Europe

Robot student

Class exercises that use ChatGPT to strengthen students’ learning

To foster engagement, comprehension and knowledge retention in the classroom, educators should find a balance between leveraging AI tools such as GenAI to strengthen learning while also preserving their guiding role

Nikolas Dietis

University of Cyprus

A speaker stands at a lectern with a microphone

A practical guide to better presentations: part one

Getting through long, not-so-interesting talks is a common experience in academia. But if we all agree it can be done better, how can we start delivering better presentations?

Anna Christodoulou

University of Westminster

Students work together using a laptop and calculator

Three ways professional certifications can boost student outcomes

Professional certifications not only align students’ skills with real-world industry demands but can also lead to unexpected improvements in academic outcomes. Ekaterina Ipatova shares how her students responded to this innovative mode of assessment

Ekaterina Ipatova

University of Roehampton

Hand playing piano

Tax Taylor Swift

Is sustainability a ‘blank space’ in professional music education? Not exactly. Music students want to make an impact and some music academics are embedding the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the curriculum

Thomas Irvine

University of Southampton

Frankenstein's monster

What Frankenstein’s monster can teach researchers about the dark side of ‘impact’

What can a 19th-century novelist tell academics about research ethics? Taking time to see the impact of research on ourselves is a good place to start measuring the social good of scholarly endeavours, writes Jennifer Allsopp

Jennifer Allsopp

University of Birmingham

Male online student

As students become more ‘distant’, can feedback still hit the mark?

Whether they are behind a computer screen or behind bars, all students need support with making effective use of feedback – whether or not the process is a two-way street

Robert Nash, Kieran Balloo

National Institute of Teaching, University of Southern Queensland

People laugh round a boardroom table

Six tips when undertaking a curriculum framework review

For a curriculum framework to deliver for both students and educators, it must be regularly updated. Here are six things to remember when embarking on a framework review

Steve Briggs

University of Bedfordshire

Health researcher and patient

‘Uncertainty is part of co-production’

Flexibility and an open mindset can help health researchers work with healthcare professionals and patients to create better adapted services. Here, Gary Hickey shares ways to navigate through the process

Gary Hickey

University of Southampton

Students in an exam hall being assessed

We have to rethink academic integrity in a ‘post-plagiarism era’

What is the future of plagiarism as a concept in the AI age and what are the implications for assessment? This resource seeks to answer these questions, among others

Karen Kenny

University of Exeter

A adult works at a laptop, while a small child plays with dinosaur toys on the keyboard

The small steps that can make a big difference to student parents

Juggling academic and parental commitments is no easy feat. Here’s how universities can make small, programme-level adjustments to relieve the pressure on student parents

Rebecca Gordon

University of the West of Scotland

Medical professional talking to a female patient

Yes, empathy can be taught – here’s how

Find out how evidence-based methods can be used to provide empathy training, bringing huge potential benefits for healthcare outcomes and busting the myth that it can’t be taught

Jeremy Howick

University of Leicester

A jigsaw puzzle shaped like a head, brightly coloured blocks emitting from it

How to support neurodivergent postgraduate researchers

How can universities ensure PhD students of all neurotypes can thrive? Here’s how to provide neurodiversity-affirmative supervision

Deborah Riby , Amy Pearson, Jess Hirst

Durham University

Leaking water pipe

The foundations of a successful knowledge transfer partnership

By collaborating with businesses, researchers can apply their expertise to real-world problems with tangible outcomes. Here, academics outline how they established an effective knowledge transfer partnership to reduce water waste

Muhammad Shakir , Jawwad Latif

University of the West of Scotland

Robot giving a star rating

Will AI revolutionise marking?

Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve speed, consistency and detail in feedback for educators grading students’ assignments, writes Rohim Mohammed. Here he lists the pros and cons based on his experience

Rohim Mohammed

University College Birmingham

A pair of legs following an arrow on asphalt

Using directional reflection to stimulate students’ evaluative thinking

Many students struggle to understand and engage with the concepts and practices associated with reflection. This is where directional reflection comes in

Simon Brownhill

University of Bristol

Coloured pencils

Can non-assessed creative play help students develop confidence and critical thinking?

