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‘Researchers have a responsibility to publish’

Without publication, advancements in knowledge will be stifled or even halted altogether, writes Walid Saad. Here he explains the many benefits to publishing for established scholars and students alike

Walid Saad

Virginia Tech

A placard at a climate change protest reads "if you change nothing, nothing changes"

On climate change, are universities part of the problem or part of the solution?

As the effects of climate change become increasingly more extreme, fossil fuel interests are preventing transformative change. Where do universities stand?

Jennie C. Stephens

Maynooth University , Northeastern University

‘Creativity is a practice, not an astonishing stroke of good luck’

Screenwriter and playwright Stephen Sewell shares practical insights into fostering students’ mental flexibility and resilience from research into unlocking creativity

Stephen Sewell

Australian National University

‘What artists do is say the quiet bits out loud’

As teachers, we know our students will face the harsh demands of creativity and problem-solving in their daily professional lives – and we need to help them tap into deeper places that lead to novel solutions to intractable problems

Stephen Sewell

Australian National University

Causeway of Williston Lake in British Columbia

Truth is necessary for reconciliation

Good intentions and generalisations can harm reconciliation in the classroom and academy, writes Daniel Sims

Daniel Sims

University of Northern British Columbia

Productive disagreement is our best hope of tackling the climate crisis

As complex communities with a social purpose, universities are ideal places to foster and model difficult discussions around prioritising investment and effort towards net zero goals, writes Nigel Ball

Nigel Ball

University of the Arts London

Male and female figures scale a very different set of stairs to the top

We need to dismantle the promotion patriarchy in academia from the inside

Women in academia are promoted at far lower rates than their male peers and are under-represented in senior positions. To fix this, universities will need to embrace systemic change

Rachael Jefferson

Charles Sturt University

Woman in VR headset against image of wind farm

It’s time to turn the tide on our clean energy ambitions

Universities have a pivotal role to play in inspiring the next generation to find sustainable energy solutions, from uniting researchers with business to translating innovation into practice to growing the future workforce, writes Deborah Greaves

Deborah Greaves

University of Plymouth

Woman with laptop and numbers, transformation concept

Reimagining the role of higher education in a world of intersecting revolutions

To remain relevant, universities must shift from reactive funding requests to proactive transformation, writes Rahim Somani

Rahim Somani

University of Northern British Columbia

Female artist in her studio smiling to camera

Neurodiversity-affirming education is key to supporting students into the creative industries

More needs to be done to support neurodivergent people seeking careers in the creative industries. Here are some strategies

Hannah Breslin

University of the Arts London

African American student studying online

Creating flexible learning pathways for business students

Digital transformation isn’t about technology – it’s about people, writes Steve Hill. Learning experiences must fit into students’ lives rather than forcing them to fit their lives around institutions

Steve Hill

Walbrook Institute London

Income should not determine outcomes for young musicians

If we accept the view that music education is only for the rich, it makes us complicit in stifling the life choices of talented artists, writes Jennie Henley

Jennie Henley

Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM)

A hand picking up a plastic bottle off the ground

Greening your university is not optional; it’s urgent

Investing in greening your institution will result in huge savings in the long run. Here are some strategies that have worked for CETYS University

Isaac Azuz

CETYS Universidad

Black students are succeeding in spite of academia, rather than because of it – we need a reset

The narrative that widening participation is enough is creating isolation and disillusionment among Black PhD students. How can universities move beyond it to empower Black academics?

William Ackah

Birkbeck, University of London

Illustration of many juggling icons on unicyle

Should academics embrace ambidextrous leadership to future-proof their career?

Ambidexterity requires investing time in training that can provide the skills needed to operate in a dynamic environment but also in the future

Greta Faccio, Valentina Lorenzon

Independent consultant, Independent academic

Embracing linguistic diversity and equity in global academic publishing

English operates as a gatekeeper in academia, determining who can access and contribute to the most prestigious platforms of knowledge production. We must create spaces where other languages can thrive, write three European academics

Javier Husillos, Carlos Larrinaga, Daniel Martinez

UPNA, Universidad de Burgos, HEC Paris

Philosophy graduates are extremely employable – but they need degree programmes that show them why

Many students interested in studying philosophy at university will be concerned about its job prospects, so they require courses that demonstrate how to translate its skills into a career, writes Jonathan Webber

