Universities ‘central’ to solutions on UK regional inequality Lord Kerslake, chair of UK2070 Commission, calls for ‘MIT of the North’ and ‘HE-FE systems’ in deprived towns By John Morgan 15 November
Senior technicians at UK universities overwhelmingly male Figures show that even disciplines with a high share of female technical staff have few women at the top By Ellie Bothwell 14 November
Tory spending plans include ?800?million budget for ‘UK?Darpa’ Boris Johnson pledges to double public spending on research and development to ?18 billion over course of next parliament By Chris Havergal 14 November
Chinese students ‘unfairly demonised for political purposes’ Flimsy evidence provided for China’s political interference in UK academia has raised questions over the motivation for calls for tougher regulation By Jack Grove 14 November
Reassess value of student ‘mass migration’ within UK, says report Hepi study calls for debate on the purpose and value of the UK’s costly system of residential universities By Jack Grove 14 November
The REF must face up to reproduction’s true impact on academics More account must be taken of pregnancy, assisted fertility and miscarriage, say Christina Hellmich and Marina Della Giusta By Christina Hellmich 14 November
Open science advocate apologises over ‘inappropriate behaviours’ Jon Tennant barred from OpenCon community after breaching code of conduct By Chris Havergal 13 November
Sector agencies told to take lead on diversifying reading lists New study shows reading lists are still overwhelmingly ‘male and pale’ By Anna McKie 13 November
United Nations to make its first major higher education move Unesco is backing plan to improve recognition of refugee qualifications, but some are sceptical about the scheme’s value By Jack Grove 13 November
New ‘strategic body’ for education part of Labour’s English plan Party’s lifelong learning report features call for new organisation to coordinate across National Education Service By John Morgan 12 November
Managers who ‘fetishise’ certain journals warp incentive culture UK research culture likened to 1970s car industry, with individuals ignoring quality concerns By Simon Baker 11 November
Support for cross-border teacher education in Ireland is more important than ever A north-south network for educators has been instrumental in the Irish peace process and needs its funding from the north reinstated, say Noel Purdy and Maria Campbell By Noel Purdy 11 November
