By Anonymous academics. He cancelled meetings, piled on additional work and refused to offer any support. I started to drink more – and at 48 – took voluntary redundancy to escape my bullying line manager. More...
How should we fund higher education? With a free-market graduate tax
By Peter Ainsworth. My proposal would lower taxpayer burden, free universities from regulation and give students value for money. More...
MI5 spied on leading British historians for decades, secret files reveal
By Richard Norton-Taylor. The scholars were subjected to persistent surveillance for decades as MI5 and police special branch officers tapped and recorded their telephone calls, intercepted their private correspondence and monitored their contacts, the files show. Some of the surveillance gave MI5 more details about their targets’ personal lives than any threat to national security. More...
Politicians would be stupid to ignore young people, warns president of NUS
By Abby Young-Powell. Toni Pearce says students have the numerical strength and the political will to unseat unpopular MPs. More...
How 1,000 years of Arabic scholarship advanced scientific debate – in pictures
By Claire Shaw. From the 9th to the 19th centuries, scholars and scribes used Arabic as a lingua franca to debate scientific ideas. Arabic-speaking scholars translated classical Greek, Persian and even Sanskrit texts on topics such as medicine, mathematics and astronomy. These scholars went far beyond translation and preservation and fostered a unique and vibrant scientific culture within the Arabic-speaking world. The British Library and Qatar Foundation have joined forces to launch a new bilingual online portal, the Qatar Digital Library, providing free access to 25,000 pages of fascinating medieval Arabic manuscript. Here’s a selection of some of the most influential scientific texts in history. More...
Female academics: don't power dress, forget heels – and no flowing hair allowed
By Francesca Stavrakopoulou. Women in academia are judged on their appearance. Feminine means frivolous, and those considered scruffy are subject to sexist assumptions. More...
How to get funding for your arts and humanities postgrad
By Natalie Gil. With no national loan scheme for postgrads, aspiring master’s and PhD students must reach out to other funding sources. More...
It's time to abandon the 'acting white' theory once and for all
By Victoria Bond. Dear White People doesn’t look like my university class. Real students have more trouble getting on the elevator of white privilege. More...
If I could choose one government policy? I’d abolish tuition fees
By Josie Long. Free education is not a crazy dream; some countries already have it. We should too, or we face a future where the study of literature or art becomes a luxury available to the rich alone. More...
Are British students getting fitter or fatter?
By Lawrence Wakefield. One recent report claims today’s students are super healthy, another that they are piling on the pounds. Which is correct. More...