Opinion

Sir David Watson rates the performance of Cable and Willetts and offers them his vision of the academy’s future – a flexible but united sector providing long-term learning on American lines

The success of forensic science must not blind the discipline to the truths to be gleaned from studying the chaos of criminality, argues Stephen Wade

As world league tables gain influence they need to reflect the multi-faceted nature of universities’ activities, says Seeram Ramakrishna

Prejudice still prevails in Harper Lee's home town, finds Gary Day, who also ponders bovine romanticism

The academy needs to cast off its exclusionary conventions and make its publications accessible to non-specialists and the public

There's no honourable way to plan a best-seller, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

If UK business leaders want a highly skilled workforce, they must lend a hand, says Santander's António Horta-Osório

Postgraduate study is vital for the economy but the UK has struggled to fund it. Don Nutbeam suggests Australia has found the answer

Tara Brabazon identifies 10 scholarly uses for Apple’s latest gadget, and the new ways of reading, writing, watching and thinking that the platform supports

Study of the social and moral issues raised in the Harry Potter series has great relevance to today’s society, argues Martin Richardson

France is using governance reform and investment to push its universities up the league tables. Will it work? asks Paul Benneworth

Your chance to advise on academic dilemmas. Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online

History goes out but the lessons remain: university taught Joe Goddard to be self-reliant and to reject stereotypes

England's apologetic performance on the pitch could just be in keeping with our history, says Gary Day

Rankings aren't perfect, but they give users, especially students, a broad view of the global sector that's impossible to get otherwise

Education is one of the capital's great success stories, says Malcolm Gillies

The Foreign Education Providers Bill is vital for the country's future, but the democratic process could limit its benefits, says Peter Brady

Robert Diab and W. Wesley Pue argue that the violence at the recent G20 meetings in Toronto highlight the inadequacy of public-order policy by the Mounties

Attracting top international students is part of Israel’s renewed commitment to cooperation and excellence, explains Joseph Klafter

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online

Rock legend Paul Rodgers pays tribute to Teesside University's key role in Middlesbrough's renaissance

Libraries can aid academics with resource discovery by helping them to use cutting-edge technologies, says Richard Boulderstone

John Lennon's unresolved feelings for his mother were part of what made him who he was, says Gary Day

Every institution aspiring to be a great university shares a set of values that link multifarious activities to a common purpose

Tim Birkhead fears the consequences of insensitively applied funding cuts

Is it enough to demand an original contribution to knowledge or should doctoral candidates also have to show that they have “material suitable for publication” ? asks Tara Brabazon

Irene Macías deplores many Britons’ pitiful foreign language skills and employers’ apparent ignorance about its growing importance

Andy Masheter argues that Britain's academy must not sacrifice its hard-won global reputation on the altar of expediency

Gary Day is diverted by a look at working-class pleasures and the life of the Queen of the Music Hall

Reform of the sector's pension scheme may be essential, but no single option will please everyone - not least students

Merchandising should not dictate children's television, says Sally Feldman

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online.

Mathematician and TV presenter Rachel Riley on the many ways higher education can spur self-improvement

The Royal Family’s humanity and fallibility are strengths, not weaknesses, argues A. W. Purdue

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online

The pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong commitment and an enduring passion for television stalwart Loyd Grossman

Higher education leaders shouldn't be afraid of moving out of their safe zones and making radical changes, says Dominic Shellard

The Cold War era's nuclear fears have nothing on the terror of a CO2-choked future, says John Warren, with too few botanists left to find ways to save the planet

Greg Garrard is torn between packing his course reading lists and giving his students time to reflect and dig deep

Gary Day is dazzled by Ozwald Boateng's style, but less so by England's performance on the pitch

Moaning about cuts won't win the sector friends or spare it pain. Its leaders must step up and make a positive case for its value

The space shuttles' impact went beyond science. Kevin Fong will miss them

After considering criteria that demand work ‘well above world standard’, Tara Brabazon concludes that an era of interplanetary scholarship must be upon us

As the World Cup hits fever pitch, Robin Hambleton hopes that UK academics who are hostile to professional, external assessment of the impact of their research will draw a few lessons from the beautiful game

The status of adjunct faculty is proving to be one of the summer's hot topics for discussion in higher education in North America.

Don't blame v-cs, argues Alan Ryan. It is the entire social system that is corrupt

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online

James Nesbitt contrasts Thomas Hardy's vision of wasted potential with the academy's ability to nourish talent

Are vice-chancellors paid too much? An accurate response must first establish what we value as a society, argues Rudi Bogni

Historians at home and abroad are fighting to stop the institution junking a tradition of intellectual integrity. Richard J. Evans says it must reconsider

Ahead of a meeting to draft a manifesto for Europe's academy, Jo Ritzen stresses the importance of autonomy