In her leader "Drop the guessing games" (10 February), Ann Mroz agrees that the logic of the post-qualifications applications system seems "unchallengeable".I did my undergraduate degree in Hong Kong...
The debate about PQA presumes that the only qualifications that matter for entry to higher education are A levels. This in turn makes the leap of faith that there is a complete correlation between A-...
I work in a post-1992 university that is considered to be one of the more successful of the new universities and is in a healthy financial position. Last week, our vice-chancellor gave an open...
Steven Schwartz's opinion piece on the establishment of a new regulator for Australian universities ("Irreconcilable differences", January) is a colourful and imaginative reflection on some of the...
The advisers to David Willetts, the universities and science minister, have doubtless drawn his attention to the list of the world's top 100 chemists published last week ("Acid test: clearly label a...
UCU Left's timely reminder that this is the worst time for factionalism reeks of hypocrisy ("Save fight for real enemies", Letters, 10 February).There are arguably other factional groups within the...
You've got to laugh. An assistant director of human resources at the University of Birmingham, whose vice-chancellor took home £310,000 in 2008-09 according to the most recent survey of vice-...
In his review of David A. Weintraub's book How Old is the Universe? ("13.7 billion years - final answer?" 10 February), Shobhit Mahajan says the author takes seriously "Stephen Hawking's wry comment...
Gary Day, reviewing Do We Really Need the Moon? ("Satellite in my eyes", 10 February), mentions that the government might abolish the Moon on a strictly utilitarian basis. I believe that this would...
Much of the Ivy League eschews interviews when filling posts, says Amanda Goodall, and UK universities keen to hire the best should follow suit. But Richard J. Evans, appointed to a chair at...
Duncan Wu finds a CIA thriller based on real events in Bush's White House more compelling than fiction
Gary Day worries that the increasing presence of China in Africa might be history repeating itself
London School of EconomicsCredit line for post-crisis studyA hedge-fund manager has donated £2.5 million to fund new research and teaching on Europe's role in the post-financial crisis world. The...
This pinwheel windmill, intended as the centrepiece for a table, has discs set at exactly the right angle to respond to the slightest currents of air.
A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers