What innovation needs to thrive in higher education

University leaders must nurture a creative environment in which new ideas can flourish if they are to future-proof higher education institutions; researchers must innovate to achieve research excellence and tackle global challenges; and educators must pioneer new teaching approaches to ensure students graduate with the skills needed in a changing job market. In a sector that shapes tomorrow’s innovators, many argue that sticking to tradition risks curbing the progress that is so vital for solving problems within and outside universities. This collection of resources explores how to drive innovation across higher education.

Leading innovation at your institution

Faced with financial challenges, political instability and rapid technological change, university leaders must find innovative solutions, streamline processes and lead ongoing changes to maintain their institutions’ long-term success. This means looking beyond traditional models, experimenting, hiring the right people and galvanising staff to contribute their ideas, as these resources explain.   

Ways to create time and mental space for strategic innovation in higher education: From breaking down silos to simplifying administrative processes, find out how university leaders can better position their institutions to adapt and innovate, from Catherine Wehlburg of Athens State University.

How to create a start-up dynamic in academia: Innovation hubs have sparked ideas, fostered partnerships and raised funding for the software industry. Let’s use the same model to create groundbreaking educational programmes, writes Deborah Sepich of Colorado State University Global.

To save higher education, we must look beyond traditional university models: If we are to radically transform universities, we must seek solutions from diverse learning projects that have historically been excluded from, or remained separate to, higher education, argue Fern Thompsett, Kristen Lyons and Richard Hil of Columbia University, the University of Queensland and Griffith University, respectively.

How university leaders can use an ‘innovation for’ mindset to drive enrolment: For US colleges and universities, the key to turning around falling enrolment is to directly respond to concerns about affordability, accessibility and return on investment, writes Nivine Megahed of National Louis University.

Host a competition to foster creativity and innovation at your institution: Challenging and rewarding staff for coming up with innovative solutions can help your institution become more adaptable and forward-thinking, colleagues from Tecnológico de Monterrey explain.

A blueprint for hiring innovative educators: Academics in Pakistan found the rules for hiring university teachers were letting well-rounded candidates, with real-world experience, slip through the cracks. Asghar Zaidi of the University of Oxford shares how they changed and improved the situation.

Four ways to create an entrepreneurial culture at your institution: Universities are perfectly placed to help start-ups get off the ground. Alan Murray, Robert Crammond and Kingsley Omeihe of the University of the West of Scotland advise on how best to get your students thinking with a business mindset.

Innovation in research

Innovation is both a driver and an outcome of academic research. New ways of thinking and doing can support more effective research practices, but for research to make an impact beyond the lab or journal, an entrepreneurial mindset is needed that will translate findings to the real-world. As these resources show, this can mean supporting enterprise, finding ways to streamline processes, looking to technology to ease logistical burdens or broadening perspectives by diversifying research teams.

How do you leap from research lab to Silicon Valley start-up? The good news is that times of turmoil are ideal for innovation – and far more skills are transferable from bench to IPO than you might imagine. Here are eight actions that will get your start-up off the ground, Ben Clark of the University of Southampton. 

Enhance your research through public engagement and collaboration: How can academics shape research around mutually beneficial public engagement and collaboration? Emily Burns of Queen Mary University of London outlines the key considerations.

How to drive change in a research group, part one: Using McKinsey’s 7-S framework: Embracing change is vital for research groups that want to make an impact, writes Daniel Moraru of Shizuoka University. Here, he outlines ways to do this while aligning with shared values that ensure consistency.

Could AI manage your research project? The possibilities for using artificial intelligence in research know no bounds – it could even end up in a management role. Here’s what it could do, according to Henry Sauermann and Maximilian Köhler of ESMT Berlin.

Empower ECRs to commercialise their research: Early career researchers face many barriers when it comes to translating their research into commercial success, be they a lack of time, being overlooked in favour of more established colleagues or simply not knowing where to start. Lysimachos Zografos of the University of Edinburgh outlines how one initiative is supporting ECRs to bring their research into the real world.

How can universities increase diversity in spin-out founders? Ensuring that all talented researchers can participate in spin-out leadership is core to translating world-leading discoveries into innovative and impactful businesses, writes Simonetta Manfredi of Oxford Brookes University in response to the UK spin-outs review.

Supporting innovative teaching

With advancements in GenAI disrupting and reshaping teaching and assessment in higher education, alongside changing student and employer needs, ensuring instructional design and delivery keep pace with changing demands requires a willingness to adapt, listen and improve. To ensure students are prepared for life beyond university, educators must continue to review learning outcomes and embrace new pedagogies – these resources offer help to do this.

Let professors play: the case for sandbox classes in HE: Some of the most powerful innovations in teaching don’t come from policy mandates – they come from freedom to play, writes Danny Oppenheimer of Carnegie Mellon University.

Beyond learning design: supporting pedagogical innovation in response to AI: To avoid an unwinnable game of catch-up with technology, universities must rethink pedagogical improvement to go beyond scaling online learning, writes Charlotte von Essen of Stockholm School of Economics.

Making space for innovation: a higher education challenge: Risk, chance and disruption can be paths to innovative teaching practice. Here, Michelle Prawer of Victoria University offers ways to bring more flexibility into the classroom.

Seven things driving the evolution of the university in the 21st century: How can we align higher education with the changing demands of society? Urbi Ghosh of Colorado State University identifies the seven factors involved in transforming the university.

‘Creativity is a practice, not an astonishing stroke of good luck’: Screenwriter and playwright Stephen Sewell of the Australian National University shares practical insights into fostering students’ mental flexibility and resilience from research into unlocking creativity.

The summer life of a teacher can be a boon for creativity in the classroom: For me, what makes a teacher interesting in the classroom is proportional to what interests them outside it, says Zachary Michael Jack of North Central College.

A new way of designing learning outcomes in line with future skills: How to design learning outcomes that balance traditional academic skills with the human abilities students need to thrive in the workplace, by Kay Harrison of the University of Auckland.

Fostering innovation among students

By equipping students with skills that are prized in a world shaped by technological change, universities will boost their employability while encouraging the kind of innovative thinking that could make a real difference in society. Read about tried and tested ways to encourage an entrepreneurial mindset and nurture creativity. 

How can students learn to be innovative? Teaching students innovative thinking through the use of business case studies and ‘learning by doing’, explained by William Cheung and Edward You of the University of Auckland.

Resilience and risk tolerance: fostering a start-up mindset in your students: Flavio Olivieri Sangiacomo of CETYS Universidad explains how to inspire an entrepreneurial yet empathetic mindset that can teach students key traits for their future lives and careers.

Spark creativity in your students – and boost their employability: Thinking creatively is a crucial skill for the future workplace. But how can we instil it in today’s students? Sarah Montano and Inci Toral of the University of Birmingham share their solution.

How to foster a start-up mindset in creative sector students: In an ever-changing employment landscape, more students than ever are setting up start-ups after graduation. Richard Sant and Victoria Fabbri of the University of the Arts London share how the creative sector has lessons for nurturing future entrepreneurs.

The secrets of supporting successful student start-ups: Guidance to how universities can support student entrepreneurship and successful business creation, shared by John Lonsdale of the University of Edinburgh.

How to train entrepreneurs in five steps: What training is needed to help aspiring entrepreneurs develop the skills they will need? Esade’s George Chondrakis shares five vital steps.

Thank you to all who contributed their expertise to this guide.

If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.