Impact and engagement

Perceptions of higher education immune to political leanings, study finds

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 

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

More than 30 universities from G7 countries have launched a ‘U7 Alliance’, which will hold its first summit next month

The Surrey professor and broadcaster explains how science communication can entertain and enlighten

Ostensibly unsuccessful educational experiment still has important lessons for us today, claims historian

Engagement by students and staff bolstered by mandates from governments cited as key ingredients for success in THE University Impact Rankings tables

Peter Gluckman, president-elect of the International Science Council, says ‘Dr Google’ poses a bigger threat to evidence-based policymaking than populist politicians

The show’s scientific adviser Donna Nelson discusses the crime drama’s legacy, six years on from its conclusion

Request a Woman Scientist holds the details of more than 8,000 experts, but journalists and event organisers are still relying on old sources who are male and pale, group leader warns

Former civil servant urges universities to translate their research into the language understood by government departments if they want it to be acted upon

Student action shows US colleges far from accepting their slavery-related debts

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

Monash Technology Transformation Institute aims to bridge ‘valley of death’ that sees many discoveries fall short of securing commercial-scale investment

Jean-Eric Paquet tells university heads that there is now a ‘consensus’ that research must help deliver sustainable development goals

Members of the public will be able to run their own experiments, producing data that could be valuable for scholars

Political scientists typically see politics as an exercise in consensus-building. But Chantal Mouffe tells John Morgan that the left must learn from right-wing populists’ exploitation of “them and us” narratives if it is not to be vanquished by them

Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology has integrated sustainability into all parts of its business, says Göran Finnveden

New THE metrics challenge universities to think about their societal contributions and encourage them to be responsible employers, says Jonathan Grant

Shadow minister says new assessment is ‘half-baked’

Online platform boasting 11,500 academic experts answering public questions seeks backing for global expansion

Recruiting a five-year, full-time president could transform the umbrella body’s ability to defend the sector, says Sir Anthony Seldon

The Palestinian law professor talks about the overlap with his other job: as a stand-up comedian travelling the world talking about the Arab American experience

Duncan Ross explains why submitting data on global partnerships is mandatory for inclusion in the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings

The UK’s new knowledge exchange framework, whose proposed metrics were unveiled last month, has raised more questions over relationships between universities and business. David Secher and Surya Raghu cast their eye over 40 years of policy evolution on either side of the Atlantic

‘Why is being incredibly successful a problem?’ asks Universities Australia chair Margaret Gardner

Researchers must ‘put on the gloves’ and bring the fight to their critics, says Arizona State professor

The government’s new ‘national interest’ test for research proposals is another damaging symptom of short-termism, says Margaret Sheil

Research benefits often unforeseeable but must be communicated

Duncan Ross explains how universities’ evidence is being verified and measured in the THE University Impact Rankings

Turning to dance may help scientists communicate their findings to those who distrust experts, claims competition winner

American Association for the Advancement of Science accompanied by global efforts to better inform policymaking

Evidence suggests citations boost from working with industry

Two researchers who study rainforest resilience tell Jack Grove of their alarm at seeing the devastation wrought by wildfires

Rebekah Tromble and Patricia Rossini feared for their safety when the conservative online world turned against them last summer

Whatever you think of the likes of Jordan Peterson, their use of alternative media to reach huge audiences offers many lessons, says Michael Marinetto 

Dozens of universities are already interested in striking ‘civic university agreements’ proposed by commission

Japan leads on number of submissions but institutions across 75 countries have taken part

While China’s intensification puts regional rivals in the shade, it casts a spotlight on progress in the special administrative region

Academics who want their findings to be used but not abused should bear eight things in mind, says Nick Hillman

The advent of Plan S promises to turbocharge the open access movement, but amid pushback from researchers and publishers, Rachael Pells examines whether the demand for published research truly merits the disruption

The Pacific nation’s ambitions to harness its universities to drive economic growth face many challenges, says Roger Smyth

Don’t fixate on funding cuts and market challenges, UK-born star scientist Michelle Simmons tells Australian peers

Pledges of huge investments in higher education to secure the tech giant’s second headquarters could strain academic autonomy, says Michelle Dimino

Even in tourism studies, reality often belies the bold, sunny pictures painted in the impact case study brochure, says Rhodri Thomas 

Those who fail to articulate the issues their communities feel strongly about do the academy and society a disservice, says Sandro Galea

Research England says that institutions will be assigned a decile rank in seven broad areas of knowledge exchange

Universities should use federal budget boost to help companies keep innovating, not to do it themselves, top science policy expert says

Patent citation data suggest that economies such as South Korea, where firms have capacity to drive research, are making most progress 

After the Solstice Attack, the University of Rural England has become a bastion of hope and survival, writes John Gilbey. But how far can it push its role as the ultimate post-apocalyptic anchor institution?

Tokenistic and irrelevant assessments of research’s social value are holding back progress, say Clarence Tam and three others

Academics should not sneer at Simon Birmingham’s appeal to what ‘most Australians’ would think about projects, says Hannah Forsyth

Paper calls for scientific organisations to monitor platforms ‘known to spread false and misleading’ information about research and ‘respond quickly’

Both the rationale and the mechanism for redistributing research activity around the regions are far from clear cut, say Sarah Chaytor and Graeme Reid   

More than 60 US institutions to work with 800 others worldwide in tackling global strategy on environment, education and equality

Take-up of research by business is difficult to catalyse and record. Far better to focus on the impact central to universities’ missions, say Vince Mitchell and William Harvey

A Twitter storm over a remark he made on diversity policy reminds Jeffrey Flier why he was so wary of speaking out while a Harvard dean

Universities say they must be able to supplement metrics with contextual or narrative information

Call for university funding to be tied to institutions’ role in their local communities

Survey respondents question value of degree-level education, but most would encourage their children to enrol