Feature article

Woman talking into smartphone, AI as student support

‘AI should support student services, not impersonate them’

Are universities ready for GenAI in student support? When chatbots seem to offer a scalable, cost-effective way to meet rising demand for student support, universities need to consider how to shape their use without outsourcing care or increasing risk

Michael Cowling, Joseph Crawford

RMIT University, University of Tasmania

A research supervisor sitting at her desk smiling to camera

Five things supervisors can do for struggling PhD students

Doctoral students can find the slow and often uncertain nature of research challenging. Supervisors can ease distress by rethinking how the doctorate is framed, structured and experienced

Peng Cheng, Jie Zhang

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

A woman works at a laptop in a library setting

Five steps to embed GenAI literacy for university librarians

The library can be the perfect place to promote GenAI literacy, not only for students but for academics too. These five steps can help

Liliana González

Universidad del Caribe (UNICARIBE)

Why business schools need to rethink how they teach law

In an age of lawfare and regulatory complexity, legal literacy has become a core managerial skill. Yet most law professors teaching in business schools receive no preparation for the job. It is time to change that, writes Maximiliano Marzetti

Maximiliano Marzetti

IÉSEG School of Management

A struggling student works late at her desk

Are your students disengaging – or is it their personality type?

Students who seem lazy or like late starters may simply be wired differently. Find out how to meet them where they are

Chathura Sooriya-Arachchi

University of Westminster

A female student on her laptop smiling to camera

Students are asking for AI guidance, not just policy

The defining educational challenge of this decade is to equip students to use AI ethically, critically and efficiently, write Mahmoud Elkhodr and Ergun Gide. Here, they offer a way forward

Mahmoud Elkhodr, Ergun Gide

CQUniversity

Blocks showing man making path between bombs to idea

How to support students to learn from, with, about and beyond AI

Educators should not be competing with chatbots and large language models. Instead, a continuum can help them guide students from passive learning from AI to synthesising information alongside it

Tan Seng Chee

Nanyang Technological University

Educators must model inclusive pedagogy

Belonging is not a by-product of good teaching but an intentional outcome of inclusive practices. These include healthy dialogue, co-creation and reflective practice, says Patrice Seuwou

Patrice Seuwou

University of Northampton

Help students make the leap from classroom to clinic

How to bridge the gap between classroom-based practical learning and the realities of clinical practice for physiotherapy students? Here’s how to prepare students for unpredictability

Shirley Ngai, David Yu, Raymond Tsang, Nerita Chan

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

One mountain climber helps another over a ridge

Find the courage to teach collaboratively

Teaching has never been a solitary endeavour, but it can be lonely. Here’s how to nurture collaborations with your fellow educators that will help everyone grow

Mark Young, Melissa Jane Megan

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

A researcher being interviewed for a podcast

From research to reach: working with marketing and comms teams

If research is to shape public debate, support students and inform society, academics must learn how to collaborate with marketing and communications teams to extend its reach beyond the journal page, says Bertha Martínez

Bertha Martínez

CETYS Universidad

Four ways to strengthen the PGR community and sense of belonging

The doctoral experience doesn’t have to be isolated. Here, Maisha Islam and Natasha Palmer share four recommendations to enable an inclusive, collaborative research culture and communities for postgraduate researchers

Maisha Islam , Natasha Palmer

University of Southampton

Young black man working at a computer terminal

Why digital stability has become a governance imperative

Technological resilience is not just a systems problem when failure can impact operations, academic credibility, public trust and equitable education. Here, Fulufhelo Nemavhola expands the considerations for universities

Fulufhelo Nemavhola

Durban University of Technology

The questions publishing students need to be asking about GenAI

As creative industries grapple with the prospect of AI-generated content, how can educators hone critical thinking skills in the book publishers of the future? Find advice here

Miriam Johnson

Oxford Brookes University

A businessman in a warehouse speaks to a business partner.

