Features

Danny Dorling considers how population change influences the shape and direction of higher education in fundamental ways

How a brutal murder led one academic to the underworld of dogfighting

Pat Monaghan and Tim Birkhead call for variation to be the theme once more in university biology

Universities need clear protocols for accepting money - particularly from outside the UK, argues Chris Higgins

Lisa Downing on why the erosion of women’s, gender and sexuality studies in UK universities is cause for concern

Student protests brought down a government but failed to freeze tuition fees: what’s next for a province where universities remain high on the political agenda? Elizabeth Gibney reports from Montreal

Chris Hackley on his moment of sporting triumph

The education secretary’s attacks on the academy are a smokescreen for the damage caused by his radical policies, argues Martin McQuillan

As students grow keener to stand up for their rights over perceived wrongs, is the sector doing all it can to be consistent, fair and prompt when resolving disputes?

Academics and others discuss a typical working week

Liz Schafer explores why the work of the playwright Elizabeth Cary has been so marginalised

Universities must ensure that governing bodies are fit to do their part to prevent crises, Michael Shattock says

When anthropologists pointed out that cultural factors impeded tropical disease treatment campaigns, some fellow scientists reacted with outrage

Alastair Bonnett visits Lincoln’s Social Science Centre, a cooperative, free university attempting to build a different kind of knowledge economy

Today’s students are impoverished by a scant knowledge of culture and context, but the story of art should be a sine qua non of any well-rounded curriculum, argues Brian Sewell

Somewhere, in a class past or future, your nemesis awaits. John Kaag on the existential terror of a pedagogical puzzle

Germany and Eastern Europe rocked by string of high-profile cases within their governments. Paul Jump reports

Husband-and-wife academics debate the merits of the research excellence framework

The divisive country-club culture at ‘Midwest University’ that places status above study and raises partying to a vocation

Education academics must demonstrate their practical relevance if they wish to save their discipline, argues John Furlong

Glass ceiling remains in place for female academics. Jack Grove reports

Paul Magrs was flabbergasted when an institution he hadn’t heard from in years asked if it could use his work to show impact. Here is his reply

The viva, the final hurdle to gaining a PhD, is labour-intensive, not conducted to any national standard and is dreaded by students who fear an examiner will capriciously halt their career. Is it still fit for purpose? asks Elizabeth Gibney

Steve Smith warns of looming budgetary issues that could send institutions off the road

We must hold up a mirror to scientific peer review if we are to stamp out fraud and uphold the discipline’s reputation, argues Philip Moriarty

Could a Welsh institution’s success offer insights to help stragglers catch up?

In a world untouched by the Sun for millennia, a UK scientist found research heaven and arachnophobe hell

Dale Salwak on the sudden realisation that knowledge of his subject had become intuitive understanding and lecture notes could be put aside when teaching

Universities are required to be open to scrutiny because they are publicly funded. But how far should it go? When it comes to their internal business, David Matthews discovers that competition may be a stumbling block to transparency

Nicholas Royle on the rise of creative writing and the need for fresh forms of ‘creative reading’

With a few exceptions, vice-chancellors’ remuneration did not rise vertiginously in 2011-12 - a good thing politically. But are they still paid too much compared with their peers?

Nobel prizewinner Sir John Gurdon, who famously did not have his potential recognised, and five other scholars recall their school days and the characters that inspired them one way or another

Justice has been poorly served by the bloody-minded determination of the state to prosecute anti-fees demonstrators, argues Martin McQuillan

Post-Sandy Hook, hundreds of American college presidents are taking on the gun lobby. Amid the US’ increasingly febrile and evidence-free policy debates, does the campaign signal a return to the ‘bully pulpit’ for the American academy’s leaders? Jon Marcus reports

In our market-driven world, in which the ideals of common good are disappearing, Fred Inglis reminds us that it is the public universities that are in a pivotal position to protect our society

Matthew Reisz meets scholars whose enquiries are intertwined with their creative endeavours

