Opinion

Rush to integrate artificial intelligence indiscriminately across the curriculum ignores the true purpose of higher education, say Jelena Belic and Kritika Maheshwari 

Threatening sanctions for unauthorised AI use is having no impact on rampant student cheating. Only a ban can save critical thinking in classrooms, says Deborah Rogers

The man I met was kind and engaging. While the questions we asked of him were justified, that doesn’t make his death any less tragic, writes Tom Williams

Star-studded and surprisingly dark, Christopher Nolan’s retelling of Homer’s epic is resonating with students at a deep level, says Robert Zaretsky

Stress-testing academic arguments for weaknesses is uncomfortable for scholars but it should never have become controversial, says Ian Pace

Arrival of generative artificial intelligence and aggressive recruitment tactics by UK universities show why post-qualifications admissions must finally be implemented, says Gianina Harvey-Brewin

Fixating on the remarkable life story of ex-University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday did a disservice to black scholars, says Femi Owolade

A distressed institution is unlikely to have the cash, management bandwidth and capacity to absorb disruption required by a merger, says David Lloyd

From next spring, Martyn’s Law will mandate proportionate arrangements to protect staff, students and visitors, says Laura Gibb

Rather than relying on an annual survey, governance procedures need regular intelligence on AI developments, says Nick McIntosh

My investigation into alleged plagiarism was undertaken seriously – journalistic enquiries should not be a matter for Scotland Yard, writes THE reporter Jack Grove

We discuss why a leaked exam paper sparked mass protest in India, culminating in the resignation of a government minister and the promise of reform

Students can quickly improve their financial literacy when universities make space to teach it, say Sercan Demiralay and Hatice Gaye Gencer

Acceptance is not surrender. It is about getting beyond a policing obsession and rethinking what assessment aims to measure, says Shadi Mohamed

In examining sociologist’s PhD thesis, our journalists were seeking to address matters of legitimate public interest, writes Chris Havergal

Forcing Chinese nationals to identify themselves to institutional IT systems publicly stamps them as risks to be monitored, says Hu Chao

Recognition of genuine engagement in knowledge exchange frameworks would send a clear signal about institutional priorities, says Chi Ying Lam

Much of what we classify as misconduct consists not of ethical failings but of unevenly distributed opportunities to acquire skills, says Nick Cartwright

Defining domestic quality on our own terms would incentivise investment in local labs, affordable tuition and community-facing projects, says Nahid Neazy

Among the elements of the shared core grammar all students need, mathematics and philosophy deserve special mention, says Manu Kapur

Since the war began, increasing numbers of dissenting students have been dragged through disciplinary procedures, says Roohola Ramezani

Institutions whose managers are unaccountable to their staff can never be truly civic universities, says Krzysztof Nawratek  

With Andy Burnham’s new government announcing plans to scrap the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, we discuss what this could mean for UK research

Creating and then scrapping DSIT in the space of little more than three years wastes valuable time, but what really matters is the clout and aptitude of ministers

Concerns about quality and price will not go away any time soon, but neither will student demand, says Pushkar

Whitehall rearrangements are disruptive, but what matters more than departmental arrangements is the people in charge, says Nick Hillman

Supervisors should involve doctoral students with conducting, writing up and publishing experiments straight away, says Adrian Furnham

Degrees are not the place to turn to if we want to reduce the number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training, says Mark Morrin

Dundee’s proposal comes just as a hiring spree in Silicon Valley is raising the ceiling on what a philosophy degree can lead to, says Oisín Keohane 

If loan eligibility thresholds are to be designed in a way that protects vital second-chance routes into higher education, they might not be strong enough to achieve ministers’ aims; a more precise solution might be more appropriate, writes Chris Havergal

A room full of international educators half a world away reminded me what my priorities as an acting college president should be, says Jonathan Becker

AI does not make robust learning any less vital. We need a mechanism to ensure the cost pays off for those committed to it, says Alan Finkel

If the government implements only half of the accord, it will kill off postgraduate options for low-SES students, says Jesse Gardner-Russell 

Approaches involving active participation by students would provide richer insights than multiple-choice surveys, says Hannah Fox

As the child of working-class immigrants, I am so grateful for the doors of understanding and opportunity the arts opened for me, says Davina Quinlivan 

At last week’s HE debate, a host of Oxford-associated grandees made the usual points while the sector continued to melt down, says Andrew McRae

Author inflation is global but is being exacerbated in the UK by an exercise that fails to take account of individual contribution, says Chen Su

We discuss what the next three years could hold for UK universities under an Andy Burnham premiership

Political, financial and organisational issues abound, but effective funding for collaborative, bottom-up research would be a boon, says Jan Palmowski

The institutions that transformed the modern world face existential threats from AI, political hostility and their own inertia, says Geoff Mulgan

Nor can it be acceptable for an author to wait half a year to read reports that their own AI could have created in seconds, says Cornel Nesseler

For those without digital and cultural capital, AI is a dangerous helper whose use is liable to land them in hot water, says Rituparna Patgiri

Recruiting whoever costs least, unsettles least and matches current operational needs most closely is self-defeating on many levels, says Peter Sutoris

No curriculum reform, however bold, will kickstart a sluggish labour market. Employers and politicians must play their part, too, says Pikolomzi Qaba

Behind many successful applications to overseas universities lies an ecosystem of consultants, brokers and test manipulators, says Sabrina Wang

Covid’s cultural effect is difficult to overcome, but we can at least resist the trend of infinite accommodation, say Mario Senovilla and Elena Liquete

The popularity of an undergraduate course in Hong Kong reveals an enduring hunger to examine what makes life worth living, says McQueen Sum

Students must be taught a more community-based form of development, less dependent on the goodwill of donors, says Noam Schimmel

What do the 2026 Sustainability Impact Ratings tell us about the countries and regions whose universities are prioritising work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals?

The Sustainable Development Goals – and independent assessments based on them – help guide the University of Manchester towards its ‘north star’, writes vice-chancellor Duncan Ivison

Improving sustainability and resilience can be a way of life for a higher education institution, writes Western Sydney University vice-chancellor George Williams

Anxious students offer rich pickings for those offering to check their AI-likelihood scores, say Benjamin Luke Moorhouse and James Mian Jia

Imagine if every student graduated with evidence not only of what they knew, but also of how effectively they could communicate it, says Bruce Hood

When whole campus communities are displaced and war continues, sustainability becomes an endurance test that can help an institution rediscover its true mission, writes Mykola Trofymenko

A comparative analysis could explore what creates social support for international education, say Glyn Davis and Anton Muscatelli

From beach clean-ups to integrating greener practices in curricula and institutions, student participation is key if we want young people to drive Africa’s future sustainability, say Belinda Mensah and Divine Edem Kwadzodeh

Publishers must stop treating AI governance as an ethical burden to be outsourced to those already overburdened and under-rewarded, says Mai Zaki

One-year degrees may be cost-effective, but pre-existing doubts about their quality are now becoming a barrier to employment, says Grace Chau 

The central goal should be simple: seamless student movement without obstacles regarding the recognition of courses, says Gregor Majdič

National security is not strengthened by making Australia smaller and less attractive to scientific talent, say James Laurenceson and Wanning Sun