, it can improve reproducibility, says Jonathan Grigg

The apparently political murder of an undergraduate at a top Bangladeshi university by other students has stunned a nation, writes Nahid Neazy

Students need to develop their own well-informed positions on the difficult questions raised by climate change without being told what to think, says Mike Hulme

Students of colour need safe spaces to find support and encouragement from people who look like them, says Elizabeth Ajagbe 

If holiday talk turns to yawn-worthy diet or dreams, put a medieval spin on it, advises Kathryn Rudy 

Acknowledging that faculty and students both struggle with mental health is the first step to tackling it, says Hilal A. Lashuel

Our affection for the past keeps our old favourites, with their old fashioned values, at the top of the Christmas charts, says Alexandra Lamont

Step away from work, don’t check your email and explain to your family what it is you actually do, Karen Rodham suggests 

A decade that changed the world is drawing to a close. Academia’s enduring values can light the path ahead – if we let them

Universities must face up to some legitimate complaints, but they can also play a key role in helping the new government meet its ambitions, says Alistair Jarvis

Being transparent about the existence of poor-quality provision is essential if we are to tackle it effectively, says Nicola Dandridge

Irina Dumitrescu’s tips for ‘upward toxicity’ was THE’s most-read article of 2019. But it doesn’t have to be this way, says John Tregoning

You have spent three years thinking your life will be perfect after you submit your thesis. But it isn’t true, says Petra Boynton

Another five years of austerity means universities must work harder to combat its impact on their communities, says David Etherington 

Strikes notwithstanding, more pay restraint and greater pensions contributions from UK staff seem unavoidable, writes Bernard Casey

The school system’s focus on relative over absolute standards makes it difficult to judge applicants’ potential, says Conor King

The world is a complex place and universities must ensure they carry out rigorous travel risk assessments for students and staff, writes Paul Cusition 

Alison Blunt, Martin Evans and 89 other signatories, including 59 heads of geography departments, reject the claim that geography is a ‘soft option’ for ‘posh students’

England will keep its tuition fees, but research funding post-Brexit remains a mystery, as does the sector’s next minister, says Rachel Hewitt 

The new government should work side by side with the sector to make significant improvements to admissions and course quality, says Graeme Atherton

The strict rule discourages article submissions from a variety of authors, including displaced scholars, argues Paul Ostwald

Chinese students’ economic contributions aren’t always matched by the support they get. More must be done to understand and integrate this group

Political, economic and demographic considerations all suggest that the demand-driven system won’t endure, says Nick Hillman

Reporting procedures were woefully inadequate, while senior managers frequently enabled intimidatory behaviour, says an anonymous UK academic

The UK needs an immigration system that doesn’t discriminate against the salary of international academics and university staff, says Alistair Jarvis 

The UK’s support system for disabled students puts the focus on institutional capacity rather than student need, says Stephen Campbell 

The plan promises big leaps in innovation, quality assurance and lecturer training, say Youmin Xi and Xiaojun Zhang  

Universities must work to facilitate discussions about racist experiences if they are to be reported and resolved effectively, argues Jason Arday

Susanne Täuber warns that mandatory gender diversity measures will be no more successful in the corporate world than they have been in academia unless genuine organisational transformation is achieved

Offering two-year programmes at FE colleges as part of four-year degrees could redress the UK’s spending bias in favour of HE, says Geoff Mason