Opinion

Viewed by many academics as an impostor subject, media studies is more critical than ever, says Louise Byrne

What brings joy? This week, as part of our week of articles on #HEhappiness, academics from five disciplines address this most difficult of questions

John Morgan looks at Theresa May’s plans for reforms to England's system

Andy Green weighs up the three main parties’ higher education policies and suggests his own solution to the funding question

Data from the World University Rankings shows that on research performance, the region is among the world’s best

As speculation mounts over a Conservative announcement, Gerard Dominguez-Reig runs the numbers

How one Nobel winner instilled belief in Erika Mancini

Social scientists must create a culture in which individuals regularly observe, analyse and interpret their own data, says Geoff Mulgan

Publishing is part of the academic game, says Mike Smith, so you’d better get good at it 

Labour still fixed on pledge as political gold dust, but may score policy impact nevertheless, writes John Morgan

Quiet acceptance of accent discrimination damages efforts to make classrooms more inclusive, says Katerina Loukopoulou

Ministers are foolish to abandon the conclusions of the 1971 review that has informed UK research policy for 45 years, say Donald Braben and John Dainton 

Universities must support those responsible for the impact case studies that will carry so much weight in the next research excellence framework, says Jonathan Grant

The necessity of regular publication curbs the freedom that can make scholarly work original and important, says Shahidha Bari

Greater efforts must be made to ensure women aren’t overlooked – and to redress past failings, says Janet Shibley Hyde

Despite their scientific achievements, women account for only 5% of Nobel prize-winners. It diminishes them – and the award, says John Gill

Pam Tatlow finds a lively political conference buoyed by talk of abolishing tuition fees

Adam Szetela has been speaking to some high profile scholars about how to write well, and this is what he found out

Unlike in the UK and the US, German graduates tend to vote in quite similar ways to other citizens. But not in the case of the AfD, writes David Matthews

Education debate at the Labour conference in Brighton has gone beyond the easy headlines, says Andy Westwood – but important questions remain unanswered

Nick Hillman writes from the Labour Party Conference in Brighton, where – happily – he finds fewer lobbyists and more activists

Elite universities must expand their intake to combat rising resentment directed at higher education, says Catharine B. Hill

Despite advances in artificial intelligence, humans will always have the edge over machines when it comes to teaching, says Aldwyn Cooper

Downplaying the vital role that universities play in encouraging creativity could endanger the main engine of economic growth, say Luca Cacciolatti and Soo Hee Lee

Atrocities in Myanmar expose how universities have unnecessarily risked their reputations by partnering with corrupt political systems, says Peter Brady

Social scientists are innovating to ensure their research is relevant, but more must be done, says Rick Delbridge

No one should underestimate the importance of encouragement in pedagogy, says Tom Pow

Countries worldwide are grappling with the challenge of expanding higher education with limited resources while maintaining quality 

PSL’s high entry position in the THE World University Rankings reflects one of the ambitions of France’s programme of mergers, say John Ludden, Philippe Le Prestre and Jean-Marc Rapp

The attacks may be ill-informed, but universities must keep demonstrating the value that they provide for students, graduates and society, says Anton Muscatelli

Community engagement is not just a good strategy. It’s an urgent responsibility, says Andrew Petter

Universities are right to re-examine the support in place for students in light of soaring suicide rates, says health secretary Jeremy Hunt

For National Postdoc Appreciation Week, we take a look through our archive of advice and information for early career researchers 

As The Sunday Times reports proposals to cut fees, Sir Keith Burnett asks how we measure ‘value for money’ in education?

Christopher Cripps offers a French perspective on how universities can develop their position in the international academic community

The loss of Supporting Professionalism in Admissions would be bad news for students, says Les Ebdon

Chris Parr picks through some of the highlights from the tuition fees debate between David Willetts and Andrew Adonis

If we are going to build societies of peace and consensus, we have to accept each other’s villains as elements of our common past, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Being positioned as passive recipients of lecturers’ appraisal does nothing to promote the development of crucial graduate attributes, say Naomi Winstone and Edd Pitt

The ending of Murdoch University’s agreement with its staff over employment conditions could herald a rougher ride for university staff, says Gavin Moodie 

We need to call off the witch-hunt and trust in the capacity of our students to learn, says Bruce Macfarlane

A disastrous loss of goodwill during negotiations with Brussels may mean the days of Britain’s being a net beneficiary of EU research funding are over

The official weekly newsletter of the University of Poppleton. Finem respice!

The whole Science and Technology Committee should be disbanded, and the process of establishing it restarted, says Dame Athene Donald

Critics of vice-chancellor pay levels have a point, and universities need to acknowledge that, says Gordon McKenzie

Freedom of speech is not the same as accepting ‘petulant’ professors’ views, says Kerrie Thornhill

If universities want to get more disadvantaged students into university, they need to help them access the support their better-off peers take for granted, argues James Grant

The way in which academic departments are typically formed creates more barriers than benefits, says Zahir Irani

The capital’s universities must use increased tuition fee revenue to improve access for disadvantaged students, says Tony Halmos

Joy Carter urges universities and policymakers to embrace the ‘joy of learning’

Sally Hunt lambastes university employment models, which she says would be more at home in Sports Direct

Competition for students and the cash brought in by increased tuition fees explain why universities want to invest in leadership, writes Andrew McRae

John Last believes that UK schools policy risks damaging the flow of creative students into universities and jobs

Universities’ shabby treatment of casual academics flies in the face of their professed commitment to education and dignity, says Jedidiah Evans

No tax inspector or police officer can claim rights over what they write for their jobs, so why should academics, asks Gabriel Egan

A national postgraduate admissions system would allow universities to improve planning, enhance student satisfaction and widen participation, says Michelle Morgan

Andrew Adonis’s account of how Labour could fund universities if tuition fees were abolished lacks credibility, says David Willetts

Britain has a remarkably strong higher education system that makes it a world-leading player, and it requires tending, not trashing