When Bernard Porter was persuaded to entrust one of his books to a company he'd not worked with before, he discovered that not all publishers are equal. Caveat emptor, he warns young academics
The despair over unemployment that sparked the Arab Spring continues to dog graduates in the region. David Matthews reports from a British Council conference in Morocco that aimed to find solutions
Valerie Sanders has overcome her fear of water - as long as it's the indoor, chlorinated variety - to discover a love of swimming that brings out the worst and the best in her
As the fallout from the Arab Spring continues, David Matthews reports from Cairo on the birth - and troubled infancy - of the student union movement in Egypt
International students have enriched the UK and its universities immeasurably. It makes little sense for the ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Office to keep them out, argues Edward Acton
For the late Julia Swindells, radicalism and friendship were always intimately linked. Here, she describes the youthful influences that led her down a political path
Hefce says that record levels of spare cash prepare the academy for the new fees regime, but as new policies for allocating student places bed in, we might need to reassess its future financial prospects. John Morgan reports
He was driven to write an acclaimed debut novel in stolen hours, but lecturer, researcher and scholarly biographer Christopher Bigsby is content never to call himself a ¡®real writer¡¯
You think your commute is bad? In a tough job market, professional opportunities are taking scholars far from their nearest and dearest. Matthew Reisz asks if today's ideal academic is unencumbered by ties or responsibilities
The REF's conflation of intellectual quality and geographical scale makes little sense and may have negative consequences for UK research, argues Alastair Bonnett
Dissemination of the written word is changing as e-books proliferate. But how will it affect academics and the publishing industry? Andrew Franklin reads between the lines
In the academy all must have prizes, but nothing breeds success like failure. Steven Schwartz argues that students gain more from blind alleys than from victory processions, as failure engenders the ¡®true grit¡¯ essential to achievement in the real world
As old-style lifelong tenure fades out in the US, institutions are having to invent new systems by which they can define and judge scholarship, David Mould discovers
The 'sciart' movement is bridging the gulf between the 'two cultures' that C.P. Snow lamented more than 50 years ago. Matthew Reisz reports from the lab of the imagination, where anything can happen
For decades the science of child-rearing was guided by patriarchal ideas, but now the cradle rocks to an older rhythm. Eric Michael Johnson, in conversation with eminent evolutionary biologists Sarah Hrdy and Robert Trivers, explores how Mother Nature and the social network that nurtured our past have been remembered at last
The National Student Survey puts pressure on lecturers to provide 'enhanced' experiences. But, argues Frank Furedi, the results do not measure educational quality and the process infantilises students and corrodes academic integrity
'Internationalisation' is the trend du jour for universities, but they would do well to consider its earlier manifestation during the British Empire's long 19th century. As Tamson Pietsch explains, history has much to tell us about the possibilities - and pitfalls - of the phenomenon today
David Willetts wants more of them, but how much is really known about the UK's private providers? John Morgan uncovers a melange of institutions in a diverse and diversifying sector unbound by caps and largely operating outside QAA oversight
Some v-cs took fright when Les Ebdon stated his readiness to use the 'nuclear option' to enforce access agreements as head of Offa. What does that say about the state of the sector? asks Martin McQuillan
Stefan Collini is, and he thinks you should be, too. He explains to Matthew Reisz why universities must not pander to students, business or the government and instead defend their own distinctive virtues
With novel credentials being developed and employers seeing the value of low-cost study based on open courseware, Jon Marcus asks if the bricks-and-mortar elite will end up on the wrong side of history
Physicist Athene Donald's pleasure in people-watching may owe something to a childhood spent observing birds of all kinds as they soared over city heaths and icy coastal mudflats
The first months at university are critical for a happy student experience. Indeed, so crucial are they that they are arguably a key focus of QAA reviews. Sarah Cunnane reports
Close ties with Nobel laureates, global entrepreneurs and distinguished academics can boost an institution's international profile, as well as providing fresh insights, experience - and a hint of glamour. Philip G. Altbach and Jamil Salmi report
Baffled by the ease with which titles promising to turn world history on its head have won huge audiences despite defying logic and lacking proof, Daniel Melia laboured to divine the hidden secrets that allow anyone to identify truly 'bad books'
Oxford has stolen a march on the rest of the sector by exposing its graduate destinations to detailed scrutiny - exploding a few myths in the process. Simon Baker investigates
The diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks articulate the importance of the academy in the ¡®great game¡¯ of international politics. David Matthews investigates
What makes us human? In major new books, an economist, a philosopher, an evolutionary biologist and two psychologists offer compelling - and very different - answers. Matthew Reisz writes
A university does not need a charter or even walls - open minds are enough, argue groups whose challenges to convention have been invigorated by recent protest movements. Jack Grove reports
With the best of intentions and the worst of outcomes, anonymous marking discredits lecturers and serves students badly. George MacDonald Ross believes greater trust will lead to fairness for all
Advisers, administrators, trusted vice-chancellorial aides and henchmen: Mark Leach considers the rise of the 'policy wonks' and the mixed reception afforded a new force in the higher education hierarchy
As high-profile art schools are absorbed by larger institutions, Peter Hill asks if their uniquely fertile environments suffer for being overseen by those whose priorities inevitably lie elsewhere
US universities are offering alumni new levels of professional and intellectual support in an effort to build lifelong relationships that pay long-term benefits. Jon Marcus reports
That people should be moved out of a former nuclear test site seemed a no-brainer. But spending time with those affected led two researchers to revise their views. David Mould reports
The University of Wales was brought down by validation, its money-making machine. David Matthews asks how that happened, how others might be stopped from putting cash before quality and whether the QAA should be able to impose stricter controls
Superhero comics gave Stephen Mumford the reading bug at an early age and a passion for the form he retains to this day. Even in the blockbuster era, he says, panels can't be beat...
