Features

The mere mention of fairies in academic circles can bring derision. Yet the field is a rich one that has much to offer open-minded, multidisciplinary scholars, writes Simon Young

Elite Japanese universities are renowned for their strength in research, but does their reputation also reflect quality in teaching? Times Higher Education’s student-focused Japan University Rankings and student experience survey offer some fascinating insights

Psychologist Michal Kosinski’s work shows how digital footprints can predict a person’s sexual orientation, political views and more. Is it a danger or a warning about threats to privacy? John Morgan reports from California

Will the current blockade on Qatar harm its higher education system? Simon Baker investigates whether the need to find common scientific ground among Gulf states could win out

The Office for Students’ plan to fine institutions that allow the ‘no-platforming’ of controversial speakers is a boon for those who believe exposure to wide-ranging views is a fundamental part of the academic experience. Jo Faragher reports

Does solidarity among female scholars exist only in the (male) mind? Are women really supportive of one another? And if so, how far does it go to redressing male advantage?

Prisoners rarely get tertiary lessons, let alone have undergraduates study alongside them, but the results can be profound. Helen Lock reports

Mathematicians – and, indeed, other scholars – who cooperate with intelligence agencies face a moral dilemma knowing that their research could well be applied in unethical ways, says Michael Harris

Economist Bryan Caplan considers tangible benefits, inconvenient truths and wonders whether Latin and poetry are worth the effort when ‘Kardashian’ trumps ‘Shakespeare’ in Google search results

The frenzied pace and meaningless demands of university life can often enable a depressed scholar’s existing neuroses. Joe Moran offers some coping strategies

For academics and students alike, pressure to perform coupled with a lack of institutional support can severely affect mental health

Andrew McRae explores what effects the value debate could have on the structure of the sector

Our annual pay review details v-cs’ remuneration, explores the make-up and workings of the governing bodies that set it, and compares the rewards on offer with those of other sectors

Our annual pay review details v-cs’ remuneration, explores the make-up and workings of the governing bodies that set it, and compares the rewards on offer with those of other sectors

Five historians reflect on the disciplinary, institutional, social and political challenges facing their subject

Could the Commonwealth be a viable source of research networks should the UK fail to secure access to the EU’s research programmes post-Brexit? Simon Baker reports

Times Higher Education’s first major global survey of university staff views on work-life balance finds academics feeling stressed and underpaid, and struggling to fit time for personal relationships and family around their ever-growing workloads. Ellie Bothwell reports

Sexual misconduct is now being openly discussed, but universities still lack policies to safeguard staff from sexual violence in the workplace. This means victims remain afraid to speak out, says a female academic and rape survivor

Ahead of THE’s Asia Universities Summit in Shenzhen, Jack Grove visits the city known as China’s Silicon Valley to assess whether its ambitious new university could really emulate Stanford – and eclipse its Hong Kong neighbours

Simon Baker discovers what the World Economic Forum’s ‘community’ of universities – the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) – can teach us about industry-academia collaboration and innovation with economic impact

Introduced to help boost technology transfer amid renewed political focus on ‘industrial strategy’, the KEF aims to complement the REF and TEF. But how will it work? Is it even necessary? And is the UK really underperforming at commercialising its research? Rachael Pells reports

Those who cross distant disciplinary boundaries are seen as unusual and viewed with suspicion. A handful of scholars tell Matthew Reisz why it suits them to stray

John Morgan travels to the University of California, Berkeley, a key battleground in the campus culture wars, to assess the mood towards US higher education and the threats that it faces

Singaporeans deserve more local impact from their top-ranked public universities, says Cherian George

College sport is deeply woven into US culture and commerce. But a long series of scandals has pointed the glare of publicity away from the basketball courts and football fields towards the athletics programmes themselves. Jon Marcus reports

There is growing concern that China is trying to silence its critics in the West, with academic publishers a particular target. Tao Zhang considers the consequences for scholarly freedom – and what can be done to tackle such restrictions

After the twin shocks of Brexit and Trump, Patrick McGhee can only guess what the next 12 months will bring. Are you ready for peer-reviewed tweets, TEF results determined by University Challenge, and ‘lyecturers’ for hire?

Rogier Creemers advises early career academics to be ruthless and put themselves first to move up the ladder

Seven scholars from around the world give us their festive reflections on snakes, bad lobster and turkeys’ backsides

Editing an academic journal is a vital and rewarding task, but also time-consuming and often frustrating. Current and former editors advise would-be gatekeepers on why you'll need the skills of a ringmaster – and more

Scott Beardsley looks at how the top job is evolving in the US, while Susie Hills shares advice from UK business executives on being a v-c

Jack Grove explores current strategies for widening participation in higher education, and finds out why improving access remains a huge challenge across the world, despite growing university enrolment

Kaitlyn Regehr learned from former striptease dancers that what they did was not a safe, sex‑positive hobby but often a means of survival that intersected with sex work