Opinion

A successful merger requires leaders to be mission-grounded and brave enough to move on, say David Lloyd and Peter Høj, in the final instalment of their series on the largest merger in Australian university history

Today’s graduates have grown used to relaxed standards. But their employers will not give them rolling deadlines, say Natalie Schoettler and Kailea Manning  

Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists

Wider talent creation will better serve both businesses and graduates as the tech revolution drives rapid economic change, says Hanifa Shah

The Magna Charta Universitatum matters more than ever as university freedoms become sharply contested, say Shitij Kapur and Liviu Matei

It is difficult to think of another sector that has so dismally failed to strategically engage with the transformative potential of IT, says Ian Richardson

To fulfil its deal with the US, the country needs professionals who know where minerals are and how to extract them responsibly, says Sabin Zahirovic

Economic policy is boosting political interest in science, but researchers must bear in mind the time pressures on MPs, says Tracey Brown.

Universities should adopt proportionate anti-racist measures informed by the diverse voices of those most affected, say Michael Rosen, Catherine Rottenberg and Des Freedman 

Companies face a historic transformation yet change experts are mostly missing from public discourse, say Tima Bansal and Minali Giani 

Financial restrictions oblige funders to reject vast numbers of sound proposals. Why not retain them for other funders to consider, asks Mikhail Spivakov

Policymakers should take a broad view of the value of degree courses when building our future workforce, says Charlotte Hallahan

Writing a letter of gratitude for an inspirational talk or piece of advice sounds schmaltzy but it’s the best self-help therapy available, says Adrian Furnham

However turbulent our times become, our responsibility as scholars and citizens alike is to keep that search for truth alive, says Bill Flanagan

Test scores are a much better predictor of academic progress than school grades – and students need a realistic assessment, says David Blobaum 

The post-16 White Paper was a missed opportunity to correct a mistake that will stymie government missions in areas like housebuilding, says John Somers

The rampant unauthorised use of the SKY university branding is testament to how it has become shorthand for excellence, says Kyuseok Kim

Social sciences funding would be best spent on narrower calls. But would it dry up if we stopped pretending we can save the world, asks Andreas Schedler  

A policy that locks in more process and expense while the public sector stands still doesn’t protect students: it protects the status quo, says Conrado Briceño

Questions will be asked about the Office for Students’ fitness to take on extra powers over quality, agents and franchising, says Diana Beech

To understand the government’s approach to education, we must await more announcements. Let’s hope they go further, says Nick Hillman

Four factors are demanding a radical strategic rethink at universities in Australia and around the world, says Massimo Garbuio

To protect critical, context-rich thinking in HE, knowledge agency must be quickly reclaimed from Big Edtech, say Dirk Lindebaum and Gazi Islam 

Measuring researchers’ output mass against their body mass will incentivise even harder running on the academic treadmill, says Dariusz Jemielniak

Even successful applications lack specificity and ambition, ignoring universities’ own data about where problems and strengths lie, says Pat O’Connor

Teaching missions would be easier to fulfil if academics did not have to seek so many permissions to do their jobs, says Akhil Bhardwaj

Last week’s arson at Fort Hare underlines how destructive tensions between students and university leaders have become, says Pikolomzi Qaba

Both within management and the professoriate, the need for a wider range of experience and skills is only getting stronger, says Marcus Munafò

Even as the US shrinks and narrows trials, the need for this research continues. Other countries can and must step in, says Stephen Jane

Rigid structures need to be loosened to address the devaluation of degrees and to embrace AI and microcredentials, says Carlos Olivares

Atec needs to ensure that compacts genuinely strengthen social licence and drive meaningful change – not just compliance, says Zlatko Skrbis 

Future crises can be averted if government and universities share data and plans in a more timely and transparent fashion, says Doug Specht

Perhaps the scrapping of the 50 per cent participation target will remind everyone that failing at university is not failing in life, says an academic

An AHRC scheme based at Northumbria simplifies application, widens participation and maximises dissemination, say Katy Shaw and Rachel Connor

As the regulations governing FP10 are thrashed out, there is a risk that industrial policy will taint the programme’s USP, says Jan Palmowski

An open approach to knowledge and a kind, enabling manner help students go their own way but never feel alone, says Andrew Chadwick

Academic life was a lot simpler in the humanities and social sciences when simply finding a document guaranteed originality, says Disha

Clear policies, transparent disclosure and shared accountability are essential to protect the integrity of research, says George Chalhoub

Decolonisation is not just about scholars’ colour. It is as much about welcoming a diversity of non-Western ideas, from South Africa and beyond, says Srila Roy

The flexibility and insightful observation that cultural ‘outsiders’ are forced to develop confers several advantages for academics, says Adrian Furnham

Manufactured scarcity will undermine MSIs’ solidarity and risks reopening opportunity gaps in minority communities, says Marybeth Gasman

Poorer students are shut out of the vast industry that has grown up around Konkur preparation, says Roohola Ramezani

Demographic and political headwinds are threatening the future of many colleges. But, done right, online education can be their saviour, says Sumit Karn

As wellsprings of intellectual thought, universities play a crucial role in shaping democratic nations’ national confidence and identity, says Peter Gluckman

Universities can’t be expected to absorb escalating financial risk forever. Funders must share the burden, says Stephanie Smith

Can AI match the insights of human referees? We don’t know. So before implementation, let’s run the experiment, says Sheldon H. Jacobson

From stealing ornamental fish to spraying car parts in the shower, domestic students make security staff earn their meagre wages, says George Bass

Research support staff are crying out for a more supportive funding and regulatory environment, says Ross McLennan 

Reversing some recent trends in teaching and learning is sure to generate mixed responses from students. Regulators must step in, says Ian Pace

Good progress has been made on implementing the Universities Accord but much more is needed to achieve parity, say five deputy vice-chancellors

Without specific classes, students may leave college still unable to separate science from nonsense, says Natalia Pasternak

Responding to early-career researchers’ honest questions with accusations of misconduct is a travesty of open science, says Madeleine Pownall

The three-month pause to re-examine the assessment of ‘people, culture and environment’ could prelude a welcome reversal, says Alice Sullivan

The suppressive precedents being set in the US, Germany and Israel can and will be applied to other issues, too, say Katharina Galor and Noga Wolff 

Vibrant academic communities in all parts of the UK will allow rising stars of humanities and social sciences to shine, says Alex Lewis

Portraying ChatGPT as a playground for plagiarists is a timid response to AI’s ability to enhance research in all subjects, argues Agnieszka Piotrowska

Threat of financial collapse is causing universities to double down on an officious management style that is sapping academic morale, undermining excellence and damaging collegiality between academia’s different tribes, says Tin Sulejmanpasic 

Honest and open-ended conversations over how AI can be productively used in the learning journey are needed, not ChatGPT bans, says Ava Doherty

Failure to acknowledge how class operates within academia means many students still feel uncomfortable on campus, says Beth Johnson

Churning out so many PhD graduates into a weak academic labour market and marginalising innovative doctorates is immoral, says Ianis Matsoukas