Russians plan to put (wo)man on Mars
Plans for a manned Mars landing have moved a step closer as Russian space scientists announced an ambitious experiment into the stresses the crew of a mission would be put under. "Mars 500" is...
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Foundations hit by strict scrutiny
State universities are worried that fear of public attention may discourage donations from corporations and alumni, as the foundations through which they give money come under scrutiny after several...
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Why divide and be ruled if we can unite and win?
For nine months, Paul Mackney and Sally Hunt have negotiated for a merged union with real clout at the bargaining table The annual council of the Association of University Teachers will next week...
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Alison Wolf
If the best institutions are those where open debate is encouraged, however controversial, those in the UK are world leaders British academics increasingly take it for granted that the US has a...
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Alan Bowman finds shadowy caesar in Oxfordshire Mud
There are some periods of history on which the serendipitous archaeological discovery of a tiny object can cast a narrow but intense beam of illumination into a dark corner where the absence of a...
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Blairite bloomers
The sands and slot machines of Blackpool offered few pleasures to the Labour Students at last week's National Union of Students conference. Not one Labour hopeful was elected to the prime NUS vice-...
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Mix and mismatch
Meanwhile, Labour's tactic of publishing individual chapters of its manifesto before producing the whole document may well give the party time to correct an unfortunate design glitch. A headline...
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Answers in the Mail, please
One of the fiercest critics of the perceived decline of academic standards, the Daily Mail , can always be relied on to expose student cheating. So when a study on the proliferation of student "ghost...
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Brand appeal on uneven keel
Keele University has become the latest institution to make a rather embarrassing jump onto the branding bandwagon. "Love: Keele" is its new identity. The design team says this new initiative will "...
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Not quite fully wired up
Swansea University went all out to score points for hipness last week, with vice-chancellor Richard Davies turning up at a rock concert brandishing awards. Professor Davies took the stage before a...
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Why I.. believe student meals are too important to be neglected
School meals are suddenly top of the political agenda, and about time too. For 25 years, the school meal was portrayed in film and literature as something to be endured rather than enjoyed, a...
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Mix in with mandarins
As party manifestos come under scrutiny, Nick Pearce asks why so few academics help make policy When that other Jean-Paul (Sartre) died, thousands turned out on the streets of Paris to mourn his...
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Lost opportunity left in limbo
The end of the NHSU represents a failure of vision and public-sector values, argues Andy Pike The demise of the National Health Service University is a sorry affair. It was a Labour manifesto...
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Enlightened by a brush with PR and prizes
In her role as judge for a book award, Maria Misra is a convert to a bit of competition My life has been submerged in a sea of books. Blockbuster histories, literary lives, war stories, political...
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Oh mother! It's time for you to meet the parents
Addressing families' concerns must be a priority, says Mandy Garner Academics tend to groan when you mention the subject of parents. Whereas, in the past, parents often stayed in the background, the...