Feature article

Man tries to find his way through a maze

What students need to learn beyond the curriculum

Universities cannot assume students know how to engage in self-directed study and campus life. Clear direction and signposting can help arrivals flourish inside and outside the classroom, colleagues at Manchester Metropolitan University write

Katharina De Vita, Lucy Pittaway, Melanie McHale

Manchester Metropolitan University

A student on a zoom call in her home office

Make tech work in large online courses

Students on large online courses can sometimes feel like a face among the crowd. Keep them engaged with interactive activities such as digital escape rooms or business simulators

Nelly Ramirez Vásquez

Tecnológico de Monterrey

University staff clasp hands in a show of solidarity

Three lessons that outreach can teach us about enriching our own work

University staff can benefit from outreach as much as its participants. Oliver Rossetti explores three principles that can drive positive change within institutions, as well as beyond

Oliver Rossetti

Arden University

Three people working in an industrial design studio

‘Collaboration is not a slogan or aspiration but a deliberate educational practice’

Higher education leaders often praise interdisciplinary collaboration, but their systems make it difficult to achieve. For innovation to flourish, universities must teach students and faculty to work across disciplines – and differences

Lu Liu

Virginia Tech

Female author doing a reading in a bookshop

Before you write a trade book, consider a reality check

Thinking of turning your research into a book for general readers? Two consultants who guide academics through the publishing process share what to weigh before you begin

K. Anne Amienne, Daniela Blei

Scholars & Writers

A hand pulling out a book from a library shelf

Helping students find and learn from high-quality sources

From celebrating your university library to demonstrating your own source selection process, learn strategies to help students confront increasing misinformation and disinformation online

Tom Hayward

UCL

Two students have fun recording a podcast

Listen up: why audio assessment needs better design

Without intention, an assessment based on podcasting can end up confusing students. Here’s why intention is key

Eleanor Roseblade

University of Westminster

Asian female financial student doing calculations

If a chatbot can pass your assignment, you are grading the wrong thing

Any task whose assessed object is a final number or tidy conclusions is not measuring students’ thinking, writes Lucas Long. He shares three ways to put the reasoning back at the centre of learning

Lucas Long

University of West Florida

Diamond open access publishing: what it is and how to do it

For researchers interested in publishing their work with no fees for authors or readers, diamond open access publishing could be the answer. Here is a guide to the basics

Rebecca Wojturska

The University of Edinburgh

A group of students wearing green t shirts discussing a sustainability initiative

A beginner’s guide to systems thinking in education for sustainable development

Systems thinking can better equip students to engage with sustainability challenges. It helps to treat it as a competence and a journey, says Fatima Lopez Castellanos

Fatima Lopez Castellanos

The University of Bristol

Bring open science into the classroom

To truly change science, the next generation of researchers must understand not only open science practices but also the values behind them. Find three ways to introduce them to students

Madeleine Pownall

University of Leeds

Female teacher doing chemistry demonstration

Training tomorrow’s citizen scientists in introductory science courses

Faculty who teach large introductory STEM courses often experience burnout, writes Michael Evans. Thinking of yourself as a trainer of citizen scientists and seeing your field in the world around you can help keep teaching fresh

Michael Evans

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

A close up of a researcher in a lab filling a test tube

Broaden your research impact with open educational resources

Open educational resources help communicate research outcomes and contribute to shared knowledge. Read about examples and guidance on how to create them

Lorna Campbell, Stephanie Farley

The University of Edinburgh

Eight ways universities can foster an open research culture now

Make open research routine by creating a culture that welcomes questions and acknowledges uncertainty. Here’s how

Etienne Roesch

University of Reading

The interdisciplinary benefits of navigating a medical PhD as an engineer

Crossing disciplinary boundaries can be challenging, but an engineering mindset can bring fresh solutions to clinical challenges. Bendegúz Juhos explores how to bridge the gap, use open access to researchers’ benefit and find support to innovate

Bendegúz Juhos

Semmelweis University

How to make interdisciplinary teaching a reality

While disciplinary expertise remains important, future graduates will increasingly need broader capabilities to cope with uncertainty and change. Lei Zeng offers advice on how to develop them

Lei Zeng

The University of Manchester

An unenthused student receives a test back in the classroom

Why first-year courses should be pass/fail – and how to make the case at your institution

