Blog

The global cost pressures imposed by sector expansion oblige universities to embrace technology that is finally fulfilling the hype, says Anthony Finkelstein

This year’s Maddox Prize nominations suggest that institutional challenges may be a bigger problem than online abuse, says Tracey Brown

Forcing changes to the peer-review process would probably come with unforeseen and unwanted consequences, says Sheldon H. Jacobson

It’s tempting to dismiss the Ohio senator’s attacks on higher education as MAGA rabble-rousing, but he is right in some respects, says Lincoln Allison

Addressing the sector’s woes has, at best, been kicked down the road to next year’s spending review. How disappointing, says Nick Hillman

Devolving research and skills funding to metro mayors would allow universities to drive innovation-led economic growth, says Neal Juster

Misleading claims that some undergraduates are unjustly receiving extra help obscure how many universities are actually failing to provide sufficient support to disabled students, says Chris Pepin-Neff

With its focus on breakthrough research and innovation, Manuel Heitor’s plan for European research should be commended, says Jan Palmowski

Tailored guidance, standards, tools and infrastructure are needed to make data more accessible and interoperable across the globe, says Daniel Keirs

Wales’ groundbreaking Medr must boldly rethink how education and training work for society and the economy, says Ellen Hazelkorn

A ‘Fortress Australia’ that remains open to international trade and talent needs an educated, innovative and globally minded population, says Philipp Ivanov 

Let's not overlook the transformative power of education to spark curiosity, build resilience and drive positive change, says Rahim Somani

Civil servants appreciate a relational approach that responds to their needs and convenes evidence they will actually find useful, says Sally Hogg

If elected, I will use my vast experience of higher education to help Oxford lead the way through the big challenges facing UK HE, says David Willetts

Speaking Spanish is seen as a problem to be erased. But in Puerto Rico it is key to our success, say Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera and Héctor José Huyke

Policymakers must recognise that international education is a lifeline for low- and middle-income countries, say Maia Chankseliani and Joonghyun Kwak

UUK’s Blueprint is right to call for greater FE-HE collaboration so both sectors can complement each other’s strengths, say Sam Parrett and Nick Whitehouse

English higher education is already very diverse. Aggressive top-down attempts to diversify it further will do more harm than good, says B.V.E. Hyde

Partnerships with the public and private sectors can be slow-going or episodic. Urgent challenges demand a step change, says Daniel Diermeier

Whatever happens in the Middle East, we must learn how to minimise harm when discussing emotive topics, says Emma Davies

Our student survey underlines the scale of the problem. Here are some tips on how to respond, say Rosa Freedman and Odeliya Lanir Zafir

The new administration must also adopt systemic measures to rebuild trust within the academic community, says Roohola Ramezani

Administrators at US colleges are increasingly defective and detached from education but I’m too old to try something new, says a faculty member

But radical thinking is needed to make its collaborative instruments more effective and convince sceptical governments of their value, says Jan Palmowski

Publishers used to provide authors with better service – and royalties. But open access cooperatives offer a ray of light, says Harvey Graff

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

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

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

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 

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

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