Abdulrazak Gurnah: I wanted to write and be an academic Nobel literature laureate on his dual career, childhood memories and why decolonising the curriculum is nothing new By Matthew Reisz 3 December
Bristol’s sacking of David Miller imperils academic freedom The silence of other universities about an apparent clampdown on lawful speech is a betrayal of their mission, says Jonathan Rosenhead By Jonathan Rosenhead 3 December
Third European university alliances call takes expansive approach EHEA institutions and existing, unrelated partnerships are eligible for the latest round of the European Universities Initiative By Ben Upton 2 December
Russian academics urge release of imprisoned Moscow rector Scholars defend Sergey Zuev’s ‘impeccable reputation’ and liken his treatment to torture By Pola Lem 2 December
Sheffield Hallam flexes ‘levelling up’ power in South Yorkshire As ministers prepare White Paper, South Yorkshire Futures programme reaching neglected suburbs and towns could be model for putting policy into practice By John Morgan 2 December
Is there really a black hole in the USS? It depends on your assumptions Amid another round of strikes, the pension scheme chair’s assertion that changes are unavoidable cannot stand unchallenged, says Neil Davies By Neil Davies 2 December
Research detective wins standing up for science prize Elisabeth Bik wins John Maddox Prize for exposing image and data manipulation in published scientific papers By Ben Upton 1 December
Students back striking staff as regulator highlights disruption Undergraduates and postgraduates express sympathy for lecturers who have also struggled with shift online during pandemic By Simon Baker 1 December
Kathleen Stock: free speech bill could have saved my Sussex career Gender-critical philosopher says ‘draconian’ measures are required as universities have failed to protect freedom of expression By Jack Grove 1 December
New German government promises funding boost for universities ‘Traffic light’ coalition brings festive joy with ‘very specific and detailed’ promises to sector that felt neglected by last administration By Ben Upton 1 December
‘More assertive’ OfS reassures universities on quality plans ‘There will not be armies of OfS inspectors assessing teaching quality,’ says chief executive in annual report By Chris Havergal 1 December
Our experiment with contextual admissions has been a big success Both dropout rates and attainment have held steady since Abertay radically reduced entry grades for disadvantaged applicants, says Nigel Seaton By Nigel Seaton 1 December