Helen Bynum on the rewards, delight and egg-citement of dabbling in duck-keeping

Artistic practice can certainly be research - but the present model in UK universities is confused and lacks intellectual rigour, argues Nicholas Till

Not only do medieval travellers’ tales provide students with a compelling account of history rooted in personal experience, they also promote cross-cultural understanding in the present day, argues David Mould

A series of high-profile research scandals within social psychology have led to unjustified attacks on the whole academic discipline. Wolfgang Stroebe and Miles Hewstone declare that the majority must not suffer for a tiny minority’s misconduct

Higher education is not compulsory, and in an environment of rising costs and scepticism on both sides of the Atlantic, growing numbers are becoming increasingly vocal about the other options. Jon Marcus reports

The visa process can trap students in a costly Kafkaesque limbo. To improve life for foreign scholars, the sector should halt its failed lobbying over policy and focus on publicising the misery caused by Byzantine bureaucracy, argues Simeon Underwood

People take refuge in drama when the bombs rain down, and the arts aid rebuilding when the guns fall silent, says James Thompson, who has travelled to some of the world’s most violent regions, only for the horrors of conflict to be felt closer to home

Open-access publishing, once a niche preoccupation, is now a hot-button issue. But concern is growing that unintended consequences of new publication mandates will cost individual scholars and the UK sector dear. Paul Jump reports

For centuries Regius chairs were the gift of kings, tools of statecraft and the preserve of ancient universities. But that has changed, most recently with the addition of 12 new professorships, as Richard J. Evans relates

Jeremy MacClancy on the British Museum’s new exhibition linking Ice Age artistry to the Modernists

Regrets? They’ve had a few…but with the frustrations have come joys and satisfaction, too. Six scholars reveal what they wish they had known at the beginning of their careers and offer some sage advice to would-be professors

Miriam David’s reflections on her career as a scholar and feminist inspired her to interview a range of female academics about their paths to the getting of wisdom - and the pivotal role feminism has played in their lives

Mary Evans uncovers clues as to why crime fiction appeals to so many but is disregarded by critics of the literary world

Financial models that have stood firm for decades are failing, technological revolution is opening new doors and a growing middle class is creating unprecedented demand. At a time of extraordinary economic and demographic change, Elizabeth Gibney explores five trends that are transforming the face of global higher education

The critics of private-sector higher education can muster plenty of hostility - even hatred - towards its providers but precious few reasoned arguments, according to Peter Crisp

Ireland’s government expects consolidation to play a big role in creating a financially sustainable higher education system. As the sector pores over a new strategy document that will inform ministers, Matthew Reisz considers the shape of things to come

Ireland’s government expects consolidation to play a big role in creating a financially sustainable higher education system. As the sector pores over a new strategy document that will inform ministers, Matthew Reisz considers the shape of things to come

Whether spurred by lofty research ambition or the prosaic hope that one can live more cheaply than two, universities’ urge to merge can bring cultural as well as organisational challenges, as recent unions show. David Matthews reports

Scholarship has long been international but the current vision of a ‘worldwide’ academy of rootless student-consumers and national economic competition is as contradictory as it is immoral, argues Thomas Docherty

Whether spurred by lofty research ambition or the prosaic hope that one can live more cheaply than two, universities’ urge to merge can bring cultural as well as organisational challenges, as recent unions show. David Matthews reports

With radical changes causing discontent across Europe, Susan Bassnett wonders if UK scholars are justified in feeling so aggrieved about their lot

Toby Miller did not take a straight path into academia - far from it, having been, among other things, a DJ, a ditch digger, a speech-writer, a bureaucrat, a security guard and a merchant banker. He reflects on how his atypical trajectory shaped his views of the insular scholarly world

Austerity has brought tragedy to Greece and the UK. Martin McQuillan reflects on the narrative and ideology of ‘fiscal discipline’ and what it means for both nations and their academies

Ronald Barnett offers an imaginative approach to the idea of the university: ‘feasible utopias’ that open up possibilities for renewal beyond the dominant ideas of the market and the pessimistic reactions they elicit