Opinion

The Elizabeth Magill case notwithstanding, presidents should focus on how conflicts affect the primary mission – and members – of their university

A professorship comes with prestige, but appointments are opaque and there are other rewarding ways to cap off an academic career, says Ron Iphofen

A series of open letters on Israel-Gaza underlines that scholars rarely have superior knowledge, moral insight or political acumen, says Adrian Kreutz   

The concept of privilege is much more complex and dynamic than those who wield it often assume, says Noam Schimmel

Everyone, from funders to individuals, has a role to play in building a research system that operates with integrity and robustness, says Alexandra Freeman

The global battle for talent means attracting students who simply can’t and won’t choose the UK if post-study work is curtailed, says Sanam Arora

The Covid Inquiry underlines the need to train political leaders to identify the best options under pressure, says former NAO director David Finlay

Gen Z students need immediate, practical courses in how to distinguish fact from opinion and assess online sources’ credibility, says Eli Gottlieb

Aberdeen’s proposal to slash its provision belies positive recent developments, say Wendy Ayres-Bennett, Charles Burdett and Emma Cayley

With its funding system on life support, and its ‘science superpower’ ambitions, the UK must stop treating international talent as an imposition

A web of ambiguity around personal data is stifling universities’ ability to safeguard students’ mental health, say Iria Giuffrida and Alex Hall

The nectar of power and prestige is sweet, but modern editors have to swallow an embittering volume of hard graft, too, says Adrian Furnham

Civic mission demands close collaboration with combined authorities to ensure graduates, research and relationships are fit for purpose, says Katy Shaw

My interviews revealed that even before the latest conflict, good research relied on the determination and sacrifices of returnees, says Sheren Saad

As academics are replaced by religious scholars, those that remain fear the worst, while student interest is plummeting, says an Afghan observer

Equal collaboration demands investment from the Global North in key research infrastructures in the Global South, say ’Funmi Olonisakin and Jan Palmowski

Too often, studies are atomistic and avoid the more complex, large-scale questions that vex politicians and system leaders, says Andrew Noyes

The government-sponsored review makes important recommendations, but the US is not the only source of good ideas for boosting impact, says Max Lu

Beyond despair’s cold comfort lies the possibility of doing things differently, starting with what is within our own power, say Carl Rhodes and Alison Pullen

Universities have long taken diverse stances on difficult current issues, proud of their ability to intervene thoughtfully and respectfully, says Harvey Graff

AI agents are what they ingest. Rather than scraping the internet, better to confine their diets to books and encyclopedias, says Sorin Adam Matei

Trickling down funding through grants that can only be accessed by Global North colleagues intrinsically perpetuates inequity, says Manuel Barcia

AI is helping us mine 200,000 stakeholders’ ideas, sensible and silly, about core elements of the new Adelaide University, say Peter Høj and David Lloyd

The test aims to flag potential that school-leaving exams miss. But not all applicants to the hugely oversubscribed courses are cheering, says Brian Bloch

Unlocking potential will need huge injections of funding, proper devolution and the type of long-term planning that has long been absent, says Sue Hartley

A year after ChatGPT brought generative AI to the masses, we now know it has the potential to change everything – the AI-augmented future is now

Singling out particular disciplines makes no sense, but we need cross-subject standards that are recognisable to employers, says Ian Pace

Why are advocates for free speech over gender issues so silent when it comes to the right to speak out in support of Palestine, asks Maryam Aldossari 

The rise of antisemitism on campus is the inevitable consequence of leaders’ failure to call out the Hamas atrocities for what they were, says Joseph Mintz

If politicians and donors disagree with student or faculty views, they should challenge their soundness, not threaten defunding, says Richard Joseph

It defies history and logic to lay decades of failure by administrators, trustees and legislators at tenured professors’ door, says Harvey Graff

Recent pronouncements and government actions could undermine ordinary Indians’ faith in science and stifle critical thinking, says Mukhtar Ahmad

The idea that the US is far better at commercialising academic IP simply isn’t true, say three US licensing experts

As UK home secretary, James Cleverly should offer a warmer welcome to people who bring skills, resources and so much more, says Tim Bradshaw

Ushering poorer students into short-term, non-degree programmes will suppress their wages and upward mobility, says Ben Wildavsky

The shadow chancellor’s book on female economists is emblematic of UK sociology’s struggle for disciplinary status, says Robert Dingwall

Aberdeen’s proposal to close language degree programmes might save money but it will impoverish international understanding, says Charles Burdett

Before undertaking change programmes, universities should devote more attention to designing how success will be achieved, says Paul Woodgates

It may be true that higher education rarely tops the agenda in electoral campaigns, but don’t be fooled – the politics is as fevered as ever

With helping students and graduates the likely priority, universities will have to make concessions for a share of any spare cash, says Jonathan Simons

Unless we get an X-ray machine, the guard room will be inadvertently signing for dubious deliveries for the foreseeable future, says George Bass

The general secretary’s visibility makes her a natural target for discontent, but many of the blunders arose from committee decisions, says Dyfrig Jones

The Gaza situation is no exception to the rule that truth-seeking requires the marrying of free expression with inclusion and respect, says Duncan Ivison

Unless vocational and higher education systems are better aligned, Australians will struggle to met the challenges of the future, say five researchers

As MENA adapts to global warming, regional universities, especially in the UAE, are preparing to embrace a climate leadership role, says Mariët Westermann

Government micromanagement of teacher education is unprecedented interference in day-to-day academia. Will your subject be next, asks Viv Ellis

Business schools show the power of collaboration, common purpose and internationalisation outlook, says Mark Smith

Students must be allowed to participate in decisions about technology adoption that affect their education, careers and lives, says Mona Sloane

Many researchers need more help to negotiate a wide array of ethical issues, from identity to genetic engineering, says Aymen Idris

Innovative programmes to revive student interest in the humanities are great, but they must be properly funded and staffed, says an academic

Problems may result from focusing on branch campuses, resisting online provision and partnering only with top 1,000 institutions, says Mike Winter

Both boards approved the case for the amalgamated Adelaide University – but politicians still formed a scrutiny committee, say Peter Høj and David Lloyd

I tell students that I want to make them my academic integrity collaborators, upholding the quality of their own education, says Kenneth Worthy

Victims need the certainty that worries and complaints will be listened to and that investigations will be fair-minded, says Owen Bubbers-Jones

Apparently widespread use of Bluetooth earpieces by medical school entrance candidates in one province has forced a re-sit, say four researchers 

Researchers mustn’t be obliged to second-guess which results might not play out well in public or with powerful interests, worries Tracey Brown

If you get what you measure, then a new framework for assessing universities’ efforts to support interdisciplinarity will provide welcome impetus

Reporting misconduct to an external ombudsman would circumvent managers’ tendency to cover up, says Wyn Evans

Academics could cooperate to decommercialise publishing so that all students have affordable access to reliable information, says Michael Wynn-Williams

The UK government should be doing more to help students survive the cost-of-living crisis, not dissuading them from studying, says Zahir Irani