Latest news

£80m hope for Rutherford lab
The government is expected to spend £80 million to double the capacity of one of the instruments at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The Isis neutron source is used by scientists across Europe to probe materials and would be used in conjunction with the forthcoming Diamond synchrotron X-ray source.

First ethnic minority president for Cambridge
Cambridge University students have elected their first ethnic minority student union president. Parvez Akhtar, the 23-year-old son of Pakistani parents, said his appointment was a “great testament to the university” but he warned of a “lot of racist incidents” at Cambridge.

Expert promotes active learning
Universities should offer more vocational courses and encourage students to learn by doing, Roger Schank of Carnegie Mellon University told a conference at the University of Cambridge yesterday. He said: “Even elite universities have a dirty little secret: they are training people. To be professors.”