Professor

Sethuraman Panchanathan says research funder and scientists must improve ‘storytelling’ as agency faces $5 billion cuts

UCL professor Alice Sullivan, who led review into how biological sex is captured in data collection, is vying for Nature-led award

Breaking the link between researchers and their outputs harms academic mobility and disciplinary excellence, argue professors

Longest-serving education minister explains why he ignored ‘abstract’ and ‘ideological’ academic research in fight to improve school performance

Portraying ChatGPT as a playground for plagiarists is a timid response to AI’s ability to enhance research in all subjects, argues Agnieszka Piotrowska

The London School of Economics philosopher speaks to Matthew Reisz about following up her best-selling memoir Free, the state of academic freedom in the UK and the US and the misogyny faced by women academics

Many fear algorithms will displace academics but the technology is already eating itself and its long-term business model remains unclear, says Martin A. Mills. Here he explains why bots will not wipe out universities and why we must resist their damaging features for the good of students, society and AI itself

Churning out so many PhD graduates into a weak academic labour market and marginalising innovative doctorates is immoral, says Ianis Matsoukas

Failure to explain how AI-aided academic writing is a form of plagiarism leaves graduate students horribly compromised, says E.M. Wolkovich

Asking undergraduates to submit pen-on-paper essays is a desperate and retrograde step that undermines assessment rather than safeguards it, says Dan Sarofian-Butin

Videos of glamorous scholars sipping coffee portray a lifestyle far removed from the toxic culture of overwork faced by academics, says Rituparna Patgiri

UKRI handed more cash for betting-related research but campaigners claim ‘industry-friendly’ funding call stops ‘fresh start’ from old regime

Huge dividends from Denmark’s weight loss drug industry are result of high tax and high investment economy, says Nobel prizewinner Morten Meldal

Internal modelling released under Freedom of Information enquiry reveals extent of PhD scholarship cuts, with academics fearing impact could be greater still

‘AI-powered’ tools used by research sleuths overplay scale of issue now weaponised to defund projects, according to Thomas Südhof

Increasing focus on sustainable development agenda must be matched by evaluation of student learning, says expert

Disputes over the trustworthiness of India’s state-run university rankings raise questions over quality assurance efforts, says Pushkar

Analysis of progression criteria warns ‘obsession with frequently ill-suited metrics’ only serves to ‘reinforce regional inequalities’

Academics who rely on the British Library’s unmatched collection are still feeling the impact of a devastating cyberattack a year ago. Jack Grove hears from those affected and considers how another catastrophic breach might be averted

Providing a pathway from community colleges to universities, the US’ credit transfer system is admired around the world for driving social mobility and offering a vital second chance for late bloomers. But opaque and complex university rules are undermining it, argue Lauren Schudde and Huriya Jabbar

With the audiobook industry booming, university publishers are turning everything from hot new scholarly titles to Karl Marx’s catalogue into engrossing listening. Matthew Reisz speaks to academics, producers and publishers about what makes a great audiobook and where the industry goes next

Vice-chancellors can often overestimate the savings from institutional mergers and underestimate their complex challenges, says Malcolm Prowle

Many scholars loathe generative AI but it has immense power to engage the intellectual curiosity of students as long as academics truly embrace it, argues John Kaag

The 2029 Research Excellence Framework aims to assess ‘how institutions and disciplines contribute to healthy, dynamic and inclusive research environments’. But will panellists and university managers really move away from a focus on prestigious journal papers, asks Matthew Flinders

The feted urban sociologist Richard Sennett tells Matthew Reisz about how his former career as a cellist inspired his latest trilogy of books, why his ideal university would be more night school than Oxbridge college and why it helps him to imagine his readers as female biologists

With academics feeling the strain from higher workloads, the days when scholars had time to write novels or run businesses seem increasingly distant. Lincoln Allison suggests that universities have far more to gain than to lose by allowing their academics to broaden their experience and earn extra income

Studying high art is still important, but popular culture can give humanities undergraduates better pointers on how to convert their refined understandings into practical action, rather than passivity and pessimism, activist scholar Caroline Levine tells Matthew Reisz 

From dedicating time for brainstorming to taking inspiration from their dog, five writers explain how they are changing their approach to academia and life as another academic year begins in the northern hemisphere

‘Astonishing demand’ to suspend book launch over claims that its essays ‘delegimitise trans people’ shows activists have been ‘emboldened’, say editors

Departmental hierarchies, job precarity and institutions’ need to protect their star professors enables bullies to thrive in Britain’s top universities, says Wyn Evans

