Researcher (senior)

Those lucky established academics who want to help precarious colleagues would do better to pay for their lunch, says Sarah Burton

Michael Kosterlitz tells THE how colour blindness shaped his career and why Nobel winners shouldn’t be taken too seriously

The long overdue top-up to England’s quality-related funding stream is a reminder that project grants are not the only show on the beach

Nesta finds proportion of female AI researchers was higher in the mid-1990s – although universities fare better than tech firms

The next EU commissioner for research and innovation must fight for the Horizon Europe budget but resist timetables for scientific delivery, says Jan Palmowski

All modern academics know that it’s publish or perish, but is regular publication a gateway or a barrier to groundbreaking scholarship? Simon Baker assesses the data on the relationship between research volume and quality and asks which, if either, should be prioritised

Giving short online talks for a general audience offers benefits for individuals, subjects and the entire profession, says Kristen Sadler

Recent confusion over The Lancet’s stance on green open access highlights the difficulty for support staff in preparing researchers for the new rules, says Alice Gibson

Wolfgang Ketterle says scientists should aim instead for equilibrium in the longer term, and always keep other interests or hobbies

Colleagues may look askance at ‘the death squad’, but while teaching and research into one of life’s only two certainties may be taxing, it is also vital, Matthew Reisz hears

Budget restrictions, a focus on teaching and a paucity of internationalisation all hold back Turkish research, says Hakan Ergin

With such wide disagreements in grading, the research excellence framework’s gravity for careers is unjustifiable, says Philip Moriarty

Promotion criteria requiring top researchers to also be good teachers and managers undermine the nature of universities, says Andrew Oswald

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile now tops the region

Raising UK outlay to international levels will reap rich technological, social and political rewards for the next Conservative Party leader, says Sarah Main 

There is nothing devilish about government oversight of research, but the Haldane Principle checks more sulphurous instincts, says Paul Jump

Last year’s scandal over the ministerial vetoing of Australian research grants coincided with the centenary of the fabled principle that politicians should keep out of such decisions. But with governments becoming increasingly ideological and desperate for innovation-fuelled growth, does scientific autonomy have a future? Rachael Pells investigates 

Brexit or no Brexit, scientists across the continent have an obligation to keep standing up for ideals such as integrity, trust and cooperation, writes the European Union’s former director-general of research, Robert-Jan Smits

Researcher hopes showing at United Nations will spur further action to help the most disadvantaged artisans

Western ‘settler’ nations such as Canada and Australia are wrestling with how to redress historical injustices visited on their native populations. One proposal is for universities to embrace Indigenous knowledge. But what does that mean in practice? Will it achieve its aims? And where does it leave science? Matthew Reisz considers the arguments

Lincoln Allison may have lived through the glory days of academic publishing, but he still wonders whether the countless hours he spent writing his 14 moderately successful tomes would have been better spent on the tennis court

The adoption of an Athena SWAN-style initiative is undermined by a failure to meaningfully consult Indigenous Peoples, say Karen Lawford and Jamie Lundine

Charlotte Davies considers a sobering account of what is happening to our seas

Neil Dagnall and Ken Drinkwater tell Matthew Reisz about the rare pleasures of teaching and researching belief in ghosts, alien abductions and conspiracy theories

Stanford University’s insistence that its press break even is another bleak milestone in corporatisation, says David Palumbo-Liu

A review following the latest iteration of the PBRF could lead to radical changes that undermine the gains made, warns Roger Smyth

The University of Arizona ecologist on Colombia’s natural diversity, her lucky break, and the challenges facing other aspiring scientists

International conferences are a huge boon to academics, allowing them to hear about new findings, make new connections and, above all, enjoy the physical manifestation of their virtual global community. But is all that footfall worth the huge carbon footprint it leaves? Joanna Kidman is increasingly unsure 

Book of the week: Rivka Isaacson reflects on the ‘aphrodisiac’ effect of crossing disciplines

The use of VR in psychology experiments is being driven not just by increasingly affordable technology but also by concerns about the reproducibility of many real-world studies. But do humans really behave in the virtual world as they do in reality? And does it matter? David Matthews investigates

Elsevier’s open access deal with Norwegian universities is the latest evidence of a shifting balance of power, says Jeffrey MacKie-Mason

Publishers’ terror of libel law and focus on their profit margins have made them excessively risk-averse, says Stuart Macdonald

The expert on ancient Syria was forced to flee his homeland – but has been able to continue his work thanks to a German scholarship

Analysis of nine European universities finds the ‘innovation’ agenda has taken root – often pushed by students who want to solve the world’s problems

Matthew Reisz discovers what anthropologist Ruben Andersson learned behind bunkers in Bamako

Western countries’ determination to tackle the migration crisis without taking any risks with their own personnel is wasteful and counterproductive, the Oxford anthropologist tells Matthew Reisz 

Tony Mann learns that ‘applied mathematics’ isn’t what it used to be

Jennifer Rohn enjoys an account that shatters some of the myths about Einstein’s marriage

Philosopher calls on universities to take AI debate ‘out of the hands of the industry’ and end ‘ethics washing’

The relationship between PhD students and their supervisors is often said to be the most intense in the academy, with huge implications for student success. Yet most supervisors receive little if any training. Here, six academics give their take on how to approach it 

Current remedies are not enough. Publishers, editors and referees must do more to eliminate lurking biases, say Melinda Duer and Athene Donald

Deep partnerships with government, business and civil society leave a sweet taste for both academics and the public, says Mark Western

The UK’s research excellence framework is slow, expensive and disruptive. The time and technology is ripe for a better alternative, says James Tooley

After more than doubling its spending since the financial crisis, Germany’s long budget boom is set to come to an end

Bias would be reduced if grant applicants’ capabilities were considered only after assessment of their anonymised proposals, says David Sanders

Agreement that EU research funding should continue to be distributed according to quality is an important step forward, writes Jan Palmowski

What are university leaders and chief technology officers doing to meet future challenges?

Times Higher Education’s poll of artificial intelligence experts defies predictions that university jobs will be cut as technology advances

Work to encourage team science is gathering momentum, and a recent Academy of Medical Sciences report highlights key steps to be taken

But funders still need to create standardised data repositories for all fields, says Magdalena Skipper

A large world-class university may eclipse a less renowned neighbour, but an education ecosystem rich in diversity can benefit all in the area

For those reliant on EU funding, seeking appointments at continental universities is the only sensible course, says Peter Coveney

Debate sparked by criticism of growth of PhDs by publication, and allegations that corruption and nepotism are undermining the reliability of the academic doctorate

Ministers love talking about grand government-directed projects, but Philip Hammond must reaffirm tomorrow the UK’s support for open-ended research using quality-related funding, says Stephanie Smith

In a rapidly changing world, is a broader approach to the university curriculum needed to develop the critical thinking and creativity increasingly sought after by employers, Anna McKie asks

Protesters allegedly called researchers ‘dirty Jews’ and ‘traitors’ in latest intimidation of scholars who emphasise Polish role in the Holocaust

Negotiations on €100 billion Horizon Europe scheme delayed by East-West tensions and could be slowed further by European elections

John Ross examines the state of cross-study and collaboration between Australia and its neighbours in the East

Claims that academics are indoctrinating their students with liberal propaganda are increasingly common in the right-wing media. John Morgan examines why such a conviction has arisen and whether there is any substance to it