Opinion

Felipe Fernández-Armesto experiences a Damascene sporting conversion

Bill Wakeham reflects on the challenges ahead and the need for unions to join employers in overcoming them

Searching for the resting places of two greats of human sciences, Yiannis Gabriel unlocks the door to Freud and keeps left for Marx

Gary Day is unpersuaded by Derren Brown, weeps for Naples and is unenlightened by Trinity

Hard times are no excuse to restrict access and leave many to experience higher education only through downloads

The closure of the Centre for New Zealand Studies has important repercussions for the future study of post-colonialism

Christopher Terry welcomes a re-examination of the work of F.R. Leavis and the legacy of his controversial style of criticism

TV histories may struggle for free expression, but the Beatles enjoyed it in abundance, Gary Day finds

With swingeing funding cuts on the horizon, the sector must not be afraid to boast about its burgeoning economic value

Media studies is belittled despite graduates' success, says Sally Feldman

Research should be aimed at improving our lives, not increasing our bank balances, says Thomas Docherty

Frank Furedi says there is no academic or pedagogic merit in awarding marks to students simply because they've shown up

Gary Day is moved by a film about those who die alone, and finds Miss Marple surprisingly alluring

Education suffers because teaching gets no respect. That must change, and academics can start with themselves

US attacks on the NHS also raise issues about the academy, says Kevin Fong

Universities in the US and the UK want to dominate, not collaborate with, other countries, argues Andy Kirkpatrick

The next generation to shape academia must eschew quick-fix shortcuts and generously nurture talent without envy, says Tara Brabazon

Academics should take the lead when it comes to cutting aviation-related carbon, say Jens Rolff and David Sedley

Being a badly dressed academic is nothing to be ashamed of, says Peter J. Smith. An undressed professor, however, is a step too far

Alain Badiou can't get a word in, but Emily Bronte's doomed lovers speak volumes, says Gary Day

US academics may face less red tape than those in the UK, but they must also appease students, whose opinions can halt careers

Alan Ryan ponders why institutions are so uptight about freedom of information

Twitter is not for exchanging trivia. Rather, as Russell Stannard has recently learnt, it’s a powerful networking tool for academics and institutions

Dianne Berry says the HE framework must account for the future potential of universities, not just their current work

Jon F. Baldwin argues that incorporating universities into BIS may lead to a recognition of the real export value of the sector

A documentary about benefits makes Gary Day uncomfortable. Thank goodness for Timothy Spall

Students no longer have to travel to get a Western degree as UK education centres are setting up overseas in a global market

Tim Birkhead dreams of time to work, free from day-to-day interruptions

iPod broadcasts provide the best way for universities to present and strengthen their brand to would-be students and the public; the message must be to use the beat of popular culture to convey a serious message

Universities must do right by students, but if Donald Short's experience is anything to go by, they are falling well short

A wall of silence surrounds pedagogic courses for new lecturers that are manifestly unfit for purpose, says Joao Magueijo

God may be in the detail, says Gary Day, but asking religious leaders to prove it leads only to perplexity

Felipe Fernández-Armesto says police officers need the academy's guidance

If you want to stay abreast of what’s happening in the holidays, Gloria Monday’s advice is not to leave the building

With the right will and effort, teaching can become the equal of research in promotion terms, says Paul Ramsden

Universities can do more for economic recovery if they're not hemmed in by the need to deliver quick political fixes, argues David Chiddick

Teenage girls turning to crime should be no surprise when we look at society as a whole, says Gary Day

The prescription for a higher education sector suffering self-inflicted wounds, a fiscal bruising and hysteria is a rather bitter pill

There's always a backlash against women's successes, warns Sally Feldman

Rather than treating visiting international students as cash cows or with suspicion, we should value the vital diversity they bring to education

The question is not whether standards have fallen but rather whether we have the right standards for what we are trying to achieve, says Bob Brecher

The widely held assumption that university councils must have a majority of external members is incorrect, writes Nicholas Bamforth

Let's stop panicking and let the swine flu experts do their job, says Kevin Fong

Mistrust of 'business' is misplaced: treated with respect, it can help to create knowledge, explains David Docherty

David Gauntlett says the AHRC needs to put its researchers back on the field and stop positioning them as mere spectators of culture

That v-cs cannot admit to even understanding MPs' worries about quality and consistency bodes ill for the UK's reputation

More of the same won’t allow us to reform the British system effectively, writes Florian Bieber

QAA chief Peter Williams gives his verdict on the IUSS report

We live in a society where speed of communication rules, but Tara Brabazon asks if fast is necessarily better, particularly when it comes to learning

Stefano Harney argues that as long as business schools are overawed by real-world success, they will not offer the insights industry needs

Unpaid internships not only negate widening-access efforts, they devalue jobs and graduates, says Amy Binns

Who'd marry a single-minded, career-focused academic? Other academics, it seems. But such a relationship can have downsides