Features

Our new rankings focus on what institutions offer students

Automation has the potential to replace or alter 35 million jobs worldwide, which means universities must adapt to survive, argues Nancy Gleason

‘If we don’t know how we learn, how on earth do we know how to teach?’ says L. Rafael Reif, who tells Ellie Bothwell how the research giant is working to improve teaching practice

Conducting clinical trials during an epidemic for the first time, researchers fast-tracked the creation of a vaccine for Ebola, but not before 11,000 people had died

What will the landscape look like 10 years from now? David Matthews examines the demographic trends, social shifts and technological advances that look set to shape the sector’s future

James Tooley reflects on who helped him, who let him down and what he learned from his time in prison in Hyderabad

Matthew Reisz in Bogotá examines how quickly a TACTIC nation can become a more effective player in global higher education

The principles of scepticism and open-mindedness are vital in a post-truth world, an expert on experts tells Matthew Reisz

John Morgan looks at the universities in Asia and beyond that have forged the closest ties with industrial partners

From Australia to Singapore, David Matthews and John Elmes weigh the pros and cons of likely destinations

Six academics offer their views on the state of language learning in a populist climate

An academic researching the Camorra talks to John Elmes about Kalashnikovs and pizza, investigating a closed community, and how she stays safe

Academics enjoy teaching. What they don’t like is the lack of preparation time, bureaucratic burdens, unprepared students – and the TEF. Jack Grove reports

Commentator Martin Wolf examines the economic flaws and false assumptions of the Higher Education and Research Bill

In a post-truth era, five academics consider strategies, from inviting laypeople into the laboratory to open vivas, to improve trust in experts

Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania deploy a host of financial and intellectual resources to help locals build richer, healthier, more inclusive cities. John Morgan reports

Institutions displaced by war in the country’s east have relocated campuses and adopted distance learning techniques to continue teaching. Hilary Lamb reports

The institutions with the strongest global connections have a ‘cultural disposition’ to think beyond borders. Ellie Bothwell reports

Steve Fuller on the need for leaders who can make the radical decisions necessary to survive existential threats both internal and external

Holly Else explores the emotional, reputational and practical barriers to correcting mistakes

Our global survey gives a picture of which institutions are best at producing senior business leaders worldwide. John Elmes reports

John Morgan considers the impact on students and US scholars, and the political earthquake’s potential positives

Nobel prizewinning astrophysicist reflects on the perceptions and realities of how big breakthroughs are made

Seven scholars relate how they stepped back or stepped in as they saw fit, while one contributor’s daughter describes the flip side

Will virtual reality help students on campus and online learn better and more cheaply? David Matthews reports

From giving up Bremoaning and plastic cutlery, to publishing 10 papers in one year and sketchnoting, scholars share their goals for 2017

With Africa’s campuses beset by religious zealotry, Wole Soyinka suggests universities provide a year of materialist induction to free students of dogma and extremism

A Dickensian tale, set in today’s university

It is written in stone that Scottish students will not pay fees, but Chris Havergal reports on worries that this stance is bad for access and sustainability

Buildings and statues dedicated to people whose views clash with modern values can cause difficulties, but is tearing down history the answer?

Lincoln Allison, Eric Thomas and Richard Larschan reflect on the ‘next phase’ of the scholarly life

Simon Gaskell and Adrian Collette explain why proper engagement is an important driver of institutional performance, teaching and research

The former Australian prime minister on making the internet safe for women and helping universities prepare for change

Phil Scraton on the role his work played in securing justice for the victims’ families and survivors of the 1989 disaster

Saikat Majumdar looks at how public universities and liberal arts education in India still bear the marks of colonialism

BRICS and MINTs, move over for the TACTICS – Thailand, Argentina, Chile, Turkey, Iran, Colombia and Serbia. Ellie Bothwell on a group that could grow into star players in global higher education

Mark Gatenby considers what it means for business schools – and universities more generally – to embrace Utopian ways of thinking

The 150 best universities for delivering work-ready graduates

Scholars share what the title means to them and offer the newly promoted advice on handling the status update

Matthew Reisz examines the pros and cons of using film as a form of public engagement

Kevin Dunseath and Chris Hall on the issues that anyone considering setting up a programme abroad should think through before committing significant funds

From Donald Trump to Brexit, John Morgan considers the challenges of a new international political climate 

What price eternal life? Matthew Reisz meets a scholar who uses economics to explain our belief in the hereafter

Five engineers set out why engineering is part of our everyday lives and what universities can do to change the way it is taught

Clive Oppenheimer recounts dodging lava bombs and gunmen as he guided the director to global hot spots for his film about volcanoes

Scholars and their significant others share the good, the bad and the ugly

When it comes to student engagement, US institutions in the research elite typically have a lot of ground to make up

As the US’ ‘dumpster fire’ of a presidential election looms, it is more important than ever that students engage with other perspectives and acknowledge that their views aren’t universal, says Maximillian Alvarez

Matthew Reisz reports on the successes and failures of universities that have set up satellite campuses in Mauritius

Seasoned scholars offer tips on first lectures, the ‘Eton mess’ of PhD supervision and why hobbies belong at work

Antonio Melechi examines how enhanced interrogation techniques came to be introduced at War on Terror ‘black sites’

From decolonising curricula to ensuring right-wing viewpoints, calls for more representation and balance on campuses do not all share the same goals, says Tom Cutterham

David Matthews reports from Canada on the Trudeau government’s plans to convert academic research into commercial gains

Tawfik Jelassi, universities minister after the Jasmine Revolution, on losing his anonymity and being taken hostage by students

The region’s reputation for excellence could be threatened by funding cuts and restructuring

With 55,000 potential Syrian students in Europe, universities are using a series of workarounds to prevent a ‘lost generation’

While there is growth in BME students studying abroad, a gender gap persists. Ellie Bothwell examines US and Australian mobility initiatives

Christopher Phelps surveys a field that lends itself to interdisciplinarity, while a British scholar laments that UK institutions prefer Americans for Americanists

Eight scientists share the secrets of being a successful principal investigator