Opinion

As the UK votes in a general election, universities hope for a change of approach. In return, they must deliver for a country facing a host of problems

It makes zero difference to reviewers if someone else gets a paper in a high-impact journal, so why are they so pernickety, asks Stephen Cochrane 

There are many ways we can assist students’ learning; teaching is only one of them, and it is not the most important, says John Cookson

A ‘jobbified’ university teaching ‘transferable skills’ and marketable degrees neglects so much that is crucial to vocational formation, says Chris Higgins

But Cambridge must reform procedures that have evidently left many colleagues traumatised, says Thomas Roulet

If the best books aren’t REFable, UK research will appear artificially weak, say Heather Widdows, Fiona Macpherson and Simon Kirchin 

Evidence suggests that the benefits of lecture capture are coming at the cost of broader student and staff well-being, say Treasa Kearney and Liz Crolley

Students’ aspirations to succeed in the high-tech job market are reshaping Indian higher education, says Eldho Mathews

Anonymisation or even quotas could level the playing field, but fragmentation of college processes threatens a reversal in decades of gains, says Alan Baker

Current over-regulation is stifling innovation in a sector that has the potential to become just as renowned as UK higher education, says Alex Proudfoot

Rigorously and open-mindedly exploring ‘what if’ questions is more necessary than ever in a troubled world, say Brian Ball and Patrycja Kaszynska

The challenges facing the planet can seem overwhelming, but a landmark THE event in Bangkok heard reasons for optimism amid the maelstrom

Expanding the pool of candidates for an unpaid but significant commitment is hard, but there are rich rewards for both sides, says Kim Frost

UK universities’ image is better than many in the sector suppose, but we should be wary of being seen as profit-obsessed, says Bobby Duffy

Too many academics who have lost their motivation mid-career abuse a system that is often unable or unwilling to confront them, says Brian Bloch

We need, instead, to develop structures that allow everyone to flourish, both academically and as parents, says Eleanor Palser

Departments can no longer be singularly tied to their mathematical and engineering foundations, focused only on what can be built, says Beth Mynatt

It is surely not Gradgrindian to ask whether a subject can do without a corpus of factual knowledge and still expect students to study it, says Colin Swatridge

Perhaps AI will be a useful tool. But our obsession with every shiny new object regardless of the harm it might do makes me worry, says Melinda Zook

The less rigorous oversight of foundation courses at private providers poses a risk to the UK’s reputation for quality, says Zahid Naz

As data becomes ever more central to policy and commerce, its creation demands closer scrutiny, say Cristina Alaimo and Jannis Kallinikos

More universities are adopting green financing. Their approaches must have verifiable outcomes and complement institutions’ overall strategies, says Anton Muscatelli  

More nuanced data could help tease out why some disadvantaged students manage to buck the trend and overperform, says Nikolai Elkins

Our public exhibition on maths’ global origins aims to stimulate discussion about decolonisation and inclusion, says John Armstrong  

Some right-wing politicians seem to view a university collapse as a prize to be fought for. But in reality, a disorderly exit would be disastrous for all

If universities won’t cover immigration costs, they must at least help applicants make informed decisions about coming, says Tanja Wingenbach

The colleges need to remember their medieval origins and act with greater shared purpose, says Simon Ravenscroft

Limiting sustainability courses to a subset of interested students will no longer work, warns Alison Taylor, as she shares how to prepare the next generation of business leaders

Like any system, academia is filled with structures and hierarchies that impede action plans to create gender equality, says Caron Gentry

The Universities Accord’s call for full funding is vital to avoid over-reliance on hazardous overseas relationships, says Brendan Walker-Munro

Reversing the gains made by the protests against a woman’s death in police custody could see the nation erupt again, says Roohola Ramezani

The UK needs a skills strategy that values the full variety of training and education pathways and reflects regional needs, says Neal Juster

Undermining universities offering degrees to fund apprenticeships is poor policy. Here are some better ones, says Paul Baines 

Working with established community networks can boost the quality and choice available in food banks, say Hilda Mulrooney and four co-authors

Leaders’ claims that their appointments owe nothing to their political affiliations are wide of the mark, says an observer

The merged Adelaide University’s brand personality tries to find a sweet spot between proven and audacious, say Peter Høj and David Lloyd

There is ample opportunity to educate students about the nuances of history, ethics and economics. Why aren’t universities doing so, asks Harvey Graff 

ATEC must work to ensure that under-represented groups aren’t cut adrift from the knowledge economy just as it moves up a gear, says Shamit Saggar

As universities in both the UK and Australia fight to protect vital international recruitment, there is also a need for fresh thinking for future prosperity

Embracing multiple measures of career ‘success’ can move us beyond tiresome debates and put students’ needs first, says Tom Coward

Our responsibility is to keep everyone safe and avoid the situation escalating into aggravated trespass or threats of violence, says George Bass

Those of us who stay on post-study give far more to our adopted country than we have been able to give to our home nations, says Elena Rodriguez-Falcon

Identity politics’ 1960s progenitors had a level of nuance and erudition that today’s EDI activists would do well to emulate, says Martin Levy

The troubled excellence initiative has approved only one new institution since 2020. Has the government lost interest, asks an observer

Whether targets of sexualised attention or audience members, students lack power to divert harmful classroom dynamics, says Mary Peterson

Who wants to be heckled in their workplace by people who think they are entitled to define the parameters of your faith for you, asks Joseph Mintz

The Edinburgh protests underline the need for meaningful ways for students, staff and community to govern the university together, says Kevin Donovan

Students already graduate with huge debts. Rather than accepting yet more easy credit, they should do more paid work, says Paul Wiltshire

Universities are crying out for consistency, something resembling certainty and a plan for the way forward, says Graham Galbraith

Listening to students and engaging activist donors in university affairs in more constructive ways would both help, says Richard Joseph

Despite claims of political appointments, no party seems to want to make interference in universities an election issue, says Mukhtar Ahmad

The likes of Google are being undermined by both AI and their own commercial imperatives. Researchers can no longer rely on them, says Andy Farnell

Western business practice is not universal, so why are studies from elsewhere so rare in the literature, asks Yuliya Snihur  

Intimidation of longstanding civic institutions belies a traditional conservative emphasis on small government and free speech, says Andrew Seligsohn

International student fees are propping up UK universities, but with immigration a key electoral battleground politicians seem not to care

Staff fear not only for their own research time but also for students’ long-term retention of information, says a De Montfort academic

Critics’ claim that research on British policy in Northern Ireland will be influenced by ministers is incorrect, says Ian McBride

The final report’s scant recommendations and mooted interventions are uninspiring, unhelpful and, at times, alarming, says Michael Wesley

The digital revolution is creating a sense of always being watched and judged in both teaching and research, say Chavan Kissoon and Terence Karran

The BJP’s ideological pressure is causing religion and politics to intrude into academia, risking a disastrous brain drain, says Eldho Mathews