Opinion

Chris Rock’s joke about US gun control exemplifies a cognitive sophistication that machines will struggle to match, say Akhil Bhardwaj and Anastasia Sergeeva

A ground-breaking physics experiment underlines a proud scholarly tradition that relies on purpose, dedication – and money, says Keith Burnett

Ukrainians are very resourceful and are more eager than ever to develop cooperation with institutions and scholars in the West, says David Livingstone

Institutions should make the case for their vital role in the proposed drive for more EU-wide coordination on skills and innovation, says Jan Palmowski

Even the ‘predatory’ label gives an undue level of legitimacy to operations that lack all the typical accoutrements of journals, says Steve Hochstadt

Doing so would do a service not only to Muslim would-be students worried about usury but to everyone concerned about debt, says Steve Connolly

Recent figures suggesting growing Russian isolation doesn’t tell the full story, say Lin Zhang, Zhe Cao, Gunnar Sivertsen and Dmitrii Kochetkov 

Support networks, mentoring and inter-institutional collaboration could make a big contribution to improving representation, says Mercy Denedo

Limiting overseas enrolments will reduce diversity and hit capacity to fund programmes that enhance Indigenous higher education, says Barry Judd

Planned recruitment caps in Australia reflect a global shift in attitudes to internationalisation, exacerbating the woes of universities on multiple fronts

The UK’s austerity-fixated new government is highly unlikely to find significant extra money for universities, says Andrew McRae

Marking every minor triumph inculcates a motivated mindset of appreciation for your effort and the process of scientific discovery, says Valerie Horsley

The British Museum learned it was wrong to brush off a whistleblower. Universities and journals should do the same, says David Sanders

A boom in international enrolments has brought many benefits, but public concerns about visa abuse are rising, says Kyuseok Kim 

Boosting access to higher education is important, but closures and mergers will create better institutions for students to attend, says Manigandan Ganesan 

Next year’s review must consider why the equality charter now views ‘gender as a spectrum’, in addition to questions of cost and effectiveness, says Lucy Hunter Blackburn

Universities should reflect upon the intellectual life and sacrifices of South Africa’s student activists as they mark milestones, says Mashupye Maserumule 

Call for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ is scarcely better than the ‘stop arming Ukraine’ motion that led to resignations a year ago, says Christopher Phelps

Vice-chancellors can often overestimate the savings from institutional mergers and underestimate their complex challenges, says Malcolm Prowle

Universities keep being told that the status quo is not sustainable. But the new Labour government also has a responsibility to act and change tack

Strategic silence of vice-chancellors within our national debate is a mistake when the quest for truth is so central to academia, argues Sir Geoff Mulgan

Working-class undergraduates who juggle paid work with their studies are finding it difficult to devote long hours to their course, says Randall Whittaker

From Putin to Orbán, autocrats are using postcolonial theory to flood reading lists with ‘overlooked’ native authors in a drive to further xenophobic identity politics, explain Karolina Koziura, Daniel Palm and Adrian Matus

As an academic, I have found my best holidays to be anything but a vacation from intellectual life, says Lincoln Allison

Refugee student Naweed Zafary recalls harrowing scenes as the Taliban took power and thousands fought for places on the last flights out of Afghanistan

Universities of all types are embracing the earn-while-you-learn qualifications but government can do more too, says Exeter’s vice-chancellor Lisa Roberts

Speculation over imagined backstabbings and betrayals is rife but the joining of two of Australia’s universities is more of a meeting of minds than clash of clans, insist vice-chancellors Peter Høj and David Lloyd

Degrees taught in Hindi might play well with Modi fans but this shift risks IITs’ global reputation for producing outstanding graduates, says Eldho Mathews

Research, innovation and education are recognised in the European Commission president’s manifesto, but let’s assert their wider relevance, says Jan Palmowski

The OfS’ approach is evolving, partly reflecting the fact that a course’s long-term value is not always immediately obvious, says John Blake

A-level results day celebrations belie a vicious spiral of demand for degrees that damages students and society, says Paul Wiltshire 

As a loss-maker, research is under pressure as fears of insolvency rise. But universities must do all they can to shore up a key element of their impact 

We need a mechanism whereby academics can build a public reputation as referees and receive career benefits for doing so, says Randy Robertson

Rather than lament student attitudes, we should ask if meaningful exchanges of ideas in class are still possible, say Mikael Andéhn and Alan Bradshaw

Labour’s planned decentralisation of power will strengthen universities’ standing and ability to contribute to local prosperity, says Diana Beech

Continued prioritisation is essential to maintain gains in student health and wellness, as well as to feed into elite sport, says Amanda Broderick

The exascale computer’s cancellation underlines the need for a long-term vision that transcends political whim, say Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield

It is heartening to have an education secretary who values universities as a public good, but public goods require public funding, says Jo Grady

Successive governments have a long history of suppressing freedom of speech, thought and association on campus, says C. Rashaad Shabab

Pension scheme members are entitled to ask why so much was lost and why the raw sewage continues to flow into rivers, says Bernard Casey

The OfS needs only to tweak its guidance in light of the considerable free-speech duties by which universities are already bound, says James Murray

The OfS’ stronger than expected registration condition on sexual harassment and misconduct comes not a moment too soon, says Anna Bull 

My role in the National Trust’s slavery report led to so many threats that I couldn’t walk anywhere unaccompanied, says Corinne Fowler

Our experiences on a remote Massachusetts island showed us how liberal arts education could be, say Nathan Badger and Maya Rosen

Museums have enormous amounts of material to study and they are wide open to collaboration with university researchers, says Mark Walport

Bridget Phillpson’s decision to reconsider implementation will only hamper wider recognition of universities as a public good, says Abhishek Saha

Donald Trump’s idea is unnecessary and could denude international students’ native countries of their talents, warns Allan Goodman

Educators need to do more to help students reassess the meaning they attach to labels such as “female engineer”, says Elena Liquete

Providing skills, creating opportunity and training the teachers and nurses the UK needs: modern universities stand ready to deliver, says Rachel Hewitt

Off-campus trips have manifold benefits, especially for poorer students. We mustn’t lose them to technology or cost-cutting, says Robert Phillips

Instead of viewing GenAI only as a threat, we should embrace it as an opportunity to reform our outdated approaches, says Dorottya Sallai

We should not deprive numerous hard-pressed students of valuable flexibility merely to ensure that the ‘undeserving’ don’t skip classes, say five experts

While there are ethnic, class and gender penalties, Sean Brophy found no evidence of an extra penalty for falling into more than one category

Modern universities make up over half of the UK sector, yet their vital work flies under journalists’ and politicians’ radars, says Amanda Broderick

A new government interested in solutions not dogma should be fertile ground for those with ideas to sow – but there will be limits on blue-sky thinking

Those who take on vital academic housekeeping should be acknowledged as champions of good practice and rewarded accordingly, says Eleanor Baker

I concentrate on the joy I get from working with the students who do show up, rather than feeling slighted by those who don’t, says Anna Meier

Persistent earning gaps by gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background are unfair to individuals and a drag on the economy, says Omar Khan

The government must recognise that lower international revenues will make research costs unsustainable, says John Carroll

One of the advantages of a large majority is that there is more generous political cover for experts brought into ministerial roles, says David Willetts