In-depth

Backed by state government, an ambitious university-led initiative is aiming to restore the Ruhr Valley’s former industrial glory. John Morgan meets academics behind the experiment in driving regional renewal by building a reputation for world-class science

The toxic dispute over the rights of transgender people and how freely these matters should be discussed remains academia’s most divisive issue. Laura Favaro explains what she learned from speaking to both sides

OECD researchers offer evidence that students aren’t getting ‘generic skills’ needed for world of work – with potentially big implications

The humanities do not have uniquely transformational qualities or a monopoly on critical thinking and empathy. With departments under threat outside the UK’s elite institutions, better to insist on the importance of everyone’s being able to interrogate the stories we tell ourselves, writes Joe Moran

With the continent’s youth population set to soar, many observers worry that its overstretched universities will be unable to cope, with consequences for the whole world. So what is the solution? More overseas or online study? More branch campuses? Pan-African partnerships? Simon Baker reports 

The University of Northampton’s outgoing vice-chancellor reflects on how lessons from punk rock led him to survive in academia and deliver one of UK higher education’s most ambitious campus projects. Jack Grove reports

Japan ranks low for gender equality and Japanese women have long complained that the domestic demands on them, combined with universities’ unwillingness to compensate for them, make academic careers very difficult to pursue. But are things starting to change? Pola Lem reports from Tokyo

Outgoing prime minister’s pro-science messaging has been ever-present during his time in Downing Street but has he delivered for research? Jack Grove considers his legacy

A bitter feud between the head of one of Oxford’s grandest colleges and its dons made front-page news. As a new, internally recruited vice-chancellor prepares to take office, Jack Grove hears from both the dean at the centre of the dispute and those who are glad to see him gone

With university set to become a near-universal expectation for high-school graduates, the separate silos in which K12 and higher education have traditionally operated are increasingly being seen as barriers to equity. But what, realistically, can universities do to bridge the great divide? Paul Basken reports 

Spate of new senior roles created as universities seek answers on addressing sustainability, diversity and social responsibility

With first-year students no longer contributing to classroom discussions as they did pre-pandemic, we need to rekindle their pleasure and agency in their own education, says Sophie Scott-Brown

As precarity affects ever more academics for ever longer, many have come to see a permanent position as the gateway to professional happiness. But does it always work out that way? Or do the responsibilities and trade-offs of seniority outweigh the joys of security and salary? Seven academics have their say

Case of Australia’s ‘most hated woman’ highlights tensions between justice, science and courts’ need to distinguish between world experts and ‘proven performers’

As undergraduate numbers soar and student needs become increasingly complex, questions are being asked about whether a support model that relies on the conscientiousness of individual academics is fit for purpose. Here, three scholars explain why, despite its faults, the pastoral role remains crucial

Even before Covid led to so many job losses among casual and fixed-term academic staff, mass insecurity was increasingly being recognised as a blight on the sector. But is there any realistic prospect of permanent contracts all round? Ben Upton examines the cases of Germany and the Netherlands

The number of assignments per term has been going up and up; is continuous assessment now harming, rather than helping, students’ learning?

Once lauded as engines of social mobility, American universities are increasingly perceived as widening social and economic injustices. Matthew Reisz speaks to two academics whose new book lays bare the extent of the problem and the potential solutions

The UK’s National Union of Students is 100 years old. But as students around the world focus on single-issue campaigns and relations with governments crumble amid mutual disdain, questions abound about what comes next for organisations that ‘you would have to invent if they didn’t already exist’

Stabilisation funding, fellowships and industry collaboration grants identified as key priorities, but questions about whether country can successfully replicate Brussels schemes remain

Friendly reminders about university events, deadlines and policies may seem harmless, but fielding these endless emails exacts a high price, says Frank LoSchiavo

The Covid pandemic severely limited travel options during the past two years. But with restrictions finally lifting and with summer beginning in the northern hemisphere, THE’s occasional travel guide series is back. Six academics offer their tips on where to head to get over another marking season 

Twitter has allowed war scholars and the public to hear from a diverse range of experts and created star academics but some are wary about where the tidal wave of commentary may lead

The Canadian botanist who discovered the ‘wisdom of trees’ reflects on the growing enthusiasm for her work and why scientists should get emotional about their research

Even universities in the hermit kingdom largely cut themselves off from the rest of the world. Yet those few Westerners with direct experience of them suggest that while critical inquiry is predictably unwelcome, the global publish or perish culture is starting to take hold. Pola Lem reports

Increased use of ‘team science’ may have been a major factor in latest REF scores, say experts, but this may be no bad thing

Dealing with the death of a family member is never easy, but does academic life present further complications and difficulties? Three academics at different stages of their careers tell their stories

As Australia’s general election looms, many in university circles may be hoping that Scott Morrison’s coalition is voted out. But is it true that conservative governments and universities are natural antagonists? And how much better would the sector fare under a Labor administration? John Ross reports

Just as campaigns to promote societal benefit show strength, activists admit setbacks in wider battleground for basic academic freedom

Well-meaning initiatives that prioritise student satisfaction over educational objectives deny students access to the type of rich learning experience that universities were designed for, argue Rebekah Wanic and Nina Powell 

Universities’ intellectual property is seen as key to successful knowledge economies. But what is the best way to turn ideas into marketable products? Is it realistic to expect major commercial success? And how much of a stake should universities take in the process – and the proceeds? Jack Grove reports

The Great Resignation, remote working and rapid changes in the graduate employment market are all forcing US higher education institutions to evolve – fast. But are institutions that have spent two years managing Covid-19 ready to take up another challenge? Paul Basken reports

The president of Harvey Mudd College discusses smashing glass ceilings and how to get more women into STEM subjects 

After decades operating in a largely low-inflation environment, Western universities are seeing rising energy costs and war in Ukraine push prices up. How exposed is the sector?

