Impact and engagement

THE research highlights that over-representation of women in some STEM fields and under-representation of men in care-oriented disciplines are often overlooked in gender equality debates

Northumbria’s REF 2021 results emphasise that growing research capability can benefit teaching, business and employment, says Andrew Wathey

Linking impact to funding is breeding mistrust, apathy and unrest. Researchers must be free to do the work they find most meaningful, says Mark Reed

Politicians’ false claims to be implementing evidence-based policy risk undermining academia’s reputation, says Gary Thomas

Academic who has become a lightning rod for criticism over her pandemic advice reflects on two years in the eye of the Covid storm

Pursuing research relevance is important, but the risk is that it becomes a form of deference, co-option and control, says Matthew Flinders

The complexity of tackling major social challenges makes universities a natural launchpad for firms aimed at doing so, says Tanya Filer

Covid vaccine successes notwithstanding, researchers should remain wary of corporate capture, says Tahir Shah 

Institutions from over 100 countries offer dedicated courses on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, THE data show

Building a sustainable society has been a mission of the Japanese institution for almost 150 years, but the task is not yet done. Atsushi Yokota explores its progress to date

University data expertise essential to ‘capacity building’ for city government on issues ranging from air quality to localising UN sustainability goals, THE summit hears

Swedish welfare system, political model of consensus and universities committed to industry collaboration key to innovation success, THE summit hears

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

Journalists and fact-checkers must be reminded that scientific concepts can be hard to render in language that is both simple and true, says David Sanders

A core principle of the SDGs is to ‘leave no one behind’. Joseph Wong explains how a global alliance based at Toronto is empowering students to lead the charge

Growth in competitiveness, employment, incomes and regional attractiveness occurs only when policy is aligned with local need, says Simon Collinson

Mobile phones may distract students, but apps can bring the past alive for students and the public alike, says Fabrizio Nevola

Efforts to encourage more academics into public debates should forget indicators and focus on training and support, Norwegian rectors say

Some topics are lightning rods for disagreement, but there are ways to insulate yourself against online vitriol, say Kristine Maloney and Teresa Valerio Parrot

But promised infrastructure and research commercialisation funding could stretch thin

Australia’s big talk on science aspirations overlooks the skills needed to make it all happen, critics say

With new divisions at NIH and NSF, federal government making long-promised structural changes to get universities and their scientists beyond their silos

University-led projects ‘directly supporting local employers, jobs, and communities’ at risk, UUK tells government

The Tohoku University president discusses the legacy of the 2011 earthquake and making his institution more friendly to foreigners 

Holberg Prize winner Sheila Jasanoff says policy implications of technological progress deserve far greater study

Three decades after the abolition of the binary divide between universities and polytechnics, some commentators still lament the supposed loss of locally focused vocational education. But even as the political winds buffet them, do post-92s offer the solution to the UK’s skills problem? John Morgan reports

While all US states exempt non-profit organisations, communities under financial stress renew push for campuses to contribute voluntarily

Flagship campus resumes full autumn admissions plans after legislature exempts it from environmental ruling, but promises fixes to housing crisis

Police, politicians, doctors, cleaners and school students share Southern Cross campus as an emergency base

Any attempt to address regional inequalities must recognise the role of post-92 universities as anchor institutions, says Ian Campbell

Newly elected Sorbonne president Nathalie Drach-Temam says scholars will not back away from controversial subjects and that she has no desire to profit from British academia’s Brexit woes

South Yorkshire town without university plots recovery from deindustrialisation via innovation and skills ‘ecosystem’, winning OECD praise

THE research finds that high share of global institutions fail to provide relevant documentation, despite claiming to have numerous measures aimed at supporting women

Levelling-up plans for ‘innovation accelerators’ bring hope for local decisions on R&D, but warnings against Whitehall’s ‘Stanford-Silicon Valley’ concept

If just one in 20 supported technologies hits paydirt, new fund will pay for itself, says STEM lobby

A ‘dashboard’ of metrics for assessing science communication could help generate 100 million hours a year of evidence-charged ‘dialogue’

2022 winner brews up a fungi-based love story with a lot of help from his friends

Institutions across a record 110 territories take part, with Pakistan and Thailand among those significantly increasing the number of submissions

The Covid experience has strengthened common values and accelerated unification in European higher education, says Ferruccio Resta

The grip of Silicon Valley on commerce and culture is huge and ever-growing. But as concerns mount about tech firms’ ethics, is there anything that universities – with vastly lower research and salary budgets – can do to put them on a more responsible trajectory? Four experts give their views

City residents fighting student overcrowding win order that would slice planned freshmen class by a third

A publisher’s move to correct the undue influence of pro-Israel groups on a history textbook shows the value of engagement, says John Chalcraft

Furore over political interference shows no sign of abating, as government presses ahead with research commercialisation agenda

All types of institution must be welcome if new funder is to achieve its true potential, sector groups say

The UK government’s White Paper is a good start but needs to do more to link local learning with local needs, says Marius Ostrowski 

Paper says ‘too often colleges and universities have been pitted against each other’

Inhaling one another’s insights could help scholars assuage public confusion about this crucial but confusing concept, says Jacques Berlinerblau

Fifth of respondents to major global survey said universities were ‘unimportant’ in fight against Covid-19

Pay, promotions and intellectual property protections set for ‘refinement’ under new action plan

But critics say windfall won’t compensate for the money stripped from basic research

Even institutions that are engaging with the SDGs as a whole are ignoring their responsibilities to promote sustainable agriculture, argue Wayne Nelles and Supawan Visetnoi

Significant additional funding needed to realise Canberra’s commercialisation goals, say scientists

Analysis of global database of policy documents suggests projects, especially in natural and social science, have widespread impact

The publication of three Nature papers demonstrates that money is no substitute for good ideas, open science and collaboration, says Andrea Morello

Researchers decry ‘ridiculous’ travel for 30-minute interviews and ask colleagues and funders to commit to flying less

Trudeau government set to fulfil campaign promise for version of legendary US innovation agency, amid mixed expert assessment of its wisdom

Adapting and adopting US approaches to commercialisation offer an opportunity for the UK, says Chris Loryman

Northern Powerhouse Partnership appeals to universities to follow Sheffield Hallam’s lead on pandemic mentoring for secondary pupils

Pushing the ARC to focus on commercialisation neglects the complex interdependency between basic and applied research, says Duncan Ivison

French president seeks to rejuvenate thinking about common continental identity