Research distilled

Students sitting in a circle on the floor with laptops

When plans meet people: navigating the friction of group assessment

Not all group work runs smoothly but educators can deal with disruptions more effectively if they have time- and situation-sensitive moves in their teaching repertoire. Here, Sarah Sholl and Stephen Yorkstone offer advice to stop group assessment falling apart

Sarah Sholl, Stephen Yorkstone

Edinburgh Napier University, Independent consultant

Group of professionals seated talking at a networking event

How female academics can turn network awareness into advancement

The ability to map, navigate and capitalise on professional connections – and disconnections – is not gender neutral, as Eric Quintane explains

Eric Quintane

ESMT Berlin

AI won’t replace qualitative researchers – it might help them

Large language models may not simply replicate human analyses of qualitative data; they can offer additional insights and both challenge researchers' assumptions and prompt further reflection on their interpretations

Dimitris Raidos, Sarah Jenner

Ipsos UK, University of Southampton

A guide to help journal editorial boards introduce ECRs to academic publishing

Academic publishing can be a harsh landscape. Here, a partnership model offers language and strategies to support new authors as they navigate early submissions and review

Jesper Hansen, Kristy Campbell

UCL, King’s College London

How universities can support employability for international students

If you work in higher education, you are part of the employability journey, writes Gemma Kenyon. And career readiness is a key driver for international enrolments

Gemma Kenyon

City St George’s, University of London

Connectivity graphic showing different devices

Digital assumptions versus global realities in transnational education

Connectivity and access remain key challenges as universities in the Global North extend provision beyond their borders. Reflective questions about the experience of TNE students and staff can help ensure courses remain relevant and inclusive

Tabetha Newman, Elizabeth Newall

Jisc

Storytelling in STEM: connecting concepts, confidence and identity

Designing STEM classrooms that encourage students to reflect on their progress and share their stories takes intention, but the pay-off is enormous: more engaged, capable and confident learners

Karen Ho, Douglas B. Clark

Mount Royal University, University of Calgary

Motivating students isn’t magic – it’s music

When students see purpose, believe they can succeed and know educators care, you won’t have to pull them through the course. They’ll walk, maybe even run, on their own. Brett Jones explains how to change their tune

Brett D. Jones

Virginia Tech

Two female Asian fashion design students in workshop

Beyond the creative supplement: reframing the value of arts-based research

When traditional methodologies struggle to capture sensory, emotional and lived dimensions of culture, researchers can turn to arts-based enquiry. This practical advice explains how to integrate audio, visual and reflective data collection into research design

Peng Liu

Macau University of Science and Technology

Young Muslim female student in university classroom

What universities gain from involving displaced students in civic engagement

Civic action not only gives displaced students and refugees a sense of belonging and agency, it brings academic communities benefits such as cultural insight and leadership skills

Jonathan Becker, Zarlasht Sarmast

Bard College

Faith, freedom and fairness: a balancing act for universities

Can UK universities protect the right for students to voice difficult views while ensuring that no student feels that their opinions or beliefs make them a target for prejudice?

Lucy Peacock

University of Cambridge

A hiring panel interviewing a candidate at a table

Beyond gut feeling: what should academic hiring panels consider?

Academic hiring often relies on gut feeling and bias. Olga Ryazanova and Peter McNamara show how evidence on early-career choices and research records can help panels make fairer, more informed decisions

Olga Ryazanova , Peter McNamara

Maynooth University

Young female medical researcher with elderly female patient

How to conduct research involving people who may not have capacity to consent for themselves

Studies involving people who may not be able to provide their own consent to take part in research can be daunting. These practical tips offer a guide to ethical and inclusive research with this population

Victoria Shepherd, Anna Anderson, Amy M. Russell

Cardiff University, University of Leeds

Workers in hard hats and hi-vis discuss their plans

The autonomy paradox: why graduate apprentices need both freedom and support to thrive

Graduate apprentices who report high levels of autonomy in their workplace learning don’t necessarily achieve better outcomes. Here’s what they need to succeed

Elaine Jackson, Alan MacDonald

University of the West of Scotland

Young black woman before panel during job interview

The challenge of building a diverse faculty in a world that has turned on diversity

In improving recruitment and retention of faculty from under-represented groups, universities can learn strategies from the corporate world – and let go of contentious remedies that do not work