Jonathan Webber

Cardiff University

A woman gives a talk to a room of people

How university leaders can hold firm on the glass cliff

In her book ‘Leading from the Margins’, Mary Dana Hinton considers the challenges facing the next generation of women and people of colour in leadership positions

Mary Dana Hinton

Hollins University

Open dialogue about AI in HE is the way forward

The assumption that instructors hold negative views on the use of any generative AI means that important conversations aren’t being had

Florian Stoeckel

The University of Exeter

Student testing out a wind turbine model

Critical approaches to incorporating the SDGs into curricula

Mapping curricula against the SDGs has become a key objective for education institutions aiming to showcase their commitment to sustainability. But we must do this through a critical lens

Campus contributors

The University of Exeter

Donors want to see real-world impact. What does that mean for higher education in the sciences?

Amid academia’s challenges related to talent retention and fundraising, universities can use translational research programmes to enhance scientific edge and real-world impact, and strengthen donor relations

Shai Shen-Orr

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

black woman at laptop with scales and gavel, law studies

International collaboration is a legal education opportunity

Cross-cultural understanding can enrich the ways in which educators in law integrate comparative legal analysis into their teaching, writes Petra Butler

Petra Butler

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Illustration of hand holding a cup aloft

Everything you wanted to know about National Teaching Fellowships but were afraid to ask…

The UK’s National Teaching Fellowships were established to recognise excellence in teaching and student learning. Fellow James Derounian asks if the scheme fulfils its goals

James Derounian

University of Bolton

Academics can (and should) be idiots

The comedy stage can be a place for academics to be silly and let it all hang out. Chris Pahlow explores why humour is effective for scholars and the people they’re trying to communicate with about their research

Chris Pahlow

Amplifying Research

Robot with people rolling coins, AI subscription

Is it worth paying for GenAI?

How useful is artificial intelligence for syllabus design? A law lecturer compared the free and subscription versions of three generative AI platforms, with surprising results

Sophia De Arez Cintra

King’s College London

illustration of hand and five stars, reputation concept

Five strategies to cultivate university reputation

The reputational crisis of many universities is a crisis of identity, writes Santiago Fernández-Gubieda. Here, he explains that reputation starts within the organisation, and offers five actions to foster public trust in universities

Santiago Fernández-Gubieda

University of Navarra

Supporting parent academics through staff networks

The power of a combined voice can make working life easier for university faculty and staff with children. Here, Judith Lock lays out the challenges of mixing parenthood with academia and how networks lead to more family-friendly campuses

Judith Lock

University of Southampton

Why I ban AI use for writing assignments

Students may see handwriting essays in class as a needlessly time-consuming approach to assignments, but I want them to learn how to engage with arguments, develop their own views and convey them effectively, writes James Stacey Taylor

James Stacey Taylor

The College of New Jersey

We must acknowledge our positionality to inclusively engage the community

The work that can lead to change involves building relationships and understanding, and developing and sharing knowledge in partnership with our communities. Put simply, community engagement must engage the community, writes Nilufar Ahmed

Nilufar Ahmed

The University of Bristol

What does it mean for students to be AI-ready?

Not everyone wants to be a computer scientist, a software engineer or a machine learning developer. We owe it to our students to prepare them with a full range of AI skills for the world they will graduate into, writes David Joyner

David Joyner

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Infertility is a private struggle that requires open and supportive solutions

With infertility on the rise, is it time for universities to consider how they support staff struggling with fertility? Devon Oakley-Hogg shares a first-hand account of her failed IVF cycles and how the experience has left her craving change

Devon Oakley-Hogg

University of Glasgow

Australian universities need to do more than pay lip service to multilingualism

How can we train Australian schoolteachers in cultural and linguistic diversity if our universities are English-only zones? Embed translanguaging practices in our courses, writes Sue Ollerhead

Sue Ollerhead

Macquarie University

Higher education needs a united approach to AI

If universities’ response to AI and education is as fractured as the sector’s adoption of blended learning, we may well find ourselves in a similar position in 20 years’ time with duplicated costs and missed research opportunities, writes Sara de Freitas

Sara de Freitas

Birkbeck, University of London

Why visible senior leadership in sustainability matters

Successful or sustainable? Is this the biggest challenge that universities face when striving to reduce their carbon footprint? Jan Evans-Freeman explains where leadership fits into the equation

Jan Evans-Freeman

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Young Asian woman greeting friend at cafe