Government plans for the Higher Education Funding Council for England are ringing alarm bells across the sector. Can it really become a consumer protection body and fund universities without conflicts of interest? And would Hefce's expanding remit further erode institutional autonomy? Simon Baker surveys an uncertain future
The egalitarian bent of Dutch society has been reflected in its higher education sector - until now. Jack Grove discovers that government and global forces are spurring some institutions to try to become 'tall poppies'
You're in for a big surprise. From Gothic castles and follies to an airport (and something not too fragrant), university sites across the land are home to some extraordinary places, discovers Matthew Reisz
The internet has revolutionised humanities research. But has the development of ever-more sophisticated online resources freed up scholars to explore new ideas, or made them slaves to the digital machine? Matthew Reisz reports
MIT's Media Lab, long renowned for a 'Wild West' research culture that invents the future, has lost some of its cutting edge. Can a new director restore it to its creative zenith? asks Zo? Corbyn
University chancellors are a mixed bag of rock stars and actors, politicians and entrepreneurs, but are they mere glad-handing figureheads or can they make a genuine difference to the institution over which they preside? Sarah Cunnane finds out
Why has the idea of publicly funded higher education crumbled so quickly in England? James Vernon explores the origins of an academic culture that has internalised market rationalities and traces the concept of education as a personal investment back to the playing fields of Eton
Think you can tell which students are destined to be heroes or zeroes? Think again: as Geoffrey K. Pullum shows, his career and that of an old school chum demonstrate that potential can be difficult to spot
From mindless diversions to gripping, critically acclaimed dramas, what is it about box sets of television series that appeals to academics, asks Roger Luckhurst. Obviously, first-hand investigation is required
That sentiment may be shared by many in the communities in which universities are located. But if the institutions disappeared, how much of a loss would it be to those cities? David Matthews weighs the benefits of having a higher education establishment on the doorstep
Professors should provide intellectual leadership, but some incumbents have other priorities or misunderstand their role. Bruce Macfarlane asserts that universities must find a way to get the best out of the best
'Transnational' education isn't dying, but it is changing. Jon Marcus reports on Western institutions' moves to mitigate the risks of foreign outposts, thanks to a little help from their hosts
Every discipline has quirks invisible to its insiders. Intrepid scholars who venture into a related field will discover a host of idiosyncrasies that shine new light on the oddities of one's own academic clan, says Adrian Furnham
As officialdom's demands for meaningless Transparency and Information multiply, Thomas Docherty asks: has clandestine scholarship become the only way to carry out real research and teaching?
Science affects everyone on the planet, so how and to what extent should the public help set its agenda? Jon Turney looks to the notion of vox populi research for some ideas
Well, they¡¯re not doing badly. But in a world in which capitalism is in crisis, the Left is moribund, activists are slick professionals and rebellion drives sales, Alastair Bonnett envisages a new type of dissident institution
To judge by the gleefully bull-headed ignorance shown by politicians, bloggers and others, scientific evidence and scholarly analysis may soon count for nothing. Jon Marcus considers where this anti-intellectual climate leaves the academy
Ahead of Lord Woolf¡¯s report on the scandal of the LSE¡¯s links with Libya, Christopher Davidson examines the issue of UK university funding by Gulf autocracies in the light of the Arab Spring
Academics from physicists to experts on Scandinavian culture are crafting stand-up comedy routines based on their work. But this is no joke. Matthew Reisz finds that a crowd's laughter is not the only payoff
Independent 'citizen scientists' have always existed, says Darrel Ince, and our networked age of fast computing and open access is helping them to flourish - to the greater good of research
