Research impact and innovation
Universities are better off seeking support elsewhere than accepting funds with ‘conditionalities’, says v-c
The SDGs give Asean universities a guide for prioritising their services to society, as well as a template for demonstrating their strengths
Research-led institutions have driven Manchester’s success under Burnham’s mayoralty but likely next prime minister’s support could be contingent on spreading prosperity beyond cities, sector figures suggest
Senior academics need to recapture their love for research, according to former professor-turned-politician
Faster rail services between major UK research hubs and stronger incentives to work together could deliver innovation benefits, says report
University groups say plans to reduce funding for flagship research programme an ‘astonishing act of political incoherence’
Initiative to create more than 800 PhDs and involve several leading universities but academics concerned about country neglecting blue-sky research
Five institutions collaborate with regional mayor to support businesses built on university research
UK can become ‘most attractive place in the world’ to invest in innovative companies, say v-cs
Tripling in spin-out growth since 2020, with university equity stakes reaching lowest level in a decade, according to new report
Support for two major science projects is hailed by city’s mayor as an important turning point in UK science policy
Progress on research commercialisation stalls after pandemic peak, with 141 new spin-outs launched last year
Universities accused of not fulfilling their role of being catalysts for change as political forces threaten to derail climate action
Professor who set up publisher four years ago to redirect revenue to those doing quality control says it has been an ‘uphill battle’
Universities set to miss out on promised funding after EU fraud office finds ‘irregularities’ at body that supports HE-business collaborations
Broad support for Serd proposals to reorganise A$4.6bn tax break scheme as current iteration struggles to ignite business investment
Two draft parliamentary reports seek to protect independence of key bodies but universities say more clarity is needed on directionality and defence research
Universities launch new programmes to train engineers after coming under pressure to better meet continent’s skills needs
Universities want ‘clear division’ between FP10 and competitiveness fund to protect frontier research
Investing in sector by focusing on new technologies can combat brain drain and help institutions escape from their reliance on the West, say experts
Cass Sunstein’s new book – his 87th – deliberately prizes long-term currency over short-term appeal. But at a moment when some fear that American liberalism is under threat, is the Obama-era official right not to address the elephant in the room? Matthew Reisz reports
Blaming institutional equity demands for the lack of university spin-out success is misguided, says UKRI review
Platform previously accused of sending ‘threatening’ tweets shuttered by Elsevier as it ‘searches for new solutions’
Reduction in funding by Science and Technology Facilities Council would be ‘most drastic’ cut to curiosity-driven science ‘in a generation’ warn scientific leaders
Universities can produce commercially viable projects while giving the industry the sustainability and freedom to take risks on new talent, says Chris Nunn
New flagship institution intended to rival region’s best faces lengthy delays as highly ambitious plans to create sustainable city in the desert unravel
Labour’s push for more research specialisation fits south coast institution’s growing focus on pensioner health, say professors
Director of Institute of Development Studies discusses stepping into the role after 25 years, impact of USAID cuts and benefits of Sussex collaboration
Speakers’ bureaux are largely designed to promote celebrity after-dinner entertainers, but they are also being adopted by some academic publishers as a way to boost their authors’ long-term profiles. Matthew Reisz asks whether others should be grabbing the microphone
Across schools and universities, students must be taught how the scientific method reveals workable policy options – not diktats, says Peter Calow
If 2025 was about establishing stability, in 2026 our focus must turn to building for the future, says UUK president Malcolm Press
Institutions in the Middle East should establish an innovation hub to help young people develop their own companies, THE summit hears
Economic policy is boosting political interest in science, but researchers must bear in mind the time pressures on MPs, says Tracey Brown.
Success of two health spin-outs from UCL and Cambridge helps drive value of deals higher in 2024
Sethuraman Panchanathan says research funder and scientists must improve ‘storytelling’ as agency faces $5 billion cuts
Demonstrating research impact more clearly will reverse falling public support for higher education, argues scholar turned education minister
A year after joining the ‘MIT of the Middle East’, the former King’s College London president reflects on the need for scholars to align their research with national priorities and the joys of leading a ‘city community of scholars’
The panel’s overriding concern is to ensure that research is used productively. But observers worry that pushing universities to specialise in centrally determined ‘focus areas’ risks inadvertently turning them, in effect, into government agencies. John Ross reports
Coming together of 10 research-led universities not a ‘self-serving’ mission group, say vice-chancellors
Registration requirements and compact negotiations would be reformed to funnel universities into ‘focus areas’, under panel’s draft proposals
Results of the fifth annual Knowledge Exchange Framework show research-intensive institutions performed most strongly on intellectual property and commercialisation
As wellsprings of intellectual thought, universities play a crucial role in shaping democratic nations’ national confidence and identity, says Peter Gluckman
Outgoing chief says it is ‘right time for new leadership’ after political pressure to switch to defence focus
Science secretary wants institutions to use their ‘colossal resource’ to lead innovation drive, expressing concern about research cuts
Country will lack the expertise to achieve next-generation priorities if funding left at mercy of undergraduate enrolments, Academy of Science analysis finds
Analysis of publications shows influence of research on government, with under-pressure humanities departments often having the most impact
Excluding academia from the main discussions at recent national productivity summit is short-sighted and complacent, says Shamit Saggar
UK universities have no need to oversell their benefits to individuals or societies, but they do need to demonstrate an ability to foster both free speech and civil disagreement – while carefully navigating their ‘slightly nerve-racking’ reliance on overseas students, UCL’s provost tells Chris Havergal
Amid claims outcomes of long-anticipated talkfest have been orchestrated in advance, expert says precursor events promise ‘substance’
Huge dividends from Denmark’s weight loss drug industry are result of high tax and high investment economy, says Nobel prizewinner Morten Meldal
Sector lobbyists may be partly responsible for the Public Accounts Committee’s over-emphasis on commercial outcomes, says B.V.E. Hyde
Nuffield Foundation says it wants to generate ‘viable solutions to the key social questions facing the country’ under new strategic direction
The Oxford-Cambridge Arc universities kept the faith, but the sector’s current focus is inevitably on shorter-term priorities, says Alistair Lomax
The government’s huge loan scheme for firms to collaborate with academia could be a game changer if the benefits are widely spread, says Eldho Mathews
Cambridge and Manchester’s blueprint will build on existing assets and address real constraints to deliver results quickly, say Deborah Prentice and Duncan Ivison
Disparities in impact-related support for UK academics may widen funding inequalities from Research Excellence Framework, scholars fear
Researchers seen as having ‘untapped potential’ to meet companies’ most pressing skills challenges
More than 60 per cent increase in income over past two decades masks ‘stagnation’ in collaboration below high-performing institutions, report finds
Institutions reduce shares in companies after review highlights holding large amounts of equity can supress growth
Vice-chancellors fear ‘incubator economy’ where innovative firms only scale up overseas
