Opinion

Amazon’s and Netflix’s obsessive focus on using customer data to improve user experience has valuable lessons for universities, argues Mike O’Connor

Economic revival in the wake of the pandemic will require all sections of society to play their part, says Janet Beer

Rosalie Minnitt calls on institutions to offer greater support to those struggling to find work in the midst of a pandemic

Covid-19 offers universities a chance to accelerate the transition towards a more digital, open and inclusive research environment, says Cisca Wijmenga

Vilified abroad and distrusted in their homeland, Chinese students overseas have been marginalised as a result of a geopolitical struggle beyond their control, says Brian Wong

International collaborations should focus on building institutions rather than individuals, say Adam Habib and Imraan Valodia

Those who fear a resurgence of coronavirus as campuses reopen can take heart from how Taiwan’s universities maintained in-person teaching throughout the pandemic, explains Cher Chiu

The pandemic has shown how public investment in research and healthcare pays off, argues Ana Mari Cauce

NYU Abu Dhabi’s vice-chancellor explains how her institution kept its campus open during the pandemic and what others can learn from this experience

The pivot to online learning during the coronavirus pandemic has shown why university educators should embrace artificial intelligence, says Y. J. Jang

Scholars should not face official censure for making provocative statements on social media, but they have a responsibility to embody academic values of empathy and self-reflection in their online posts, argues Chris Barker

David McClough reflects on whether higher education should take to the morally higher ground

The A-level grading fiasco has highlighted the limitations of using exam results to assess undergraduate preparedness, says Suleiman M. Sharkh

Dread of ‘selling out’ and heroic figure of ‘struggling artist’ cause many creative arts graduates to persist with dead-end jobs rather than maximising their skills in alternative careers, says Martha Bloom

The loss of international income makes the improvement of universities’ online offerings all the more urgent

Obliging women to adopt ‘male’ characteristics is not just unfair – it also impoverishes university management, says Corinne Houart

Not all academics are in a position to churn out endless papers during lockdowns – and not all should, argues Michael Marinetto

Practical help for students and universities left exposed by the A-level results chaos is needed, not political point-scoring, says former Ucas chief executive Mary Curnock Cook

Even with a rock-star border collie on side, allowing students to flock back takes careful planning, says Neil Quigley

System consolidation, regulatory simplification and undergraduate flexibility are positive steps, says Pushkar

Some argue that accolades for individuals are outmoded in an age of team science, and reinforce old hierarchies and biases as ‘friends reward friends’

Bullying and harassment is still widespread in our institutions, and this must change, say science leaders

It is wrong for UK ministers to set up higher and further education in opposition to one another, says former education secretary Justine Greening

Male security guards are the workers most at risk of dying from Covid, but George Bass is happy to be one of the ‘expendables’

The halting of trials for a coronavirus treatment following the publication of dubious data highlights the perils of opacity, says Ron Iphofen

Falling staff-student ratios and low quality in some graduate programmes are prompting concern that more will mean worse, says Zhang Ruomei

Now is the time to build a research infrastructure that harnesses and nurtures the energy, creativity and enterprise of the third sector, says letter

Teaching-focused institutions need to concentrate on the aspects of faculty research that contribute to the student experience, says Neil Clarke

Higher education is no panacea, but critical thinking is the best antidote to inequality, say Chris Cunningham and Colin Samson

The lockdown has illustrated that we don't need to sacrifice academic interaction to save the planet, says Adnan Ajšić

If policymakers are worried about the cost of degrees, why aren’t living expenses taken into account?

Physical events are not going away but they must open up and embrace the best of the digital world, says Jim Woodgett

Daily tweets, cake baking and discussion of James Bond film titles have all helped keep Anthony Smith sane

Still on mute? Then let’s begin, says Emma Rees

Academic research is not having any significant impact on the national economy or health of society, laments Tahir Shah

The government’s tinkering with red tape is welcome but it won’t be enough to overcome Covid-19 uncertainty, says James Pitman

Young scholars’ lack of reputation and digital prominence risks seeing them excluded from online conferences, says Scott Rich

Covid-19 has underlined the need for more coordinated and comprehensive engagement with policymakers, say David Price, Sarah Chaytor and Andrew Wathey

The pandemic is accelerating debates about fundamental issues that universities cannot brush aside if they are to keep politicians and the public on their side

Steering the innovation currently taking place in educational institutions could have major long-term benefits, says Fernando Reimers

Progress will be very difficult if there is a loud cohort of academics who remain fundamentally opposed to it, says James Blackwell

The cash injection announced by the government last week is the most ambitious plan of its kind Ed Byrne has seen in 40 years

Universities are in a powerful position to help societies address history in a way that informs the present and shapes the future, says Andrew Thompson

The rapid shift to online learning could threaten the survival of some institutions, but others could build on it to introduce teaching innovations, says Ana Fanelli

Pathological corporate branding is detrimental to the very image universities want to portray to students, says Philip Moriarty

Understanding students’ individual needs and concerns during this pandemic will go a long way to helping them progress academically, says Cathy Sandeen

There are simple ways that the publishing process can be made easier for academics with educational needs, says one early career researcher 

Institutions and scholars must serve society, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile was more than willing to join efforts to tackle the country’s coronavirus outbreak, says Pedro Bouchon

Anthony Seldon reflects on his time leading the University of Buckingham as he prepares to step down 

Now is the time for universities to interrogate the inequities of traditional classroom settings to ensure they aren’t repeated online, says Jessica Rowland Williams 

Cross-border knowledge sharing is core to higher education and must be preserved, say 33 university leaders in a joint statement on global academic mobility 

There’s no evidence that lower fees will lead to more enrolments, and employability for ‘work relevant’ degrees is low, says Gavin Moodie

The challenges of the future won’t respect disciplinary boundaries, so why would we teach and research within them? asks Tan Eng Chye

Challenging students to collaborate on course content will help them learn better and develop essential skills, say Cathy Davidson and Christina Katopodis

They have an obligation to engage in diversity education because it is the flip side of the intercultural work in which they are experts, say Harvey Charles and Darla Deardoff 

In the wake of the George Floyd killing, institutions should prioritise health and well-being over armed enforcement, says Michael Sierra-Arévalo

But auditing such efforts will be difficult, while unintended consequences are always a risk, warns Athene Donald

There are benefits to running a young institution like the University of Duisburg-Essen, says Ulrich Radtke 

We will need wisdom and common purpose to update multiple layers of norms, says Jinghai Li

The Sydney university’s roots in the aftermath of the Second World War means the institution is used to being practical, inclusive and unwilling to compromise on standards, says Ian Jacobs