The University Challenge: Changing Universities in a Changing World, by Ed Byrne and Charles Clarke

Thank you for this review. For me, the next big issue in HE is the What and Where of Research and Development. I see much less money from Government going to Universities and more going to businesses and specialist institutions and going away from London, Oxford and Cambridge. Part of the reason behind this expected change is the failure of existing instituitions to show an adequate return on tax payer investment. The largest failure seems to me to be in the area of Social Sciences and the Arts. Too much spent in total and spread too thinly and on the "wrong" subjects. A possible way to stem the outflow of funds is via joint ventures with the business sector and a greater focus on emerging areas such as AI and Robotics. Social Sciences have had their day in the same way that funds for research in Theology declined decades ago.