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
Female-only professorships will speed progress to gender equality in the academy, but the pushback shows how far there still is to go, says Clare Kelly
The publication of interdisciplinary research has surged in recent decades, but is it commodifying academic research and weakening its rigour? Lakshmi Balachandran Nair asks
Paying attention to language and creating more inclusive social activities are ways universities can support students with mental and physical disabilities, says Christa Bailka
Analysis of wage premiums from tertiary education suggests that the system struggles to deliver the changing skills that the economy demands, says Stephen Parker
It’s easy to say academics should be kinder and more giving to students, but they already face myriad other demands and must mind professional boundaries
If access to European research funding is to be maintained, more UK research universities need to forge formal links with EU institutions, says Peter Coveney
Involving everyone in decisions to remove or repurpose symbols of power on campus can lead to a renewed sense of university citizenship, says Francis Petersen
If you want your manuscript to be accepted, pepper it with formulaic neologisms, irrelevant but impressive references and suitably indented vulgarity, advises Janelle Ward
If businesses regard upskilling their middle managers as a high priority, universities should not be criticised for meeting that need, says Alec Cameron
The international stars in the Boston Red Sox and the city’s stellar universities highlight why Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric is so out of step with a ‘winning’ part of America, writes Jack Grove from Boston
Political uncertainty and growing domestic enrolments mean a quality postgraduate experience is more important than ever, argue Jason Leman and Jonathan Neves, who also discuss the results of Advance HE’s postgraduate taught experience survey
The chair of the Office for Students has declared that it would be irresponsible to bail out struggling institutions, but John Gill argues that institutions are facing financial challenges beyond their control
The Australian government has released three major data sets unusually back-to-back and full of mistakes, leading John Ross to ask: why so much, why so fast and why so erroneous?
With the US’ affirmative action policies once again thrust to the centre of public debate, Patricia Gándara reflects on the measures used to deem students deserving of entrance to leading universities
The All Souls fellowship exam confirms everything you already knew about Oxford, yet the brilliance isn’t in the answers but in the institution itself, writes Arabella Byrne
Academics should not be afraid to challenge the wisdom of requiring institutions to make financial amends for their past links to slavery, says Robert Dingwall
After a rare, chance encounter with an enthusiast for one of his books, Felipe Fernández-Armesto reflects on why so few academics gain any sort of celebrity
The University of South Australia’s merger with its prestigious Adelaide neighbour may be off, but the fact that it was even considered illustrates how much can change in 30 years, says Adam Graycar
Nobel laureate Donna Strickland may not have experienced the same inequality as other women working in science, but she has a duty to fight against it, says Anna Notaro