World in brief - 18/25 December 2014
United StatesObama on the pain of squeezed middleFrustration with higher education costs in the US is rising among the country鈥檚 middle classes, President Barack Obama has told US sector leaders....

United StatesObama on the pain of squeezed middleFrustration with higher education costs in the US is rising among the country鈥檚 middle classes, President Barack Obama has told US sector leaders....

Leverhulme TrustResearch Project GrantsSciencesAward winner: Tim AlbrechtInstitution: Imperial College LondonValue: 拢174,768Charge transfer processes in small metal nanoparticlesAward winner: Steven...

A leading figure in the world of road transport, credited by some with creating the discipline of transport economics, has died

We speak to the new chair of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE). Plus the latest higher education appointments


鈥淣othing short of a scandal.鈥 That was the verdict from Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP and chair of the Public Accounts Committee, on the government鈥檚 controls over public spending at private colleges...

Weekly transmissions from the blogosphere
糖心Vlog reports that Eric Anicich recommends classifying a paper according to the type of citation it is, and in particular, to try to eliminate negative citations from citation counts...
I was surprised to read in the article on university governance (鈥淲here next for university governance?鈥, www.timeshighereducation.co.uk, 4 December) Ferdinand von Prondzynski鈥檚 suggestion that the...
Because of the historical association between the Kirk and Scotland鈥檚 four ancient universities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews), these higher education institutions still prepare...
As the president of All European Academies (ALLEA), the federation of 58 European academies of science and humanities, I welcome the emphasis that Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European...
I would like to applaud Alison Phipps for her article on the personal cost of impact (鈥淧rude. Joyless. Vapid. Man-hater. Idiot. Toxic. The price of impact鈥, Opinion, 4 December).Coincidentally, I was...
The government鈥檚 support for a postgraduate loan scheme is to be warmly welcomed. The Treasury and ministers at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also made the right call by opening...

Union claims that conflict of interest means leader of a government body formed to help students caught up in a visa crackdown must go

Nicholas Boyle, the author of 2014: How to Survive the Next World Crisis, reflects on the predictions he made about the past 12 months