First-year students suffer from disproportionate levels of stress. But there’s one structural fix that costs almost nothing: pass/fail assessment in year one. Find six steps to implement change

Lasha Markozashvili

Nazarbayev University

Architecture students inspecting plans on a board

Memorable teaching doesn’t just transfer knowledge – it transforms perspective

Educators may often ask themselves how to make teaching more engaging. A better question is how to create learning experiences that fundamentally change the way students think

Andrew Gipe-Lazarou

Virginia Tech

Birds-eye view of a forest with multiple paths leading through it

Scholarship is not a linear journey: how to encourage students to ‘drift’

The structured nature of academic writing obscures the messiness of scholarship. Meandering is an important part of the research process, says Lauren B. Clark

Lauren B. Clark

UCL

Five ways to integrate open research into teaching

Open research shapes how psychological science is conducted yet it is often absent from the way psychology is taught. Here are five practical ways to integrate open research into the curriculum

Charlotte Pennington

Aston University

‘Belonging should not mean only that students feel welcome’

Universal design for learning ensures students are not only present but able to participate. Taking her cue from a South Korean television series, Sunah Cho uses three questions to address the ‘kkakdugi’ problem in higher education

Sunah Cho

University of British Columbia

Young female university student meeting in all with older female supervisor

How an algorithm can lift dissertation supervision allocation above mere logistics

A data-driven method can turn the administrative chore of matching dissertation students with the right supervisor into an educational opportunity. Ana Santos explains how it works

Ana Santos

Independent academic

A university teacher answering a student's question

Multilingualism is a strength in teaching

Language proficiency does not equal professional competence. Here’s how to use linguistic skills to teach and rethink what makes a good teacher

Yanyan Li

The University of Warwick

Instead of producing finished graduates, aim to build adaptable people

Employers aren’t looking for perfect specialists. It’s up to higher education to give graduates the skills to navigate uncertainty

Nicolas Klotz

Al Akhawayn University

Illustration of robot hands holding a resume

AI’s fluent answers hide bias. Here’s how to teach students to see it

AI advice arrives confident and efficient, which is why students don’t always notice what it assumes or when they stop deciding for themselves. Kamila Miller offers four classroom practices that make bias and dependence visible

Kamila Miller

University of Reading

Researchers use a transparent tablet together

Open research by principle, not by checklist

Think of open research as an overarching commitment to transparency, running through every stage of the process, rather than options to be ticked off. Here’s how

Alice Howarth

University of Sheffield, UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN)

Black students talking amongst themselves

Recognise what Black African international students bring to the classroom

How academics can move beyond deficit narratives and help Black African international students leverage strengths they may not even be aware of

Patrice Seuwou

University of Northampton

A researcher uses a laptop inside the library

Why librarians should organise open research support around researchers, not services

Librarians could be key in helping academics navigate the open research life cycle. Here’s how

Assemgul Temirkhanova , Yelizaveta Kamilova , Lazzat Arystanova , Ainash Yeleussizova

Nazarbayev University

An army of toy robots stand in formation

How AI agents can get students reasoning and reflecting

Instead of giving students answers at the touch of a button, what if we designed AI agents to support active learning? Here’s how it works

Chu Mui Kim, Tammy Wong Ting Xin

Singapore Institute of Technology

Want industry speakers? Get them in early

Guest speakers offer an informed, personal perspective on their discipline and a chance for learners to make an in-person connection that a recording cannot replicate. Here’s how to maximise the benefits and get students to turn up

Treasa Kearney, Anna Egan

University of Liverpool, Manchester Metropolitan University

Two lab workers discussing something on a screen

Paid research internships can level the playing field for bioscience students

Research experience is invaluable – but only if students can afford to take part. Learn about a scheme that supports under-represented students

Richard Bowater, Carl Harrington, Anne Graham, Cathie Martin

The University of East Anglia

A beginner’s guide to open science

Open science may seem impenetrable for early career researchers. Sarahanne Field explains what it is and how to get started

Sarahanne Field

University of Groningen

Illustration showing greener lab networks

How to build buy-in for green lab practices

Faculty, staff and students opt out of sustainability conversations when they are not sure how to engage. A dedicated network can foster a lab community and share ways to reduce the environmental impact of research