Supporting and enhancing students’ drawing skills improves not only their visual communication but also their mental health and well-being. Chris Wright and Zoë Allman offer low-stakes ways to use creativity to build community

Chris Wright, Zoë Allman

De Montfort University

Students walking through campus building

Rethinking online learning to tackle global injustices

A critical look at how online learning can be used to decolonise global development curricula

Sam Spiegel

The University of Edinburgh

podcast graphic

THE podcast: social artist Helen Storey on working on the boundary of fashion and science

The UNHCR’s first designer-in-residence Helen Storey talks about why she has donated her creative archive to the University of the Arts London, and how the arts can help people connect with issues such as climate change and the refugee crisis

Helen Storey

University of the Arts London

A student using their phone

How universities can use research to develop effective digital products

Tips on developing a user-led digital approach at your institution, based on the University of Exeter’s success

Helen Cocks, Amelia Johnson

University of Exeter

A car driving on a bridge across the sea

Five actions to drive your career forward in the third space

Third spaces professionals can often find themselves excluded from traditional academic promotion or career development opportunities. Here’s how to carve your own path

Steve Briggs

University of Bedfordshire

A tutor helping her postgraduate students

How can we better support our postgraduate students?

The challenges postgraduate taught students face are different from those of their undergraduate counterparts. Here are some ways to help them overcome them

Ellen Bell, Kelly Edmunds

University of East Anglia

A professor helps a student in class

Five ways coaching can improve the university experience of Black students

The ethnicity awarding gap continues to be an issue in UK universities, especially for Black students. Could coaching be the answer?

Yaz Osho

University of Westminster

Lots of social media users in a grid

We should be using social media more to understand students

How to use netnography to improve communication with prospective and current students

Alex Fenton

University of Chester

A toy robot observes a laptop screen, filled with books

Three ways to develop students’ AI literacy

Is higher education prepared for a future defined by AI, or do we need to do more to align education with technology’s changing landscape? Here are three ways to get your students to engage with it critically

Chahna Gonsalves , Sam Illingworth

King’s College London, Edinburgh Napier University

Clapperboard

Using documentary film to communicate your social research

Film can humanise your research and make it accessible to an audience beyond your field. Here are five key takeaways from our experience of bringing sociology to life

Rosalind Edwards

University of Southampton

A robot wears a mortarboard and rests upon an open book

How to align AI tools with teaching philosophies: a practical guide

Lucy Gill-Simmen provides a practical framework for integrating AI into teaching, while remaining true to your pedagogical principles

Lucy Gill-Simmen

Royal Holloway, University of London

A female student working on her laptop

How can we use microlearning to enhance university teaching?

What are the benefits of microlearning and how can institutions ensure their courses suit the needs of digital natives?

Robert A. Phillips

University of Manchester

Students chat in a lecture hall

Four ways to use gamification to engage your students in learning

What if learning was as addictive as gaming? Motivate your students and engage them to learn with these four teaching innovations

Lim Keong Teoh

University of Winchester

A group of PhD students touch mortarboards

Four ways to enhance the postgraduate student experience

Postgraduate students are our future colleagues – let’s put ourselves in their shoes. Here are four ways to help your PhD students thrive in higher education

Miller Alonso Camargo-Valero

University of Leeds

Jenga tower

How can Jenga build course co-creation?

Questions about accessibility led to events management students and educators using block towers to foster discussion of lived experiences and a sense of belonging. Here, Katy Proctor and Nick Davies offer their insights into co-creating module content

Katy Proctor, Nick Davies

Glasgow Caledonian University

An educator comforts a distressed student

Let’s embrace compassionate pedagogy for a more humane academy

How can we bridge the compassion gaps in the day-to-day experiences of students and staff in higher education? Kathryn Waddington and Bryan Bonaparte offer their solutions – and warn of the challenges we’re still facing

Kathryn Waddington, Bryan Bonaparte

University of Westminster

Multiracial group of students

‘The experience of mixing with peers from other schools and engaging with university life is transformational’

By building a bridge between high school and university, outreach teams can foster aspiration and provide tangible pathways for students who might not otherwise pursue higher education

Gillian Lavercombe

University of the West of Scotland

Students sit around in discussion

Three lessons for interfaith engagement on campus

How can we build a religiously plural community on campus in times of global division? Ten years on from the LSE Faith Centre’s opening, James Walters reflects on three lessons learned

James Walters

The London School of Economics and Political Science

Multiracial group of three people looking at a computer

Inclusive co-teaching can draw on educators’ lived experience

Joint teaching between academic faculty and experts by experience offers not only professional development for future teachers, but benefits student understanding as well. Here’s how to put it into practice

Pablo Rodríguez Herrero

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Westminster Regent Street welcome sign

Unlock the benefits of multilingualism in higher education

To create inclusive campuses, we need to embrace multilingualism. Here’s how the Multilingual University project helped celebrate linguistic diversity and fostered a sense of belonging

Katherine Mansfield, Julio Gimenez

University of Westminster

An artist in her studio

It’s time to rethink creative industries employability

Employability is often a conversation for or about students, but what if we asked them about their future hopes? How might we co-design employability provision in times of crisis?