As students in many countries receive their final degree marks amid perennial concerns about grade inflation, three scholars reflect on their experiences of being pressured to mark more leniently, while one considers how to enhance the fairness of marking outcomes

Studying flocks of starlings helped Giorgio Parisi crack some of physics’ deepest mysteries. The Nobelist talks to Matthew Reisz about his unconventional methods, missed eureka moments and being Italy’s most in-demand scientist

If you want to get promoted in UK academia you will probably need to apply for an Advance HE fellowship. But there is widespread scepticism that this extended ‘box-ticking exercise’ improves pedagogy, says Amanda Goodall, while Martin Rich considers how the programme might be made fit for purpose

The country’s National Education Policy aims to build a quality internationalised and marketised sector. But, says Saumen Chattopadhyay, it faces many entrenched challenges

When she was BBC Newsnight’s top booker, Sam McAlister persuaded Prince Andrew to give his infamous interview about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. She tells Jack Grove how academics can avoid shooting themselves in the foot and what TV producers want from expert guests

Having discussed the gender critical philosopher’s work with students, it’s hard to accept her gloomy assessment of silenced people, says Tony Lang

‘Creeping authoritarianism’ and university expansion behind Ryan Craig’s play, after academia largely absent from UK stage since 1980s

Farah Karim-Cooper – one of the UK’s few ethnic minority Shakespeare professors – reflects on being an outsider in a discipline not known for its non-white faces and ponders how diversity can be improved

Document disappoints campaigners with lack of detail or targets after major funder promised overhaul during Black Lives Matter protests

Britain’s claims to ‘science superpower’ status look shaky as it is being outperformed by smaller nations on top-rated papers, says study lead

When Purdue biologist David Sanders ran for election to Indiana’s senate last autumn, he assumed a commitment to evidence and personal engagement would give him traction. But while his pitch was well received on doorsteps, the system’s dark arts fended him away from the legislature’s threshold

Three-year scheme will support institutional projects that address racism and racial inequalities

The UK’s ‘rock star historian’ Peter Frankopan talks to Matthew Reisz about his ambitious follow-up to his Silk Roads chronicle and the perils of being seen as a modern-day sage

Eerie AI simulations of academic writing show why student essays must return to their more imaginative and freewheeling roots, says Colm O’Shea

Debates rage about the appropriateness of objects displayed in many anthropological exhibitions amid accusations they perpetuate poisonous imperialist narratives. However, Adam Kuper believes institutions should be wary of capitulating to activist demands, he tells Matthew Reisz

Sciences gain £145 million that would have gone to humanities and social sciences under old system

Failure to expel crackpot social scientists from Russia’s academy has allowed dangerous dogma to dominate public discourse, says Andreas Umland

Britain’s first history professor of African heritage discusses Colston, the ‘myth’ of Windrush and surviving in academia without support

Taxi drivers are a good source of inspiration on profound questions of alien life, intergalactic travel and deep space exploration, says British scientist

As undergraduate numbers soar and student needs become increasingly complex, questions are being asked about whether a support model that relies on the conscientiousness of individual academics is fit for purpose. Here, three scholars explain why, despite its faults, the pastoral role remains crucial

Large-scale study finds younger, female supervisors are more likely to produce PhD graduates who publish successfully

Once lauded as engines of social mobility, American universities are increasingly perceived as widening social and economic injustices. Matthew Reisz speaks to two academics whose new book lays bare the extent of the problem and the potential solutions

Friendly reminders about university events, deadlines and policies may seem harmless, but fielding these endless emails exacts a high price, says Frank LoSchiavo

The Cambridge-based US philosopher explains how his father’s vexed relationship with Catholicism led him to philosophy and why the student idealism he witnessed in West Germany in 1968 caused him to leave America

Universities’ intellectual property is seen as key to successful knowledge economies. But what is the best way to turn ideas into marketable products? Is it realistic to expect major commercial success? And how much of a stake should universities take in the process – and the proceeds? Jack Grove reports

If good collegial practice is recognised, shared and rewarded, universities will be more enjoyable places to work, says Rachel Norman

After years of resisting university managers determined to graduate students at all costs, one US professor decided it was time to quit

Mental illness has been depicted as the primary occupational health hazard of UK student life since the 1950s, says Sarah Crook

Thirty years after his breakout book declared democracy to be an unstoppable force, the End of History author explains to Matthew Reisz why a new defence of liberal values is urgently needed, and why scholars must share some responsibility for destabilising them

Trials suggest that far from being mutually exclusive, both can play an important role, says Kim Eggleton