Features

Are the continent’s for-profits exploiting students or have they helped to widen access?, asks Chris Havergal

As universities and academics strive to aid migrants and understand their plight, scholars offer personal experiences of the upheaval

Are corporations profiting from philanthropy? Do mega-donors acquire too much influence? Linsey McGoey on ‘saint’ Bill Gates and the downsides of giving away $16 billion

Academics offer advice on how to turn glumness into enthusiasm

From accent intolerance to ‘bamboo ceilings’, Jack Grove examines the challenges of working in a university overseas

Five contributors recall friendships and encounters with preeminent scientists, writers and philosophers

Steve Olivier offers tips for a smoother transition

Matthew Reisz on the amusing items academics pin to their doors

Joe Moran on the little-known benefits of being a shrinking violet

A long break sounds luxurious but what is the reality? Scholars share what they did with their ‘free’ time

Are you an idealist or a pragmatist? In his latest book, Self and Soul, Edmundson aims to provide fresh insights into how we might choose to live our lives

Does Woody Allen’s Irrational Man succeed in bringing big ideas to the big screen? Benjamin Poore gives his verdict

In a special report from the territory, David Matthews hears concerns that scholars are paying the price for ‘politically incorrect’ talk

Dale Salwak explains why he focuses on the people carrying out the translation process and their effects on the text we read

Paul Jump examines the many reasons for irreproducibility in science and efforts to tackle it

Graduate teaching assistants are campaigning to improve temporary workers’ low pay and poor treatment. How is the battle going?

Kevin Haggerty and Aaron Doyle offer tips on making postgraduate study even tougher (which students could also use to avoid pitfalls if they prefer)

Lincoln Allison argues that it is becoming harder for academics to share controversial ideas

Ellie Bothwell introduces our four ‘innovation indicators’ and reveals the strongest performers as we visualise a new ranking based on university-industry collaboration

Postgraduate loans are around the corner; will they drive fees up?

Three academics examine buildings, art and statues that arguably have no place on a campus in 2015

Six academics share their experiences before delivering a verdict on the system

Universities were once urged to ape the governance models of the Square Mile, but big business could learn from some collegiate practices, suggests Malcolm Gillies

Are such treasures art for art’s sake, v-cs’ follies or vital assets that further institutional missions?

The big game-changer ahead may not be plans to ‘root out bad teaching’ via a TEF, but a shift to light-touch quality assessment

Nick Hillman examines the endurance of the boarding school model of higher education

As a vague policy commitment moves towards reality, Jack Grove assesses the potential ways and means

After Tory victory in the general election, an EU exit could become reality. We hear from both sides of the debate

Academic Victoria Fontan has borne witness to Iraq’s unfolding tragedy. She discusses encounters with Islamic State and US troops and her fears for the country’s future

Amid concerns about the growing use – and abuse – of quantitative measures in universities, a major new review examines the role of metrics in the assessment of research, from the REF to performance management

Even centuries ago, student misconduct and violence vexed townspeople and authorities. The behaviour, says one scholar, highlights negative stereotypes and socio-political tensions

With Hungary accused of ‘undermining democratic values’, Malcolm Gillies considers to what extent universities with a liberal mission can flourish in ‘illiberal’ societies

Six early career researchers reflect on their experiences

What are the key issues local union branches are dealing with, and how do they manage relationships with institutions in what many activists argue is an increasingly confrontational environment?

Peer review is often thought of as ancient and unchanging, but it is neither – and it shouldn’t be treated as a sacred cow, argues Aileen Fyfe

Debate over the RAB charge is misleading. England's higher education funding system is sound and flexible, argues the former universities minister

The former universities minister discusses the reforms that reshaped higher education and his first steps into academia

From tackling pay to decrees on sleep and email curfews, five scholars explain what they would do to improve the academy in 24 hours

Once upon a time there was an adjunct lecturer…By Nicholas Rowe

James Tooley ran into trouble while researching low-cost private education in developing nations

Poor materials, disengaged students and little time or incentive to prepare dishearten one casualised academic

Is there a way for the two tribes to rub along? An academic and an administrator consider the rules of engagement

The male student societies are under pressure like never before. Is it time to shut them down – or can they mend their ways?

If the form-filling that plagues academia is pointless, why do academics comply with it? asks Eliane Glaser

Should the foundations of a 21st-century academic career still be built on the traditional model?

Amanda Goodall and Margit Osterloh explore the causes of and solutions to the dearth of women at the top of UK academia

To study mass tourism, Hazel Andrews entered a world of binge-drinking, sexism and racism. She describes why she did it and what she learned

Academics discuss what might be done to improve trust, reduce cynicism and get young people to vote

Three scholars with their sights set on Westminster explain what drives them to aspire to a career in politics

Which institutions are building the reserves to cushion potential shocks from uncapped student recruitment and rocketing research costs?

Higher education figures interrogate the main parties on subjects from policy mistakes to part-time study

An academic and a graduate give their views on embedding employability into higher education courses

In the workplace and at the ballot box, it is time to reject stale ideology, says Thomas Docherty

Five academics detail how taking leave of the grind has turbocharged their work – but can everyone get a break?

Martin McQuillan meets José Mujica to discuss education and philosophy

Ross Aikins considers the evolution of substance use and how universities shape the debate

Did rises for vice-chancellors outpace those of academic staff, and did the REF swell the salaries of star researchers? Jack Grove rings up the benefits accrued

University leaders command huge salaries. Lincoln Allison examines how asceticism gave way to abundance

Thirty years after Clifford Geertz assessed the state of thinking in the academy, the duty of academics to render the unspeakable unspeakable is imperative

Frank Finlay considers the experience of the immigrant professor who held his post during the 1914-18 conflict