In-depth

For academics trained to plough a narrow, deep, heavily footnoted field, writing for a more general audience can be difficult. But the rewards, both personal and financial, can be considerable. Matthew Reisz picks the brains of publishing professionals for their dos and don’ts

Times Higher Education journalists name the academics and administrators at the heart of the sector’s biggest debates over the past 12 months

Elon Musk’s ‘de facto town square’ is a place where misinformation abounds and where academia is often attacked by culture warriors. But is fighting back effective? Or can it make things worse if academics don’t keep calm and stick to the facts? Tom Williams reports 

Five years on from Cambridge University Press’ controversial compliance with a Chinese government request to make more than 300 articles unavailable to Chinese readers, publishers are increasingly self-censoring content on ‘sensitive’ topics. But is the trade-off justified, asks George Cooper

Failure to expel crackpot social scientists from Russia’s academy has allowed dangerous dogma to dominate public discourse, says Andreas Umland

Rising tensions between the West and China and Russia are being seen as an indication that internationalisation may have passed its peak. But are universities, as pre-eminently international institutions, feeling the tide turn? And how do their leaders feel about the challenge? Rosa Ellis reports

Science and technology investment fund created by universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield injects first capital to fuel innovation shift

With a Nobel for nudge theory and growing political interest in ‘choice architecture’, the future of behavioural sciences seemed bright. But its experts were often ignored – even dismissed as ‘charlatans’ – when life-or-death calls on Covid were made. Two professors reflect on where the discipline goes next

Five years ago, a THE poll painted a bleak picture of work-life balance in the academy. Has the subsequent rise of homeworking eased the pressure? Or are ever-increasing workloads outweighing any benefits of flexibility? Tom Williams reports on our survey of 1,200 university staff

A glorious history of anti-fascist protest means anarchy is tolerated on Greek campuses, but some are ready for the repeal of academic asylum to finally be enforced

Nigerian-born Cornell University professor Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò explains why academia – particularly in Africa – should consider the drawbacks of decolonisation alongside its benefits

Many reacted to Karl Andersson’s autoethnography on cartoon child porn by asking how it could have been allowed to go ahead. But amid doubts about who it harmed and ongoing concerns about research bureaucracy, many are wary of a further ramping-up of ethics procedures. Jack Grove reports

At Times Higher Education's World Academic Summit in New York last week, University of Oxford vice-chancellor Louise Richardson gave a keynote on leadership in higher education. This is the full text of her speech

America’s two-year public colleges are often romanticised as engines of social mobility and the epitome of the educative mission. But one academic has found the reality to be very different, with callous management failing students and staff in equal measure

Are research careers meritocratic? Do universities do enough to support researchers? Is impact more important than publications? Is interdisciplinarity the key to new discoveries? Can internationalisation survive the current global tensions? We present the views of more than 400 future sector leaders

Scholars warn that Tokyo’s cash injection will reward the few over the many, pushing top institutions closer to industry at the expense of basic research, social sciences and humanities

The Italian physicist known for making complex science intelligible explains how radical student politics, hallucinogenic drugs and hitch-hiking around America helped him become one of science’s foremost thinkers

As it emerges from its Covid isolation, Australia is rolling back restrictions on foreign students and graduates in the hope of ushering more of them into its depleted workforce. But amid competitive and political pressures, has it found the best balance between work and migration rights, asks John Ross

Land of the free market outpaces UK’s muted ‘levelling up’ with funding to leverage power of universities in struggling regions

The toxic dispute over the rights of transgender people and how freely these matters should be discussed remains academia’s most divisive issue. Laura Favaro explains what she learned from speaking to both sides

Backed by state government, an ambitious university-led initiative is aiming to restore the Ruhr Valley’s former industrial glory. John Morgan meets academics behind the experiment in driving regional renewal by building a reputation for world-class science

OECD researchers offer evidence that students aren’t getting ‘generic skills’ needed for world of work – with potentially big implications

The humanities do not have uniquely transformational qualities or a monopoly on critical thinking and empathy. With departments under threat outside the UK’s elite institutions, better to insist on the importance of everyone’s being able to interrogate the stories we tell ourselves, writes Joe Moran

With the continent’s youth population set to soar, many observers worry that its overstretched universities will be unable to cope, with consequences for the whole world. So what is the solution? More overseas or online study? More branch campuses? Pan-African partnerships? Simon Baker reports 

The University of Northampton’s outgoing vice-chancellor reflects on how lessons from punk rock led him to survive in academia and deliver one of UK higher education’s most ambitious campus projects. Jack Grove reports

Japan ranks low for gender equality and Japanese women have long complained that the domestic demands on them, combined with universities’ unwillingness to compensate for them, make academic careers very difficult to pursue. But are things starting to change? Pola Lem reports from Tokyo

Outgoing prime minister’s pro-science messaging has been ever-present during his time in Downing Street but has he delivered for research? Jack Grove considers his legacy

A bitter feud between the head of one of Oxford’s grandest colleges and its dons made front-page news. As a new, internally recruited vice-chancellor prepares to take office, Jack Grove hears from both the dean at the centre of the dispute and those who are glad to see him gone

