Impact and engagement

Moral and cultural organisations such as universities must strive harder to rid the body politic of populist infection, in central Europe and elsewhere, says Tomáš Halík

As a Brit leading HKU, Peter Mathieson had no baggage. The University of Edinburgh’s new v-c tells Ellie Bothwell about academic freedom, internationalisation and being treated to taxi drivers’ views on students

University expertise gives decision-makers breathing space, says former foreign secretary

We are right to celebrate the contributions that research makes to society, but why don’t we talk more about the costs? asks Rosa Freedman

Australian vice-chancellor highlights value of being considered ‘in an environment of toxic speed’

A rediscovered fascination for space means blue-sky opportunities for universities

Crackdown leaves professors needing to pay back almost €250,000 each on average

Nordic country’s higher education system punches above its weight in Universitas 21 ranking

The former LSE director tells Matthew Reisz that colleagues at Sciences Po sense an opportunity in Brexit, that the French should not fret over league tables and that academics, policymakers and bankers must talk more

Matthew Reisz considers the insights of the former LSE director who has a foothold in both the UK and France

Thailand’s education minister tells conference that a consensus is better for ensuring universities help local communities

Embracing immersive content would aid public engagement and bring research and teaching closer together, argue Vincent Tong, Sam Smidt and Matilda Katan 

Brexit could be driving shift in rankings, Reuters suggests

Regional institutions, facing uncertain funding future, build case for more federal support ahead of budget

Better recognition of the wider social benefits of both teaching and research would help universities regain public goodwill, says Nick Petford 

Struggle to engage effectively highlighted by study comparing Twitter use with other disciplines

Public health academic says studies must speak the same language as their subjects

Faculties without borders are the key to turning multidisciplinarity into more than a buzzword, says Duncan Ivison

The Cambridge Analytica controversy flags up the ethical perils of research with Big Data – especially when it has commercial potential, says John Holmwood 

‘If we want to do more things for society, we can’t do it by working more than 60 or 70 hours a week,’ Rolf Tarrach tells annual conference

The honorary fellow at the School of Advanced Study discusses business-university links, running marathons and his planned book about higher education

Contagion!, set to be broadcast on 22 March, estimates a death toll of 890,000 from an outbreak of a Spanish flu-type virus

Psychologist Michal Kosinski’s work shows how digital footprints can predict a person’s sexual orientation, political views and more. Is it a danger or a warning about threats to privacy? John Morgan reports from California

Universities must become more accessible and engaged if they are to thrive in the technological future, says Feridun Hamdullahpur

To survive, UK universities must think far beyond educational products and their own narrow institutional interests, says Mike Boxall

Tan Eng Chye says teaching models ‘cannot afford to keep still’, even if some students are reluctant to study programming

Academic and non-academic staff contributed an estimated 40 million hours in voluntary activities in 2015-2016, research suggests

Higher education institutions make a loss when they invest in international partnerships, but the wider community reaps a windfall, says New Zealand report

Better-resourced universities are the key to achieving the government’s ambition for a knowledge-based economy, says David Mba

Mathematicians – and, indeed, other scholars – who cooperate with intelligence agencies face a moral dilemma knowing that their research could well be applied in unethical ways, says Michael Harris

Parochialism makes sense from a career point of view, but is disastrous for public discourse, say Cynthia Miller-Idriss and Mitchell L. Stevens

Monash v-c warns funding freeze is a threat to social cohesion

Government initiative funds five collaborations involving 60 academic institutions and more than 450 businesses

Review calls for Irish institutions to develop a single policy to make it easier for researchers to understand the processes

Five historians reflect on the disciplinary, institutional, social and political challenges facing their subject

League table may include metrics on university spin-off companies and research publications co-authored with industry

Ability to commercialise research is key to rebuilding war-torn countries such as Sri Lanka, but businesses must pledge support, say sector leaders

Fiona Watt promises that there will be no ‘ransacking of a well-structured organisation’ in shift to new umbrella body

Ana Mari Cauce says collaborations allow universities to be ‘less solely dependent’ on the federal administration

Introduced to help boost technology transfer amid renewed political focus on ‘industrial strategy’, the KEF aims to complement the REF and TEF. But how will it work? Is it even necessary? And is the UK really underperforming at commercialising its research? Rachael Pells reports

Knowledge exchange sits low on academia’s menu, overshadowed by meatier mains, but could the assessment of universities’ third-stream activities tempt some to make it a signature dish?

Simon Baker discovers what the World Economic Forum’s ‘community’ of universities – the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) – can teach us about industry-academia collaboration and innovation with economic impact

Singaporeans deserve more local impact from their top-ranked public universities, says Cherian George

Scholars argue swelling targets for teaching and research are making it harder for universities to have a regional impact

Alternative metrics find that research on dieting, PhD mental health and female doctors attracted the most online attention this year

Decline of corporate discovery programmes could narrow scope of innovation, scholars warn

Not far from the birthplace of preventative medicine, research institutes in the French capital are working together to launch a new era of technology transfer

Ministerial letter suggests ratings system similar to teaching excellence framework

As a report suggests social mobility in the UK is getting worse, Chris Husbands outlines how Sheffield Hallam is attempting to tackle the problem

The Industrial White Paper is welcome, says Andy Westwood, but does it also represent an opportunity missed?

UK government's White Paper offers commitments on HEIF funding and assigns role to OfS

Australia’s new impact assessment exercise recognises cultural, social and environmental impacts, but there is a danger that economic impact will override everything, says David Lloyd

Ahead of the UK City of Culture 2021 being named next month, Craig Mahoney looks at how winning the title can revitalise towns and their universities

As research funding becomes increasingly linked with impact assessment, academics will need help seeking out business partners, sector leaders say

Getting innovations to market can be a conundrum, but help and support is available for those limbering up for the knowledge exchange framework, says Siraj Ahmed Shaikh 

Ahead of his Vincent Briscoe Lecture, Bill Durodié calls on researchers to engage with issues of great social and technological ambition

Exhibition showcasing stories of infertility across the ages – involving suspended uteruses and frogs – is part of the Being Human festival

Nancy Rothwell and Glyn Davis write from the Global University Engagement Summit in Melbourne

Developers working with academics compete for $150,000 prize

Institutions left ‘bemused’ by ratings delivered by pilot