New leader hopes to take Swiss universities through wilderness New umbrella body president must safeguard world-leading institutions through a difficult time; luckily, the Neapolitan physicist is ready for a fight By Ben Upton 10 February
Fresh pay talks agreed as UK university strikes continue Acas to mediate between unions and employers in an attempt to resolve deadlock on pay By Tom Williams 9 February
OfS gives sector more time for access reboot after feedback English regulator concedes providers being asked to do too much, too quickly and gives most another year to work on plans By Tom Williams 9 February
Heads of Rotterdam Islamic seminary tried for money laundering Board members of bankrupt Islamic institution accused of laundering more than €1 million and firearms offences By Ben Upton 9 February
Make research funding more flexible, says German science council Country¡¯s top policy advisory body calls for project funding to be more generous with fewer constraints, as institutions¡¯ budgets swell By Ben Upton 9 February
University referrals to Prevent ¡®strikingly low¡¯, says review Controversial counter-terror scheme widely shunned by academics despite risks to universities from extremist groups By Tom Williams 9 February
Scottish access commissioner eyes ¡®mature conversation¡¯ on target Government-set access target ¡®can¡¯t become a burden¡¯ and there is ¡®debate to be had¡¯ on its metrics, says academic and ex-football referee By John Morgan 9 February
Nursing and teaching hardest hit as UK applications drop Total number of applications to study for a degree in UK down by 2.3 per cent at January deadline By Patrick Jack 9 February
Decisive action must follow the warm words about degree apprenticeships More support and less complex regulation will allow the hybrid qualifications to flourish across more English institutions and sectors, says Dan Lally By Dan Lally 9 February
Ministers win free speech bill vote on right to sue universities Minister calls statutory tort an essential step to ¡®cultural transformation¡¯ By John Morgan 8 February
How a soaring deficit brutalised UEA¡¯s modernising ambitions Institution famed for its brutalist campus has paid price for bad luck and bad decisions, staff say By Tom Williams 8 February
A 10 per cent UK pay rise would risk the livelihoods of many post-92 staff The ¡®sector¡¯ may be able to afford more than the current offer, but many individual universities cannot, says Peter Sloane By Peter Sloane 8 February
