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Online courses should be easily adaptable to post-Covid circumstances – whatever they may be, says An Jacobs

Tackling bias by urging writers to avoid stereotypically female descriptors undervalues qualities such as cooperation and care, says Davina Cooper

Neoliberal administrators’ policing of institutional reputations and academic colleagues’ condemnation of dissenting voices on issues such as race and gender have led to claims that scholars are losing their ability to engage in free enquiry and open debate. But is academic freedom really the operative concept in the controversies that arise? John Ross probes a highly contested debate

Civilised adults should not have to demonstrate that they can stand up to bullying before being offered a job, says an anonymous academic 

Those temporarily plucked from the academic ranks would have no motivation or ability to wreak havoc and then move on, argues Bruce Krajewski

Lecturers are being denied the flexibility they are compelled to offer students, despite being more vulnerable to the virus, says an anonymous academic

Publications must always permit debate on the quality and relevance of research – plus the efficacy and costs of derived policy, says Robert Dingwall

LSHTM director thinks communications failures explain why US and UK trail Vietnam and Senegal on pandemic responses 

A large ongoing survey at King’s College London is informing the institution’s approach to Covid-19, say Gabriella Bergin-Cartwright and Sharon Stevelink

Jean-Eric Paquet warns that on open data, research collaboration and academic mobility, EU-China links are not always reciprocal

To deflect political attacks, universities should emphasise the transformative effects of engaging with structured bodies of knowledge, says Paul Ashwin

Many students believe that if their instructors did not want them to cheat, they would not make it so easy, say three academics

Education minister Ingrid van Engelshoven says too much research funding is now competitive, leading to intense work stress

Following the BethAnn McLaughlin and Jessica Krug revelations, Rachel Moss offers her tips for spotting online fakers

With infection rates increasing and online teaching well established, why risk everyone’s health by reopening, asks Richard Watermeyer 

The shielding of the academic workplace from all risk of Covid-19 is not a safe or sane position, says Robert Poole

Set up by young researchers, new publication will highlight where studies went wrong – but it may struggle to attract submissions

David McClough reflects on whether higher education should take to the morally higher ground

The loss of international income makes the improvement of universities’ online offerings all the more urgent

With the Covid-19 pandemic likely to prolong the need for mass online learning for some time, we seek the experts’ advice on how to do it well – from designing courses and maintaining engagement to choosing applications and carrying out experiments remotely

Not all academics are in a position to churn out endless papers during lockdowns – and not all should, argues Michael Marinetto

Critics underestimated the human imagination’s capacity to render concepts flexible, says Frank Furedi

The lockdown has illustrated that we don't need to sacrifice academic interaction to save the planet, says Adnan Ajšić

This week’s deal will tip the balance back towards fundamental research – and it might not have been done at all, says Jan Palmowski 

Insistence on ‘excellent’ research is commonplace, but Europe’s biggest funders warn that it can damage integrity and foster ruthless competition when poorly defined

Physical events are not going away but they must open up and embrace the best of the digital world, says Jim Woodgett

Plan S shift backed by European Commission will be ‘detrimental’ to researchers, says commission-created ERC

Still on mute? Then let’s begin, says Emma Rees

Rather than simply endorsing complaints from the most vocal students and staff, we must react rigorously to curricular exclusions of all kinds, says Steven Greer

Simplistic performance measures hold research back, says Jim McCluskey, as Melbourne becomes the first Australian university to sign up to Dora

Never assume, never dominate the conversation and always have a Plan B are three of the lessons learned by Milena Head and Michael Hartmann

Progress will be very difficult if there is a loud cohort of academics who remain fundamentally opposed to it, says James Blackwell

Pathological corporate branding is detrimental to the very image universities want to portray to students, says Philip Moriarty

Prizewinners argue that researchers have ‘stuck to a line’ about the pandemic’s danger in order to get politicians to listen – risking open debate

Declarations of solidarity lay bare the feudalistic mentality of even the most radical leftist scholars, who speak for the beleaguered masses from the cover of their academic nobility, says Scott Thomas Gibson

Law professor who sits on Germany's constitutional court warns that far-right attacks on ‘weaker’ subjects would be followed by criticism of more mainstream disciplines

The prizewinning economist discusses how economics must focus on beliefs and identity, along with the influence of TV on our choices

Matthew Reisz reflects on the researchers who have brought us powerful stories about how gender manifests – from remote Himalayan villages to the nightclubs of the French Riviera

The global race against coronavirus to develop a vaccine cannot be won by principal investigators alone, says John Tregoning

Exploring the often unsavoury history behind many significant advances can be enlightening and empowering for students, argues Daniel Akinbosede

Making findings open source may enable certain companies and countries to corner the vaccine market, warn Virginia Driver and Tom Woodhouse

The querulous minority are unlikely to mend their ways even in their own bedrooms, predicts Helen Soteriou

Survey results from Germany also suggest people think public disagreement between scientists is good, as it will lead to better results

Yes, excess haste can lead to mistakes, but the same is true of natural science, says Sandro Galea

Students in the Netherlands are resisting use of software to stop cheating on exams, citing concerns about consent, intrusion and security of personal data

Pointless meetings, fraught commutes and whiffy shared fridges are mercifully off limits during the coronavirus lockdown. But what else are faculty glad to be rid of? And what are they pining to return to? Seven academics let us know

Inter-university collaboration to develop core online curricula may be the only way to preserve quality, says Matt Jenner 

Myths notwithstanding, devolving research agendas to disciplines has a poor record of success, says Steve Fuller

Virtually all modern university courses end with a request for feedback. But are students’ reactions even useful for improving future course design, never mind assessing lecturers? Seven academics discuss their experiences

Diversity makes most sense if it is about authors’ viewpoints rather than their ethnic origins, says Martin Levy

Let’s bury the fallacy that students favour particular approaches regardless of the topic, says Gavin Moodie

Whatever the truth around Mauro Ferrari’s resignation from the ERC, the affair raises an important issue, says Luca Magnani

Mauro Ferrari leaves after just four months in role following rejection of his suggestion that council launch a programme to fight Covid-19

The UK’s existing oversight by external visitors and professional bodies is the best way to safeguard standards, says Colin McCaig 

The shuttering of university campuses leaves security guards watching their screens for tumbleweeds, says George Bass

Good online pedagogy is all about readability, comprehension checks – and endless clicks, says Nicholas Murgatroyd

Project delays, as universities and labs shut down, prompt grant flexibility – but levels of leniency vary

The UK government is determined to make good on its manifesto pledge to crack down on substandard university programmes. But what is quality? Is it best measured by graduate earnings, learning gain, a national university curriculum – or something else entirely? Anna McKie ponders the options 

As labs shut, researchers in Milan fear losing months of work – and urge colleagues abroad to prepare now for similar restrictions

After six weeks of draconian isolation, Alessandra Cappelletti is looking forward to seeing her students again