Opinion

Planning to win top laurels is a fool’s errand, so how should research be structured to best produce far-reaching results?

Christopher Davidson, who has 120,000 Twitter followers, on how to use social media as an academic

Lack of diversity and intolerance of minorities are disputed by groups of students at Colgate University, New York State

Institutions have long served as community anchors, and their role in local growth has scope to expand, says Madeleine Atkins

Alan Ryan on fears that Silicon dreams and start-ups might leave humanities in the dark

Rankings editor Phil Baty join Chris Parr to discuss the results of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014-2015

Discussion about enforced retirement for older academics to make way for younger colleagues was hotly debated over the internet

In Germany as elsewhere, says Brian Bloch, the economic crisis has shown the limitations of neoclassical economics

Tackling inequality and broadening access to higher education has knock-on benefits for the whole of society

Boris Johnson was a popular shadow HE minister but universities might not find him so cuddly in the top job, writes Wes Streeting

Felipe Fernández-Armesto on academic Steven Salaita’s angry postings about Israel

Will higher education be better protected or was a chance for accountability lost? David Bell and Willy Maley on the referendum

In the 2015 election, says NUS president Toni Pearce, students will be seeking a fairer future, not revenge for fees hikes

Chris Longman argues for universities to hold mandatory pre-course exams

With falling numbers of home postgraduates, the issue of who should pay for this vital study, and how, is an urgent one

Hong Bing considers whether compulsory military training in Chinese universities has a place in the modern world

Institutions offering women-only posts have drawn criticism…and a fair number of male applicants

As the new academic year approaches, Shahidha Bari reflects on the restorative nature of the summer break

Former minister warns Labour’s Liam Byrne that lowering tuition fees will cause him no end of grief

Online courses may have been over-hyped, but they will still be a valuable part of the future

Kevin Fong tries to find a little order among the chaos

Single-sex study is declining in the West, but in many other regions it offers a space where women can thrive, says Kristen Renn

Who in higher education gains from commercialisation? The values it promotes do not chime with the ethos of the academy

Valparaiso University’s message of knowledge, understanding and faith means that it attracts a global student base, says Alan Ruby

‘Going private’ is no financial panacea, say Barry Glassner and Morton Schapiro

As the new academic year begins, Emma Rees awakes from drowsy reveries of new school shoes

What happened when a US academic instituted a no-email policy for students and required them to meet her in person?

A new history of the elevator prompts Sally Feldman to consider life’s ups and downs

Women show more willingness than men to take up scholarships to study abroad, says Brian Christian

Being an academic and a parent is harder than it should be, but not all want children while others make it work regardless

We need policy to foster foreign language study at all levels of education, says Jocelyn Wyburd

Revolutionary leaders will make do and mend, says Thomas Harrison

What could be easier than adding audio-visuals to your conference paper? John Corner on waiting for the gift of sound and vision

Consolidation may bring greater efficiencies but the process is one yielding mixed blessings, writes Howard P. Segal

Byrne wants to replace marketisation with corporatism, argues Emran Mian

It’s time for lecturers to hand out viewing lists alongside reading lists, argues Chris Willmott

Jonathan Sullivan on how to improve the relationship between academics and journalists

The best academics are those that build a form of public dialogue into their work

Two radically contrasting emerging models of higher education in the US offer academics a very different deal, says Steven Ward

Christopher Bigsby reflects on being a Fresher and the transition from the classroom to campus

Universities abandoned to untrammelled market forces risk being robbed of their diversity, with unpredictable results

Readers offer their insights into clocking off and enjoying the world beyond work

The pitfalls of the American experience of marketisation are well known, but the UK need not make the same mistakes

US public institutions of higher education remain inept at preparing staff for life after work, says Lee Maril

Alan Ryan muses on the persistence of US support for the death penalty

After almost 80 years, a woman has won the Fields Medal. Caroline Series on female mathematicians coming of age