Impact and engagement

The pandemic has demonstrated that there are broad deficiencies in quantitative reasoning skills even within the academy, says David Sanders

UK higher education is in robust shape, but it must be willing to build multiple bridges in 2022, says David Bell

Networks such as Universitas 21 facilitate mutual support to meet net zero targets, say Tan Eng Chye and Anton Muscatelli

Conscripting industry players into research assessment roles will also turn the grant application process into ‘Frankenstein’s monster’

Persuasion is everywhere, but universities could do a public service by communicating the messy, uncertain truth more widely, says Michael Blastland

European University Association survey also highlights importance of increasing staff support and management buy-in

Dirk Brockmann, branded a ‘lockdown maker’ by Bild, says scientists must make clear the uncertainty in their advice

Emily Shuckburgh and Alyssa Gilbert, co-chairs of the COP26 Universities Network, draw the lessons from two years of collective effort

Leaders prioritising regional impact above competition, while significant numbers consider mergers, annual PA Consulting survey suggests

Diversifying income stream also makes institutions less exposed to possible government cuts, say Ian Matthias and Mike Boxall

Studying institutional success stories is socially useful and has nothing to do with selling out, say Matthew Flinders and Paul ’t Hart

The effects of gentrification and displacement as neighbourhoods are transformed into vibrant hubs of creativity shouldn’t be ignored, says Costas Spirou

As ministers prepare White Paper, South Yorkshire Futures programme reaching neglected suburbs and towns could be model for putting policy into practice

Trust in scientists rose in the UK at a faster rate than the global average during the pandemic, Wellcome Trust finds

The UK’s whole-genome sequencing project could spark a global step change in the treatment of rare diseases, says Damian Smedley

Estates directors complain about academics wanting offices to be ‘toasty warm’ around the clock despite visiting for only a couple of hours a week

Universities support gentle touch on nudging researchers to make climate-friendly decisions

Tens of millions of dollars on offer for institutions that walk their commercialisation talk

The LSE director on the institution’s green strategy, the importance of social scientists working with industry and the advantages of being ‘different’

Research that is neither rigorous nor insightful serves no one, say Stefan Stremersch, Nuno Camacho and Russell Winer

Equity challenges loom, but solidifying evidence of value brings academic stature to science of partnering with the public

Graduate networks are the perfect launch vehicle for systemic voluntary efforts to improve society, say Michael Madison and Martin Skladany

Shifting fields takes courage, but if a tenured professor can’t take the leap to address the ecological emergency, who can, asks Adam Aron

Universities face ‘reckoning’ on societal relevance akin to last major transformation after Second World War, says Harvard professor on Unesco commission

Survey by European University Association finds gap between institutions’ commitment to innovation and their capacity to carry it out

The brain drain from academia to industry is just one of the glitches that need addressing, says Greg Slabaugh

A public exhibition during COP26 hopes to engage policymakers with the slow-burn issues that science doesn’t address, says Gerald Taylor Aiken

Online profile seen simplistically ‘as a proxy for being a publicly engaged academic’, warn researchers

University says certification is a UK first, but has not counted emissions linked to travel

Social scientists have an opportunity to advise on reorienting the traditional public inquiry towards focused lesson-learning, says Matthew Flinders

THE Climate Impact Forum hears issue may still be seen as ‘middle-class problem’ in poorer nations

Meeting student demand on climate, Canada’s top-ranked institution to cut oil companies from C$4 billion endowment by 2030

John Morgan meets the Nobel prizewinning father of nudge economics, who believes that the dismal science can only be improved by taking account of people’s ‘predictable mistakes’ 

THE research finds that high share of institutions that have specified goal are not counting indirect emissions such as travel

We don’t need any more science to tell us what the problem is, says top BEIS adviser

Universities can still participate in the next edition of our sustainability-focused league table

Governments are ‘critical stakeholders’ and do not take kindly to universities ‘crying poor’, says former media boss Mark Scott

The UK government’s £300 million funding pledge must be confirmed in the spending review, and departmental closures must stop, says Jon Keating

As COP26 looms, universities’ vital place in the UK’s environmental armoury must be recognised in the spending review, says Judith Petts 

Nature survey sparks fears that scientists will be deterred from sharing their expertise

In early days of crisis, ministers should ‘act quickly’ rather than wait for scientific certainty, committees add

Comedian and radio presenter embarks on a 100-bookshop tour to make ‘scientific curiosity’ accessible to everyone

Schools should be hubs of interdisciplinarity, co-producing research and solutions with key stakeholder groups, says Ansgar Richter

Ahead of spending review, research universities group argues new fund would help level up UK regions by creating spin-offs

The UK archaeology programme, which is being revived on YouTube, represents an ideal to which other disciplines can aspire, says Keith Frankish

One-time science superstar explains why he is happier not being famous and why the ‘hobbyist’ approach to research tools no longer works

Universities typically generate much more income from industry contracts than from spinning out companies, says Calum Drummond

All students, regardless of subject, need meaningful opportunities to engage with the democratic process, say Meg Little Reilly and Richard Watts

Writing, speaking and advising offer the rewards of scholarly life without the constraints and contradictions of universities, says Harvey Graff

Covid’s creation of an environment in which lessons can be debated will improve public understanding, say Deenan Pillay and David King

People will always ‘come up with the same bullshit’ to support anti-science agendas, says Nasa scientist

Cambridge statistician tells THE World Academic Summit that experts’ media role in pandemic had not been ‘unalloyed success’

As an international review of the UK’s REF begins even before the assessment panels have done their work, has the exercise’s reliance on rereading published papers finally had its day? Might it be time for metrics? Or something else entirely? Jack Grove looks around the world for options  

Summit also hears how successful universities can drive damaging gentrification in their cities

Campuses can rarely help replicate Silicon Valley and face great risk trying, innovation expert warns

Australian findings on receptiveness to Covid misinformation have implications for teaching as well as engagement

We cannot engage people in discussion about drought, wildfires or climate change if we fail to acknowledge the emotions they generate, claims book

Founder hopes that Acaudio will help students and others keep up with the latest findings while on the move

An initiative by the University Alliance to offer training and support to BAME scholars is an important step in the right direction, says Vini Lander 

Calls for newer institutions to ‘know their place’ fail to understand the need to engage both with surrounding communities and major international challenges, argues Keith Burnett