Opinion

Video conferencing is a reasonable substitute for lectures, but that is where it must end, say Robert Zaretsky and George Alliger

Protecting the European research budget offers better long-term hopes of saving the European project

Tomorrow’s world often turns out to be less radically different than we might have first thought, says Bruce Macfarlane

The querulous minority are unlikely to mend their ways even in their own bedrooms, predicts Helen Soteriou

A renewed European Research Area can be a fresh call to arms for scientific excellence across the continent, says Jan Palmowski

Filling the gaps between disciplines and between science and technology could lead to greater progress than AI, says Jinghai Li 

The disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on poorer students makes the case for a stripped-down ranking in 2020, says Conor King  

Sir Keith Burnett is relieved to find that through online platforms, teachers can still connect with students and can give ideas life

With public trust in science and innovation renewed, now is the time for higher education to improve, argue Karan Khemka and Parag Khanna

Working with Indigenous communities in New Zealand will help the country rebuild and refocus on the SDGs, write Cate Gribble and Jim Metson 

The traditional methods of measuring student ability in college admissions aren’t fit for the unconventional study environments students are now in, says Ben Faulkner 

Yes, excess haste can lead to mistakes, but the same is true of natural science, says Sandro Galea

It is time for those most vulnerable to huddle together in solidarity, says Tian An Wong

Impact usually originates in discoveries by smart people who could not possibly have dreamed of the application, says Douglas Kell

Coordinating across two jurisdictions during a pandemic is difficult, but the effort should pay off, says Yusra Mouzughi

Although UK higher education faces formidable financial challenges, it has won hearts and minds like never before, says Russell Reader

The initiative’s success means that higher education is expected to remain a focus of China’s next five-year plan, says Wu Zhaohui

The coronavirus means that Christiaan De Beukelaer’s research on a sailing cargo ship is lasting a lot longer than he bargained for

The Race Equality Charter must be part of universities’ recovery plans, argues Dave Thomas 

The lockdown is affecting not only final-year students. Without a blanket funding extension, many others will suffer and drop out, says Ross Goldstone

Academics are collaborating better and doing work that won’t directly advance their careers – this is what academia should be about, says Mona Nasrallah

Without government support, the country risks losing thousands of jobs and one of its biggest industries, writes Julian Hill

Requiring universities to report on their impact on climate change and society will remind a sceptical public of their value, says Jaci Eisenberg

Universities have shown that they can come to the rescue of our country in a crisis. We must protect them as vital local and national resources, says Emma Hardy

University finances are supposedly staring into the abyss – but we shouldn’t get giddy, says Paul Jump

Inter-university collaboration to develop core online curricula may be the only way to preserve quality, says Matt Jenner 

If contributing to knowledge is the name of the game, what is wrong with description, asks Michael Marinetto

Members of the Universities Superannuation Scheme are about to vote on whether to lock in current members. But this might not be enough to safeguard the scheme’s solvency, says Bernard Casey

Taiwan’s response to the coronavirus has been impressive but fighting future global emergencies will require greater collective effort, says Chia-Ming Hsueh

Universities have proved that we can change quickly, but we must be ready to do it again if we are to adapt to the new realities that lie ahead, says Chris Husbands

Myths notwithstanding, devolving research agendas to disciplines has a poor record of success, says Steve Fuller

As we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, government should require universities to provide community learning strategies, says Jonathan Michie

New institutions will add nothing unless there is a greater emphasis on quality, says Eric Fredua-Kwarteng

Jeffrey Kennedy, Simon Pek and Graham Smith explore ways of involving students far more deeply in the decisions that affect them

With Covid-19 radically reshaping higher education, what impact will it have on the US’ flagship international exchange organisation? Bruce Savre and Kevin Quigley ask

With campuses closed and finances weakening, these are the broad strategic points university leaders are considering right now, according to Alan Ruby

The policy to shift the cost of higher education on to students who now won’t be able to get jobs or travel to study is the real crisis here, says Kanishka Jayasuriya 

The UK’s new Knowledge Exchange Concordat will help institutions boost their effectiveness in the wake of Covid-19, says Phil Clare

India’s newest universities are showing immense promise but may find it hard to stay independent from the corporate world, says Ganeshdatta Poddar

The country must focus on producing a new generation of university leaders if it is to succeed in addressing global problems, says Zeyad Yousif

The relationship between higher education and the public has never been more crucial, argues Vahan Agopyan

The transformation of high street branches offers lessons on how universities may need to adapt when lockdown is lifted, writes a UK university professor

The United Nations’ goals provide a useful framework for institutions to demonstrate their impact and work in partnership – activities that are increasingly important in the age of Covid-19, says Duncan Ivison

Expecting early career researchers to help with coronavirus testing is unfair if they will suffer financial hardship, says PhD candidate Katherine MacInnes

Universities’ reputations will increasingly be driven by their work related to sustainable development, says Stuart McCutcheon

Switching towards peer-to-peer assessment makes sense for distance learning but a longer-term transformation would benefit students, says David Carless

Impact and engagement should be built into the design of academic work, says Matthew Davies

The approach to monetary penalties proposed by the UK’s Office for Students risks penalising well-run universities disproportionately, argues Martin Vincent 

Being trapped in Peru as countries went into lockdown showed us just how little support is available to researchers working abroad, a group of biologists writes

With lockdowns in force around the world, deciding the way ahead demands a delicate balance of clarity and compassion from people and institutions

University managers must accept that business as usual is not an option for many university staff, says Petra Boynton

Diversity makes most sense if it is about authors’ viewpoints rather than their ethnic origins, says Martin Levy

Equitable collaborations are key to ensuring that universities can best respond to the SDGs, says Joanna Newman

Graduates’ common lack of deep understanding about how AI works is hindering industry take-up, says Min Wanli

Let’s bury the fallacy that students favour particular approaches regardless of the topic, says Gavin Moodie

Providing hardship funding to buy laptops and being flexible with evaluations are among the best practices the QAA has observed, writes Vicki Stott

Skills learned in arts and humanities degrees will be vital in understanding the effects of the coronavirus crisis, says Katy Shaw

Whatever the truth around Mauro Ferrari’s resignation from the ERC, the affair raises an important issue, says Luca Magnani

With admissions already in decline, Brian Rosenberg wonders whether the end may finally be nigh for many colleges

Rolling Stone shows how improvisation in difficult circumstances can lead to memorable results, but scholars must also be honest about trade-offs caused by lockdown, say Bailey Sousa and Alexander Clark