Justis Allard-Hagan

University of Alberta

A group of students discussing an interdisciplinary project at a table

Three ways to foster an interdisciplinary mindset in students

Interdisciplinarity can feel vague and abstract. Read guidance on helping students understand how concepts are defined and how approaches to problems differ across disciplines

Adrian Man-Ho Lam

The University of Hong Kong

Build a supportive learning community for graduate apprentices

Graduate apprentices are often split between campus and workplace, their status between student and employee. Here’s how to foster psychological safety between cohorts

Gary Gillon, Alan MacDonald, Elaine Jackson

University of the West of Scotland

Assessing students’ academic writing when AI can produce a first draft

When finished text no longer reliably indicates students’ ability to produce structured formal prose, educators can ask them to show more of their writing and judgement process

Igor B. Martins

Lund University

Design learning experiences students cannot outsource to AI

A good class creates a sequence of mental events that cannot be outsourced: prediction, surprise, judgement, revision and retrieval, writes Emilia Samit

Emilia Samit

Nebrija University

An illustration of a robot on a green background

Outreach activities for AI literacy: from sparking curiosity to lifelong learning

Four principles for embedding AI literacy in university outreach, to create a sustainable learning ecosystem

Kenneth Wai-Ting Leung

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Teaching AI use in music for intercultural perspectives

One way to navigate the tension between fear of AI’s impact on creativity and using it to enhance these processes is to take a human-centred approach to its use. Hyesoo Yoo explains

Hyesoo Yoo

Virginia Tech

Researchers work together over a microscope

Bridge the gap between university knowledge and societal challenges

Let’s build a culture where local communities can benefit from ground-breaking research. Here’s how a funding programme helped develop research aligned with the SDGs

Laura Salinas

Universidad Austral

Young male student looking at phone while putting off study

To stop students procrastinating, collaborate with them

To help students start academic work on time, educators can use an approach that both guides them and pushes them to manage their own journeys

Itamar Shatz

University of Cambridge

A professor explaining course structure to a class full of students, some of whom have their hands raised

You only get one first class of term – make it count

How to create a positive first impression and transform the first class from a passive briefing to an interactive launchpad for learning

Svetoslav G. Georgiev

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

A researcher inspects solar panels in a lab

How living labs bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world

To help students connect their classroom learning to the messier results of the real world, perhaps living labs are the answer. Find out more

Sivaneasan Bala Krishnan

Singapore Institute of Technology

female mature-age online student working at laptop

‘What I learned from being a university student again’

If educators want to understand student confidence, inclusivity, belonging and engagement, they could consider returning to the classroom as a learner

Marianne Savory, Beka Kimberley, Laura Oxley, Afua Kudom

University of Leeds, Graduate Futures Institute

University students having a discussion about climate change while one presents a poster titled "Save the planet"

Simple ways to bring climate education into every classroom

Strategies to empower students to engage with climate issues in ways that are relevant to their discipline, their futures and the world they are entering

Brittany Vermeulen , Ümit Kennedy

Western Sydney University

Three shifts in course design to update pedagogies for the AI era

How can education truly prepare students for the unpredictability of the working world? Find three ways to encourage students to develop the skills they’ll need

Philip Y. Lam

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Male student working at laptop surrounded by images of documents

How document-grounded AI can support inclusive learning

When educators restrict an AI model to a defined collection of trusted inputs, they can introduce students to academic materials in a flexible and interactive way. Here, Imran Khan shares five practical insights

Imran Khan

Birmingham City University

A student wearing headphones speaking to a screen with other students online

How to design an asynchronous COIL project

Intercultural online projects work best when designed around learning journeys with multiple pathways for participation. Read guidance on fostering connection, trust and engagement

Bhawana Shrestha, Chiraz Retimi, Ana Magano

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University , University of Djelfa, Agrupamento de Escolas da Damaia

A student consults an AI bot for study help

Make AI literacy a foundational element of your course design

With AI becoming commonplace in nearly every industry, educators need to intentionally integrate AI into the learning process. Here’s how to do it, ethically and transparently

Andrea Ramirez-Salgado, Darius Brown, Soohyoun Ahn, Tom Zhang

University of Florida

Female architect looking at plans on site

‘Success in academia needs a metric for how scholarship improves lives’

If we want universities to address society’s greatest challenges, we should ask ourselves how our work makes the world better in tangible, measurable ways. Bobby Vance explains how this question has shaped his career

Bobby Vance

Virginia Tech

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