Politics

With some academics being willing to oust those they disagree with, self-censorship is a huge, unacknowledged problem, says James Tooley

Lockdowns decimated the part-time jobs on which French students relied, and debate is now under way over how to fix ‘broken’ system of state support

Education Committee chair says Bristol’s handling of David Miller case has created ‘hostile environment’ for Jewish students akin to ‘1930s Germany’

Aston and London South Bank are latest institutions to shutter humanities and social sciences degrees

Relying on academic research, thinktanks translate findings into the language of politicians and media, EUA president Michael Murphy argues – but not always accurately

Scotland 2070 authors call for doubling of research spend and for institutional mergers, to boost global clout and innovation focus

With suggestion that academia profits from ‘slave labour’, senators back new threat to research ties

Trudeau backs spending despite deep deficit, yet still disappoints academic researchers

Polling accompanied by call for Westminster government to set out more details of lifetime learning plans

Sir Adrian Smith tells MPs that scientists must redouble efforts to win European grants to offset huge drop in science funding

Unfavourable policies stem from ‘frustrations’ over stymied reforms, former education minister says

Likely to enter government in the autumn, the party wants a big expansion of student support, 40 per cent female quotas in universities, and academic freedom at the heart of foreign policy

Opposition pledges unity ticket with government on ‘single most important piece of microeconomic reform that faces the nation today’

Chief executive of biotechnology giant urges governments to provide long-term clarity on support for research

Australian minister offers no new details on proposed commercialisation scheme or timing of international students’ return

Boris Johnson ‘completely wrong’ about vaccine success, while UK industrial strategy vacillation ‘reeks of insecurity’, innovation expert tells THE summit

Academics question whether autonomy will be protected as an ambitious national policy is implemented

Senators warm to massive federal funding hike, but with greater share for non-elite institutions

Advert for student finance director post indicates minimum entry requirement idea proceeding, as sources suggest government may use GCSEs rather than A levels

Future association funding ‘fairly secure’ but must be discussed again with Treasury, says business secretary

London Higher says government proposal will ‘take away a lifeline’ for city’s universities

The UK has an ambitious R&D road map but the necessary steps must be taken by politicians and funding bodies, says Andrew Thompson

Three countries even received double-digit increases in 2020, but with so much new government debt, some fear cuts could be in store further down the line

Security committee chairman does not want to cultivate a culture of ‘learned helplessness’ where universities defer judgement to the government

Government refusal to allow more face-to-face teaching driven by Treasury fears of derailing indoor hospitality reopening, sector sources suggest

The pandemic experience shows universities of all kinds are willing to be partners for policy delivery, says Debra Humphris

Salary boost might be more effective than legal crackdowns in thwarting international recruiting and funding approaches, argues Oklahoma representative

Foreign students, mostly from Asia, ‘will simply go elsewhere’ if Biden doesn’t act soon

Higher education priorities include racial and economic diversity, and science

Scottish Parliament poll will see consensus on fee-free HE and may leave universities looking towards independence implications

Social media may mute moderate voices, but that is no reason for researchers to presume they don’t exist, argues Duke expert in polarisation

Infrastructure plan poised to bring millions of new students as well as billions of research dollars

‘Unpredictable’ sequence of cuts and increases for UK science budgets is undermining faith in spending promises, say sector leaders

Ex-chair discusses his time at regulator, next project reviewing delivery for the Westminster government and new book Accomplishment

Long-term public and economic health depends on empowering universities, businesses and health systems to work together, says Michael Spence

Online harassment is now spilling into the real world, with politically outspoken historians doxed and subject to posters warning: ‘You are being watched’

Province appears determined to deploy widely criticised tactic once Covid eases

Education institutions are being undermined from within, everywhere from Turkey to Brazil, online conference hears

Cost of associating to EU programme coming from BEIS budget, but £250 million injection topped up from other sources

Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s resignation from Ashoka underlines that financial autonomy doesn’t remove fear of government anger, says Saikat Majumdar

With overseas enrolments hitting the buffers during the pandemic, debate rages over whether higher education’s excessive reliance on this income stream is self-inflicted – and how universities can keep themselves on the financial rails in future. John Ross reports

ACE and AAC&U leaders want to reverse narratives of US as ‘closed for business’ and degrees leading to ‘25 years in your parents’ basement’

Matt Western says pandemic shows HE as ‘collective benefit’ helping tackle society’s problems, ahead of potential Labour policy battles

Too much attention is paid to academic titles and too little to the substantial contribution they should indicate, says Brian Bloch

UK scientific heavyweights unite to condemn massive cuts to overseas research and urge rethink on potential UKRI reductions

Science minister’s replacement could curb momentum on women’s progress in STEM, critics fear

Further protests hit university campuses as pressure on ‘missing middle’ mounts

Universities face ban on deals with foreign partners that lack ‘institutional autonomy’, as they wrestle with similar demons

China concern drives leaders of both parties to propose nearly doubling National Science Foundation budget

Experts warn that diverting cash to pay for Horizon Europe association would exert a heavy toll on early career scholars

John Morgan looks at why UK research faces crisis over Horizon Europe funding under government that wants ‘science superpower’ status

Academics say universities are in the dark over their future funding levels, and ‘compulsory’ higher education policy creates overly high expectations for students

New president appears to accept Trump’s last-minute rules codification

Government concern has not yielded concrete steps to address chronic faculty shortages and adjunctification, says Pushkar

Newcastle University scholar says she ‘will not be silenced’

Research projects examining humanitarian crises and school inequality the latest to come under a cloud

Rising public support for barring discrimination against LGBTQ people

Beijing has banned dozens of China researchers and their families, while the country’s embassy to France called an expert a “petty thug” on Twitter

Cutting existing research budgets by up to £2 billion would put ‘science superpower’ aim at risk, Greg Clark tells Boris Johnson

An open letter from academics across more than 20 European countries and Israel