Informal networking and how to meet people on campus

Belonging is not just a result of being in a place – nor it is the sole preserve of students. For university faculty, it comes from chance encounters, small gestures and stepping outside your comfort zone, writes Glenn Fosbraey

Glenn Fosbraey

University of Winchester

Talking to students about AI

Socio-economic, cultural, geographic and other factors mean that some students know more about AI than others, and we can’t have an effective discussion about AI and academic integrity until we all know what we’re talking about, writes John Weldon

John Weldon

Victoria University

The (AI) sky isn’t falling

Students using generative AI to write their essays is a problem, but it isn’t a crisis, writes Christopher Hallenbrook. We have the tools to tackle the issue of artificial intelligence

Christopher R. Hallenbrook

California State University, Dominguez Hills

Detail of Michelangelo's Creation of Adam

Why I invite a creationist to my evolutionary biology class

The encounter gives students a chance to apply newly gained knowledge to a real-world situation and, perhaps more importantly, it models productive discussion among people who disagree with one another, writes Curt Stager

Curt Stager

Paul Smith’s College

AI did not disturb assessment – it just made our mistakes visible

If educators don’t understand the learning processes, they also miss the reasons why students cheat, writes Margault Sacré. Here, she offers an approach to motivate and benchmark progress

Margault Sacré

University of Luxembourg

In an artificially intelligent age, frame higher education around a new kind of thinking

One of the helpful by-products emerging from the advent of AI is that we are beginning to reflect more critically on the way we think, writes David Holland

David Holland

The University of East Anglia

A robot drops papers as it's caught in a flashlight beam

Is it time to turn off AI detectors?

In this extract from their new book, ‘Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning’, José Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson discuss the reliability of AI detection tools and how to combat cheating without them

José Antonio Bowen, C. Edward Watson

American Association of Colleges and Universities

AI can help fix student evaluations

With large language models to provide reports and analysis, educators can make use of generative AI to improve the process of student evaluations, writes Adnan Ajšić

Adnan Ajšić

American University of Sharjah

Real-world experiences can help your creative arts students create real-world change

Integrating real-world experiences into creative industries programmes can create truly meaningful results – for both the students and the wider community. Clare Duffin outlines how

Clare Duffin

University of the West of Scotland

Illustration of people in silhouette with cityscape

Harnessing the humanities for transformative tech leadership

Amid a growing awareness that humanities students and faculty need data literacy, Rishi Jaitly, a longstanding champion of the humanities in technology, explains why data and technology leaders also need an education in the liberal arts

Rishi Jaitly

Virginia Tech

How authentic stories can empower the ‘unheard voices’

Storytelling can be a powerful change agent. When proposing change – such as the digital transformation in universities – leadership needs to communicate in ways that cut through the noise and inspire action, write three digital adopters

Lisa Harris, Sarah Dyer, Craig Walker

The University of Exeter, The University of Manchester, HEdway Group

Collaboration requires more than not stepping on toes

To get things done in universities, do we need to embrace conflict or find new ways to work together? Here, three digital adopters explain why collaboration isn’t the same as hoping not to annoy anyone

Sarah Dyer, Lisa Harris, Craig Walker

The University of Manchester, The University of Exeter, HEdway Group

Why the ‘machine says no’: how asking for less can get you more…

Under-investment and lack of future proofing of core digital systems have left many universities with creaking legacy infrastructure that cannot support increasing demands. Here, three digital adopters suggest that incremental improvements could be a way forward

Craig Walker, Lisa Harris, Sarah Dyer

HEdway Group, The University of Exeter, The University of Manchester

Humans develop humans

Even small interactions with lecturers, tutors and peers offer opportunities for students to develop interpersonal skills, so it’s important we recognise and value these to ensure they are not lost, writes Marianne Savory

Marianne Savory

Leeds University Business School

Steps to adapt engineering education to changing skills demands

Context-based learning, teamwork and creativity are all elements that could help engineering training respond more effectively to the needs of complex workplaces, writes Parakram Pyakurel

Parakram Pyakurel

New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering

Pledges and charters in medical schools: catalysts for change or performative promises?

Pledges demonstrating support in addressing issues such as racism and misogyny will often garner interest and may even attract pockets of funding. But they also risk oversimplifying complex problems, writes Lois Haruna-Cooper

Lois Haruna-Cooper

UCL

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