Put quality before quantity when building university-industry partnerships

University-industry partnerships must be based on long-term commitment, clear governance and proper resourcing and investment, if they are to have a transformative impact, write Soheil Davari and Vasile Strat

Soheil Davari , Vasile Alecsandru Strat

University of Bath, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest Business School

Two Chinese students working together on a latop

‘Chinese students have plenty to say – when the conditions are right’

Silence in the classroom does not always signal disengagement. Learn about cultural and linguistic reasons behind low participation and strategies to better support multilingual learners

Rui He, Alex Baratta

The University of Manchester

Encourage, don’t shame: rethinking writing feedback

Shame around writing ability can be a real problem for new students, so let’s make sure feedback encourages their development. Find out how here

Isabelle Parkinson

Royal Holloway, University of London

A PhD supervisor speaking to her student in her office

Recognise the human side of doctoral study

By listening with compassion, normalising uncertainty and helping students break down large tasks into small steps, supervisors can support PhD students with both the academic and emotional demands of their studies, says Bhawana Shrestha

Bhawana Shrestha

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Young female student wearing safety glasses in an organic chemistry lab

Questions that support reflection and sense-making in STEM education

Focusing on the thinking that a lab-class prompt invites – rather than the answer it elicits – allows instructors to create learning experiences that are both rigorous and inclusive

Karen Ho, Douglas B. Clark

Mount Royal University, University of Calgary

Assessment isn’t a finish line, it’s a learning process

Many assessments only measure what students already know. Here’s how to structure feedback-rich, iterative tasks to help students develop the skills to improve

Philip Y. Lam

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

A female academic at her desk with her head in her hand

Start with men: universities must do more on menopause education

Universities have the research capacity, the educational mission and the moral obligation to lead on menopause education. It is time for men in academia to step up, drive the conversation and share the burden, writes Mark Butterick

Mark Butterick

Independent academic

Good looking male student in a university class

Using universal design for learning to alleviate disclosure reluctance

Designing courses accessibly from the ground up reduces the pressure on neurodivergent students to disclose in order to succeed, writes Luis Paterson

Luis Paterson

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

GenAI practice blossoms through the open exchange of insights

How a structured GenAI professional development series, built around practice, peer voices and multiple entry points, fosters open exchange among colleagues, universities and industry

Samuel Doherty

The University of Newcastle, Australia

How a science communication competition changed my career path

To connect with scientists all over the world, hone your public speaking skills and improve public trust in science, a science communication competition could be the answer. Find out more here

Anna Christodoulou

University of Westminster

Man falling into laptop screen with numbers in cords in background

‘If you like, I can….?’ Why GenAI needs to come with a health warning

Warnings about the dependency-forming dynamics of GenAI are unlikely to change student behaviour, even as they fear its effects on their learning. So, educators need to help students recognise the engagement loops for themselves, writes Adrian Wallbank

Adrian J. Wallbank

Oxford Brookes University

Let’s build a higher education system that works for first-generation students

Higher education expects first-gen students to conform to a rigid structure that doesn’t suit their lives. Here’s how to offer flexibility instead

Jerid Counterman

Colorado State University Global

A mother on her laptop while her son plays next to her

Why flexibility is essential for accessible teaching

Rigid course structures can shut students out. Designing for flexibility helps ensure that those juggling work, care and study have a fair chance to succeed

Rocío Elizabeth Cortez Márquez

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Learner heterogeneity is now the norm in higher education

In an era of lifelong learning and reskilling, undergraduate cohorts include students balancing work, caregiving and studies across life stages. Flexibility should be a foundational design principle rather than an accommodation

Ivy Seow, Tamas Makany

Singapore Management University

An assessment tool to move HR students from theory to practice

HR students need the skills to deal with people. A simulated assessment tool could be the way forward – here’s how

Silvio Hofmann

University of the West of Scotland

A deaf student on a video call with other participants using sign language

Beyond captions: how to build truly inclusive environments for deaf students

Practical, evidence-based strategies to reduce visual overload, improve conceptual clarity and enable deaf and hard-of-hearing students to participate fully

Mogeeb A. A. Mosleh

Taiz University

Male South Asian student in university library

When a university TNE library is as much diplomat as database

On a transnational university campus, the library can be a space that encourages intellectual risk-taking, engagement with equality, diversity and inclusion objectives, and collaboration on global challenges such as the climate crisis

Anupama Saini

University of Southampton

Why universities should be turned upside down

Reversing the flow of knowledge – so students, rather than established professors, drive enquiry – could help the next generation of scholars prepare society, and themselves, for the future, writes Robert Gibbs

Robert Gibbs

University of Toronto

Where to position pre-16 outreach in the university structure – and why

Pre-16 outreach is vitally important for helping under-represented groups achieve success in higher education. But its positioning within a university structure can make a real difference to its influence. Find out how here