The UK government’s bill to tackle university cancel culture would give it unacceptable powers to control academic debate and student protest, says George Letsas

Despite incremental reforms throughout Emmanuel Macron’s first term as president, France still has one of the most centralised higher education systems in Europe. As the election looms, Ben Upton examines attitudes towards institutional autonomy and asks whether its supposed effects on equality and academic freedom are limiting appetite for more

War in Ukraine may reshape university internationalisation, but most academics do not expect a knockout blow

Thirty years after his breakout book declared democracy to be an unstoppable force, the End of History author explains to Matthew Reisz why a new defence of liberal values is urgently needed, and why scholars must share some responsibility for destabilising them

Three decades after the abolition of the binary divide between universities and polytechnics, some commentators still lament the supposed loss of locally focused vocational education. But even as the political winds buffet them, do post-92s offer the solution to the UK’s skills problem? John Morgan reports

The Ukraine war has led to unprecedented curtailment of academic ties, but could breaking off all relations with Russia cause further problems?

Obsessed with graduate employment, US universities are doing little to improve students’ ability to think independently, a major new study has concluded. Paul Basken speaks to the Harvard academics behind the decade-long investigation and hears how student learning can be repaired

All academics have had that anxiety dream about standing up to give a lecture, only to realise they have forgotten to prepare anything – or to put on any clothes. But real teaching failures are rarely so disastrous – and many are teachable moments. Seven academics tell us their hard-earned lessons

Lawmakers moving to block lessons on race and politics after successful efforts to police school curricula

As politicians begin to confront America’s student debt crisis, Charlie Eaton explains how public opinion turned so decisively against the financialisation of US higher education and why full loan cancellation is now on the cards

The grip of Silicon Valley on commerce and culture is huge and ever-growing. But as concerns mount about tech firms’ ethics, is there anything that universities – with vastly lower research and salary budgets – can do to put them on a more responsible trajectory? Four experts give their views

OECD data show that there are nations that have achieved more balance between major cities and other regions

With both Oxford and Cambridge seeking new vice-chancellors, Rosa Ellis examines the unique pressures of leading these prestigious universities and the qualities that successful candidates will need to do the job

Border restrictions, differing national Covid strategies and changing demographics have all made significant impacts on overseas recruitment over the past two years. Simon Baker examines the latest data from five major recruiting nations and considers what they might presage for the future

Financial accounts for 2020-21 suggest tension may now grow between saving money and investing in staff and facilities

A recent survey confirms that higher education continues to offer a safe environment for a certain kind of abuser: the successful professor who brings in large grants, say Nanna Haug Hilton and Susanne Täuber

As the pandemic increases public scrutiny of science, the UK Parliament is holding another inquiry into the long-running issue of reproducibility. Five of its contributors give their views on how sloppy science can be eliminated and trust be more firmly rooted 

Facing lower tolerance for free speech, academics and students share their approaches on retaining autonomy and avoiding unwanted scrutiny

Students who escaped the chaos in Kabul are beginning their second terms at overseas universities. But can they concentrate on their studies amid trauma, worries about their families and uncertainty about their future prospects? Pola Lem considers what more universities can do to help

Teaching modules intensively, rather than in parallel, has had positive results at the handful of institutions that have tried it. But would it work for all students and all subjects? And would academics trade autonomy in course design for more research time? Anna McKie reports

In John Gilbey’s seasonal tale, life imitates on-screen romance when a film crew is duped into choosing the distinctly unphotogenic University of Rural England as the location for its next blockbuster

As the season of goodwill comes around again, warm words about collegiality and fellowship have been dutifully corralled into all-staff missives from university leaders. But in an era of management, metrics and industrial unrest, does the image of the academy as a commonwealth of scholars still bear scrutiny? Seven academics have their say 

Coyness, contention and competing agendas all hamper historians and sociologists of sex. Matthew Reisz speaks to those who choose, nevertheless, to probe this most sensitive and intimate of subjects

A push to end the habit of assessing researchers by their publication metrics is gaining momentum. But are journal impact factors really as meaningless as is claimed? And will requiring scientists to describe their various contributions really improve fairness and rigour – or just bureaucracy? Jack Grove reports

As ministers prepare White Paper, South Yorkshire Futures programme reaching neglected suburbs and towns could be model for putting policy into practice

On 15 October 1971, the first edition of The Times Higher Education Supplement was published. In the five decades since, the publication now known as Times Higher Education has charted the expansion and marketisation of the UK sector while taking an ever more global perspective. Three editors reflect on their time at the helm