Frank Dobbin, Alexandra Kalev

Harvard University, Tel Aviv University

How universities can move from DEI backlash to breakthrough

Identity threat – when individuals or groups feel devalued – can undermine equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. But if universities reframe this conflict, it can result in growth and new perspectives, write Camellia Bryan and Brent Lyons

Camellia Bryan, Brent Lyons

University of British Columbia, York University

Beyond the buzz: how AI can be a coach, not a competitor, in the university classroom

Placing teaching tasks along a spectrum between AI and human strengths can help university educators make use of the best of both worlds

Meena Jha, Michael Cowling, Josiah Koh, Kwong Nui Sim

Central Queensland University, RMIT University, Western Sydney University

Is graduate employability a core university priority?

Universities, once judged primarily on the quality of their academic outcomes, are now also expected to prepare students for the workplace. Here’s how higher education is adapting to changing pressures

Katherine Emms, Andrea Laczik

The Edge Foundation

The unexpected benefits of academic blogging

Academic blogging can open doors to collaboration and career growth. Discover its benefits, and learn how to build a culture that supports it.

Jenny Scoles

The University of Edinburgh

What trauma-informed practice can learn from EDI in higher education

Equity, diversity and inclusion work reminds us that trauma doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Here are insights from EDI that can enrich trauma-informed practice

Maree Martinussen, Sarah O’Shea

Charles Sturt University

Different languages in speech bubbles on a laptop

International students don’t need ‘fixing’

To internationalise education, and not just enrolments, educators need to move feedback on academic language from correction to collaboration. Here Nashid Nigar offers a framework for rethinking inclusion through literacy diversity

Nashid Nigar

University of Melbourne

How can higher education better support international students with disabilities?

Institutions need to work harder to understand international students with disabilities’ needs and challenges, and put in place more obvious and intentional communication with them

Carol Evans, Maurie van den Heever, Ralph E. McKinney

University of Salford, GoodX Software, Marshall University

The power of short courses in transforming the workplace

What started out as a business research project into low productivity became a commercially successful short course. Perhaps it’s time to think outside the box and respond to what businesses need

Richard Saundry

University of Westminster

Illustration of an elephant in a library

‘Using GenAI is easier than asking my supervisor for support’

Doctoral researchers are turning to generative AI to assist in their research. How are they using it, and how can supervisors and candidates have frank discussions about using it responsibly?

Ross English, Rebecca Nash, Heather Mackenzie

University of Southampton

Skills to build an AI learning assistant

What does ‘age appropriate’ AI literacy look like in higher education?

As AI literacy becomes an essential work skill, universities need to move beyond developing these competencies at ‘primary school’ level in their students. Here, Fun Siong Lim reflects on frameworks to support higher-order AI literacies

Fun Siong Lim

Nanyang Technological University

Are you a jack of all GenAI?

Effective use of generative AI draws on a suite of skills that go beyond well-crafted prompts. Getting the best out of tech’s ubiquitous tool requires informed choices, field expertise, flexibility, diligence and a willingness to play

Einat Grimberg, Claire Mason, Andrew Reeson, Cécile Paris

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Harness the power of AI to preserve endangered art forms

Researchers breathed new life into Cantonese porcelain painting techniques using AI, equipping a new generation with traditional skills. Here’s how they did it

Henry Duh

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

A team work on a research project round a table

The power of participatory podcasts as a research method

Instead of seeing podcasting as an alternative output, producing a series with a group of youth curators helped Abigail Harrison Moore and Lauren Theweneti understand how significant it can be for participatory research

Abigail Harrison Moore, Lauren Theweneti

University of Leeds, Sheffield Hallam University

As students become more ‘distant’, can feedback still hit the mark?

Whether they are behind a computer screen or behind bars, all students need support with making effective use of feedback – whether or not the process is a two-way street

Robert Nash, Kieran Balloo

National Institute of Teaching, The University of Southern Queensland

We should be using social media more to understand students

How to use netnography to improve communication with prospective and current students

Alex Fenton

University of Chester

Multiracial group of three people looking at a computer

Inclusive co-teaching can draw on educators’ lived experience

Joint teaching between academic faculty and experts by experience offers not only professional development for future teachers, but benefits student understanding as well. Here’s how to put it into practice

Pablo Rodríguez Herrero

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Female lecturer speaking to students at the front of class