Steve Briggs, Paula Page

University of Bedfordshire

Design students working together in class

‘AI turns the classroom from structured event into improv class’

Rethinking the role of the teacher builds on alternatives to scripted material, such as studio-style sessions, flipped problem-based work, team-based clinics, Socratic debates, in-class case simulations and live data analysis

Dirk Hovy

Bocconi University

A university student painting a blank canvas

Help students disconnect from their tech

How a ‘digital fast’ can give students time and mental clarity – and how to support them through the process

Multiple authors

The University of East Anglia

‘Our agency over our words is central to our agency over ourselves’

Using LLMs is easy but developing human intellect is hard – and that’s what the university classroom should be for. Here’s how to help students work on their mental muscles

Carla Arnell

Lake Forest College

Illustration of puzzled man with hand unlocking keyhole in thought bubble

Guiding doctoral students through research struggles

The PhD path is often paved with ambiguity and rejection. Supervisors need to take a more bespoke, multidisciplinary approach to bring out the best of their doctoral candidates

Robert H. Deng

Singapore Management University

Three colleagues having tea and biscuits

Beyond bureaucracy: how to work with faculty professional services staff

How better communication, collaboration and mutual understanding can transform relationships between academics and the colleagues who support them

Charlotte Price

The University of East Anglia

A mother works at a laptop while entertaining a small child

Small tweaks to better support part-time students

Part-time learners negotiate expectations across family, work and study. Here’s how universities can design the system to support them

Asrif Yusoff

University of Greenwich

Businessman doing online study at laptop while eating takeaway lunch

Why flexibility is now central to student success

Flexible and truly engaging online study are key for students with jobs or caring responsibilities. Pauline Bedford explains how institutions can go with the flow

Pauline Bedford

Walbrook Institute London

A man sitting at his desk staring into space

Academics, get your thoughts on the page and unlock your reflective superpower

Embedding writing time into an educator’s schedule and sharing insights with others can turn fleeting ideas into actions that improve teaching practices

Alison Zimmer

The University of Manchester

Detail of medic drawing a vaccination shot

Inoculating students against AI-generated scientific misinformation

GenAI raises an urgent pedagogical question for universities: how can we train students to evaluate scientific claims critically when the language of scholarship can be so convincingly simulated?

Elissar Gerges

Zayed University

Students in a lab listen to the instructor

Rethinking laboratory design for accessibility

Are lab assessments truly evaluating students’ scientific abilities – or simply their physical agility in an inflexible environment? Find out how to design more accessible biomedical laboratory practices

Mohamed Hussein, Yusra Idrees

Dubai Medical University

How business schools can turn AI from ‘threat’ to ‘sustainability enabler’

Business schools can move beyond seeing AI as a sustainability risk by embedding it across teaching, strategy and collaboration, says Meelis Kitsing

Meelis Kitsing

Estonian Business School

Why universities should rethink line management before they rethink learning

Strong line management leads to higher staff engagement and retention, supports healthier research environments, reduces conflict and enables smoother adoption of change, writes Annie Owen. Here are ways universities can foster it

Annie Owen

University of Southampton

An academic career is rarely a straight line

A scientist’s path can include studying abroad, experience in industry, research and teaching as well as setbacks and uncertainty. Here, Kinga Vörös offers reflections as an early career neuroscientist and why the journey is most meaningful when research reaches patients

Kinga Vörös

Semmelweis University

Help your students develop their own career compass

In an age when the job market is rapidly changing, equip students with the skill to understand how their personality can shape their career

Natalie Feng, Randford Joseph Tay

Singapore Institute of Technology

Lessons from being academic chair of a complex department

Being a department head takes both emotional and cognitive energy to juggle people, programmes, contracts and institutional demands. But digging into skills such as trust-building and communication will bear fruit, writes Ben K. Daniel

Ben Kei Daniel

University of Northern British Columbia

Beyond mission statements: financially literate academics make better career choices

The most valuable research you do this year will not be for your next paper but into your employer and yourself, writes Tom Chapman. Here, he outlines findings from his analysis of university financial statements, offering insight into what to expect when planning a move

Tom Chapman

University of Southampton

Young researcher making a business pitch

What you need to know about securing investment for your spin out

Venture capitalists are ‘completely different beasts’ to grant bodies so academic founders need to embrace a new style of pitching if they are to secure funding for their companies, as Tim Witney explains

Tim Witney

King’s College London

1 2 ...32