With university set to become a near-universal expectation for high-school graduates, the separate silos in which K12 and higher education have traditionally operated are increasingly being seen as barriers to equity. But what, realistically, can universities do to bridge the great divide? Paul Basken reports 

Spate of new senior roles created as universities seek answers on addressing sustainability, diversity and social responsibility

With first-year students no longer contributing to classroom discussions as they did pre-pandemic, we need to rekindle their pleasure and agency in their own education, says Sophie Scott-Brown

As precarity affects ever more academics for ever longer, many have come to see a permanent position as the gateway to professional happiness. But does it always work out that way? Or do the responsibilities and trade-offs of seniority outweigh the joys of security and salary? Seven academics have their say

Case of Australia’s ‘most hated woman’ highlights tensions between justice, science and courts’ need to distinguish between world experts and ‘proven performers’

As undergraduate numbers soar and student needs become increasingly complex, questions are being asked about whether a support model that relies on the conscientiousness of individual academics is fit for purpose. Here, three scholars explain why, despite its faults, the pastoral role remains crucial

Even before Covid led to so many job losses among casual and fixed-term academic staff, mass insecurity was increasingly being recognised as a blight on the sector. But is there any realistic prospect of permanent contracts all round? Ben Upton examines the cases of Germany and the Netherlands

The number of assignments per term has been going up and up; is continuous assessment now harming, rather than helping, students’ learning?

Once lauded as engines of social mobility, American universities are increasingly perceived as widening social and economic injustices. Matthew Reisz speaks to two academics whose new book lays bare the extent of the problem and the potential solutions

The UK’s National Union of Students is 100 years old. But as students around the world focus on single-issue campaigns and relations with governments crumble amid mutual disdain, questions abound about what comes next for organisations that ‘you would have to invent if they didn’t already exist’

Stabilisation funding, fellowships and industry collaboration grants identified as key priorities, but questions about whether country can successfully replicate Brussels schemes remain

Friendly reminders about university events, deadlines and policies may seem harmless, but fielding these endless emails exacts a high price, says Frank LoSchiavo

The Covid pandemic severely limited travel options during the past two years. But with restrictions finally lifting and with summer beginning in the northern hemisphere, THE’s occasional travel guide series is back. Six academics offer their tips on where to head to get over another marking season 

Twitter has allowed war scholars and the public to hear from a diverse range of experts and created star academics but some are wary about where the tidal wave of commentary may lead

The Canadian botanist who discovered the ‘wisdom of trees’ reflects on the growing enthusiasm for her work and why scientists should get emotional about their research

Even universities in the hermit kingdom largely cut themselves off from the rest of the world. Yet those few Westerners with direct experience of them suggest that while critical inquiry is predictably unwelcome, the global publish or perish culture is starting to take hold. Pola Lem reports

Increased use of ‘team science’ may have been a major factor in latest REF scores, say experts, but this may be no bad thing

Dealing with the death of a family member is never easy, but does academic life present further complications and difficulties? Three academics at different stages of their careers tell their stories

As Australia’s general election looms, many in university circles may be hoping that Scott Morrison’s coalition is voted out. But is it true that conservative governments and universities are natural antagonists? And how much better would the sector fare under a Labor administration? John Ross reports

Just as campaigns to promote societal benefit show strength, activists admit setbacks in wider battleground for basic academic freedom

Well-meaning initiatives that prioritise student satisfaction over educational objectives deny students access to the type of rich learning experience that universities were designed for, argue Rebekah Wanic and Nina Powell 

Universities’ intellectual property is seen as key to successful knowledge economies. But what is the best way to turn ideas into marketable products? Is it realistic to expect major commercial success? And how much of a stake should universities take in the process – and the proceeds? Jack Grove reports

The Great Resignation, remote working and rapid changes in the graduate employment market are all forcing US higher education institutions to evolve – fast. But are institutions that have spent two years managing Covid-19 ready to take up another challenge? Paul Basken reports

The president of Harvey Mudd College discusses smashing glass ceilings and how to get more women into STEM subjects 

After decades operating in a largely low-inflation environment, Western universities are seeing rising energy costs and war in Ukraine push prices up. How exposed is the sector?

The UK government’s bill to tackle university cancel culture would give it unacceptable powers to control academic debate and student protest, says George Letsas

Despite incremental reforms throughout Emmanuel Macron’s first term as president, France still has one of the most centralised higher education systems in Europe. As the election looms, Ben Upton examines attitudes towards institutional autonomy and asks whether its supposed effects on equality and academic freedom are limiting appetite for more

War in Ukraine may reshape university internationalisation, but most academics do not expect a knockout blow

Thirty years after his breakout book declared democracy to be an unstoppable force, the End of History author explains to Matthew Reisz why a new defence of liberal values is urgently needed, and why scholars must share some responsibility for destabilising them

Three decades after the abolition of the binary divide between universities and polytechnics, some commentators still lament the supposed loss of locally focused vocational education. But even as the political winds buffet them, do post-92s offer the solution to the UK’s skills problem? John Morgan reports

The Ukraine war has led to unprecedented curtailment of academic ties, but could breaking off all relations with Russia cause further problems?

Obsessed with graduate employment, US universities are doing little to improve students’ ability to think independently, a major new study has concluded. Paul Basken speaks to the Harvard academics behind the decade-long investigation and hears how student learning can be repaired