Low-cost ways to support women academics

Offering mentorship opportunities, supporting peer groups and addressing bias are some of the ways institutions can support women academics

Asri Saraswati

The University of Indonesia

Practical strategies for greener transportation on your university campus

Focusing on electric vehicle use and optimising lead-acid batteries, Kumar Tripathi shares practical tips for improving campus sustainability through greener transport, based on a pilot study

Abhishek Kumar Tripathi

Aditya University

Colouring in: a big-impact, low-budget support for student well-being

The simple activity of colouring in could be an easy, budget-friendly way for university educators and professionals to help students reduce stress and improve well-being

Emma Palmer-Cooper

University of Southampton

A group of people work around an office table

Embrace the potential of dyslexic thinkers for the future of research

Academia has made progress in recognising neurodiversity, but dyslexic academics still face significant barriers. Here’s how universities can embrace cultural competency to support and unlock the potential of dyslexic thinkers

Edward Ademolu

King’s College London

An illustration of young people putting a lighbulb together

When engaging young people in participatory research, trust is key

How can we collaborate with young people to co-produce research? Keep these three things in mind

Abigail Harrison Moore, Lauren Theweneti

University of Leeds, Sheffield Hallam University

Two hands fit jigsaw puzzle pieces together

How to achieve interdisciplinary research? Focus on the people

Restructuring research domains around four communities allowed academics to find their natural home, writes Andrew Linn. Here’s how to do it

Andrew Linn

University of Westminster

How to preserve academic credibility when engaging with social media

As political expression on social media can harm public perception of scientists, strategies such as sharing research, separating personal and professional identities, and engaging objectively are ways that academics can use it effectively while preserving credibility

Eleonora Alabrese, Francesco Capozza, Prashant Garg

University of Bath, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Imperial College London

Parents with two sons posing for a photo

A guide to supporting student parents at university: part three

Practical strategies for easing student parents into higher education study, including time management, contingency planning and community building

Andy Todd

University of Chester

A guide to supporting student parents at university: part two

The second in a three-part series provides detailed, practical guidance on how student parents can be supported to succeed at UK universities

Andy Todd

University of Chester

A guide to supporting student parents at university: part one

The first in a three-part series provides an overview on how student parents can be supported to succeed at UK universities

Andy Todd

University of Chester

Post-it notes showing smiling and frowning faces

Peer feedback: a burden for students or route to better academic writing?

Asking students to give anonymous feedback on each other’s work can not only result in better writing skills but also offer them opportunities to try new approaches and refine assessment tasks

Alison Daniell

University of Southampton

Learning translational medicine can make doctors more effective

As doctors must apply the latest scientific results in daily practice as soon as possible, it follows that translation methodologies should be taught to medical students

Péter Hegyi

Semmelweis University

Building trust to support researchers’ mental health

Principal investigators should know what challenges to trust their research team may face at each stage of a project – from team building to post-project collaboration – so they can focus support effectively

Alex Zarifis

University of Southampton

Lessons in chemistry: widening university students’ participation through storytelling

Storytelling can bridge the gap between complex STEM content and student engagement – it gives learners a discovery-based approach and educators an inclusive teaching tool and means of assessment

Karen Ho

Mount Royal University

Teaching international students about academic integrity

Cultural misunderstandings can lead to international students being referred for academic misconduct. An answer for university educators can be to tailor course content to bridge gaps in your students‘ understanding

Julija Jones

University of Southampton

Neurodivergent leadership potential concept illustration

‘It just isn’t safe to disclose’

Neurodiverse academics face real and significant barriers to achieving positions of educational leadership. Here are considerations for universities to make promotion more equitable

Adrian J. Wallbank, Andrew Page-Towers

Oxford Brookes University

Can academic prenups help overcome barriers to interdisciplinary research?

A bottom-up approach could establish shared values, objectives, risk appetites and publication strategies as ways to mitigate challenges that hinder effective progress of interdisciplinary teams

Himanshu Kaul

University of Leicester

What work-based learners need from sustainability education

Flexible course design, reasonable time commitments and real-life practice are vital if universities expect to train the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs in sustainable development

Jonathan Muir

University of Leeds

A young woman referring to her notes while stufying at home on her laptop

Effective ways to keep online language students motivated

A learning designer discusses tried and tested strategies to keep students engaged in online language courses

Nigel Gearing

The University of Auckland

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