Lecturers' leader David Triesman wants government to plough more into research amid fears that quality is being forgotten in the drive to widen university participation.
Mr Triesman (above), general secretary of the Association of University Teachers, rejected claims of elitism to call for more cash for top-end university research. He told an audience of politicians and AUT members:
"The union has been a very strong advocate of widening access and inclusiveness, but my anxiety is whether the other side of the equation is disappearing."