Emma Coffield , Katie Markham

Newcastle University

A student typing on their laptop with images representing study and AI superimposed over the top

Promoting ethical and responsible use of GenAI tools

How can we encourage staff and students to use generative AI in ways that do not threaten an institution’s ethics or academic integrity? Read the University of Exeter’s take

Kelly Louise Preece

University of Exeter

Three male students laughing and chatting

We need to get to know our international students better

To create inclusive classrooms for international students, we must address bias and challenge assumptions. Here’s how

Meg Maclean

The University of Edinburgh

Image representing an understanding of multiple viewpoints and perspectives

Encourage intellectual development in students to improve work readiness

By supporting students to become independent thinkers who can evaluate different viewpoints within specific contexts, educators better prepare them for employment, argue Jennifer Rose and Bill Moore

Jennifer Rose, Bill Moore

University of Manchester, The Perry Institute

Two scientists working on a windfarm

Sustainability education needs to go beyond the SDGs

Aligning teaching with the Sustainable Development Goals can only go so far in preparing students for a climate change-affected world. This resource offers a framework for embedding sustainability more deeply into curricula

Multiple authors

University of East Anglia, Technical University of Munich

A student painting on a canvas

Preparing students for careers in the creative industries

How interdisciplinary and experiential learning that is integrated into inclusive curricula can equip students for their future creative careers

Miaomiao Jia

University of Bristol

Medical students

What skills does the 21st-century medical educator need?

A faculty development programme for instructors must facilitate more than efficient knowledge transfer. Incorporating pedagogical innovation, digital proficiency and emotional intelligence will ensure the well-being of educators and students

Miklós Kellermayer

Semmelweis University

Cut out figures of heads and shoulders connected by a web

Time to switch? A university’s guide to Bluesky

Bluesky’s growth offers academics, departments and institutions the chance to build engaged communities. Here are some tips on setting up a profile

Ned Potter

University of York

A woman works on an essay, using her laptop and several books

The renaissance of the essay starts here

In the age of AI, has long-form writing in higher education reached a dead end? Martin Compton and Claire Gordon discuss the unique aspects of the essay and introduce a manifesto to revitalise it

Claire Gordon , Martin Compton

The London School of Economics and Political Science, King’s College London

Compromise concept

Productive disagreement is our best hope of tackling the climate crisis

As complex communities with a social purpose, universities are ideal places to foster and model difficult discussions around prioritising investment and effort towards net zero goals, writes Nigel Ball

Nigel Ball

University of the Arts London

Woman in VR headset against image of wind farm

It’s time to turn the tide on our clean energy ambitions

Universities have a pivotal role to play in inspiring the next generation to find sustainable energy solutions, from uniting researchers with business to translating innovation into practice to growing the future workforce, writes Deborah Greaves

Deborah Greaves

University of Plymouth

podcast graphic

THE podcast: what makes an award-winning academic, university or project?

We speak to past THE Awards winners to find out about the work for which they and their institutions were recognised

Roderick Watkins, Mark Brown, Joanne Pledger, Ruth Spencer

Anglia Ruskin University, Royal Holloway, University of London, University of Central Lancashire

Hands holding the words "net Zero" against a blurred out verdant background

Strategies to move universities to net zero

How one institution is reducing energy consumption, developing low-carbon infrastructure and rethinking campus spaces to reach net zero

Scott Davidson

The University of Edinburgh

Hands of black woman typing on laptop

Time to write is a necessity, not a nice-to-have

How a project for academics to carve out writing time has grown from ‘power hours’ to writing retreats, community, increased well-being and higher-quality papers

Rosie Wadman, Jess Macpherson

University of Southampton

A student standing outside campus thinking

How can we make HE more accessible for those with criminal convictions?

Students with criminal convictions are often left out of higher education widening participation efforts. This resource challenges the narrative and offers strategies to support them

Jayne Price, Paul Taylor

University of Chester