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Nicole Westmarland shares what she learned about creating a new way of working in academia after losing her spouse

A babel of voices are drowning out the many real threats to intellectual freedom, warns Alan Ryan

Sir Tim Hunt complains of “trouble with girls” in labs, but male egos can be far more obstructive to science, says Ottoline Leyser

This week's issue discussed by the ����Vlog team

Hourly paid lecturers at Reading find further confirmation of teaching assistants’ unpaid overtime, and call for dialogue on procedures and expectations

Mike Gow laments Britain’s pursuit of revenues over development of cultural understanding

Giving universities oversight of postgraduate training will greatly improve its quality, argues Alastair Buchan

The Quality Assurance Agency carries out work of national importance. G. R. Evans questions the wisdom behind outsourcing its duties

He never lost his loathing of school, but becoming a university chancellor made the leader an ally of higher learning, writes David Cannadine

To write well, knowledge of other languages is crucial, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Given the run of campus, some academics would target what they see as cult practices that raise stress and cut productivity

The ����Vlog team discusses the results of this year's Asia University Rankings

This week's issue discussed by the ����Vlog team

From senior appointments to student surveys, pedagogy is again centre stage – and waiting in the wings is a teaching REF

When Patty Ramirez became pregnant during her PhD she assumed she could ‘have it all’. The reality was far more stressful

Reflecting on the Irish vote and social change, a vice-chancellor lauds universities’ role in providing a forum for debate

The headmaster of the independent college reflects on his move to the helm of a private university

Researchers face pressure to hype and report selectively, says Dorothy Bishop

Learning to read foreign literature and communicate in a practical sense can be mutually reinforcing, says Brian Bloch

Nicola Dandridge on the measures announced in the Queen’s Speech and their impact on the sector

Not everyone is a fan of a campaign to highlight ‘the historical myths that surround the EU'

Restructures and rebrandings of public universities are taking a toll on mascots and more, says Robert Lee Maril

Academics have a duty to explain why they hold their political beliefs, says Shahidha Bari

Paul Wakeling and Adél Pásztor consider the alternatives

A process at the heart of science is based on faith rather than evidence, says Richard Smith, and vested interests keep it in place

The move away from overseas branches attests to the fact that such operations are hard to get right and offer no quick returns

Transnational education helps people who want a high-quality university education to get it, argues Rebecca Hughes

This week's issue discussed by the ����Vlog team

£6K tuition fees was the wrong idea at the wrong time. The party has to tailor its next plans for higher education to the wider climate, argues Andy Westwood

Diana Beech explains why her choice at the ballot box was an act of defiance against other academics

Insecure employment takes a toll on individuals, but its effects may also cut to the very core of universities and their missions

Paul Webley calls on the academy to follow the institution’s lead and divest from fossil fuels

Is updating children’s literature censorship or sensible? asks Sally Feldman

How one academic stood up for fact in an error-strewn world

Juan Manuel Mora on what makes a university’s reputation

Mortuary science finds the dead in good spirit, discovers Christopher Bigsby

Scholars imagine a government formed of academics

How will universities fare during the Tories’ defining second term – during which ‘Cameronism’ may, at last, fully reveal itself?

Academics need to stand up for Europe and celebrate all the positives in higher education cooperation, argues Anne Corbett

Moocs and student choice are welcome, but traditional courses offer proven pathways to the summit of knowledge, argues Alan Ruby

David Bell has some words of wisdom for Jo Johnson, the new minister for universities and science, as an ‘eventful’ five years loom

When his university found evidence of a £2,000 gender pay gap, it knew what was the right thing to do - and it did it, says David Wilkinson

Support for living costs is vital to participation, but grants that help to provide it are under threat, say Nick Hillman and Nicholas Robinson

The desire to have and to flaunt academic credentials can lead to questionable behaviour from individuals and universities both, says Brian Bloch

Laurie Taylor's weekly bulletin from the University of Poppleton

Change happens only when people genuinely participate – but is the enthusiasm there for a structural shift in education?

Universities are losing control of what they teach, warns John Cookson

Alan Ryan muses on ironies and idiosyncrasies in higher education

University is pairing with edX in a move that has been described as ‘good for nobody’

The misapplication of private sector HR techniques harms individuals without raising performance, says Rob Briner

An academy built on low-wage, part-time staff will be a deficient and unworthy one, argues Deborah Rogers

Laurie Taylor's weekly bulletin from the University of Poppleton

In this general election, visiting the polling station seems more pointless than ever, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Which party scores highest for one policy nerd?

Whatever the outcome of the election, strong financial leadership will be key both to the country and our universities

The Education-USA initiative to attract overseas students is a wake-up call for the UK, argues Chris Cobb