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Studying high art is still important, but popular culture can give humanities undergraduates better pointers on how to convert their refined understandings into practical action, rather than passivity and pessimism, activist scholar Caroline Levine tells Matthew Reisz 

Disagreements over equality issues mentioned in science secretary’s Israel letter must be swiftly addressed, says ex-research council head

Sector leaders quizzed in Elsevier survey back shift to more holistic methods of evaluating scholarship

‘Free-for-all’ approach blunts universities’ impact in tackling complex societal challenges, says Australian consultant

Charges and prohibitions introduced by the likes of X and TikTok are limiting academics’ ability to use sites to gain valuable insights into human behaviour

Dame Ottoline Leyser issues statement to make position ‘crystal clear’ as academic concern mounts over government pressure

Dame Ottoline Leyser’s acceptance of ministerial demands is likely to anger scholars who claim Michelle Donelan’s criticism undermines academic freedom

Drawing on Web of Science citation index, Clarivate report shows fivefold acceleration in published research output from China between 2009 and 2021

Science secretary’s condemnation of ‘extremist posts’ by UKRI equality advisers has led to accusations of ministerial ‘bullying’ and censorship

UK and New Zealand’s long-awaited association will spur on talks with Canada, South Korea and Japan, according to Signe Ratso

All agree cross-disciplinary collaboration is hard, but researchers favour material incentives while executives want cultural change, study finds

Academic dies after displaying symptoms of disease he studied, with thousands of unauthorised samples reportedly unearthed at lab

Michael Eisen removed as editor-in-chief of eLife after sharing article from satirical news website

Effort mirrors similar efforts in Canada and New Zealand, and attracts corresponding doubts about whether the pursuit promises meaningful value to research

After world’s largest funder of medical research spends a year without a permanent head, US Senate gives Harvard oncologist a list of political pleas but no serious opposition

THE analysis finds that high share of global institutions fail to recognise staff for cross-disciplinary working, as experts warn research environment is ‘still not up to the task’

An early draft of the Knowledge Security Act suggests mass screening non-EU students and academics based on discipline, departing from an on-demand approach that won admiration abroad

Successful efforts to boost China’s citation standing are part of plan to push regulation away from current global norms, says thinktank analyst

Britain should emulate Canada’s investment in digital security and due diligence to ensure research resilience, says elite university group

University of Leicester professor Turi King explains why her BBC show is right to show the messy reality of DNA investigations and tracing lost parents

Researchers will work with faculty co-led by Sir Tony Blair at huge new multidisciplinary institute funded by Oracle software magnate Larry Ellison

Scientists’ ability to understand changing climate is being undermined by lack of coordination and funding, House of Commons select committee report finds

Evacuation of international staff and mass mobilisation of army reservists has left some labs operating on ‘skeleton crews’

Greater understanding of the risks will help plot a sensible course between academic freedom and government control, says Fiona Quimbre

Increased scale of new German-Dutch imprint will speed transition to open access publishing and allow more investment in infrastructure

Years of declining funding have pushed university physicians to do more clinical work, with half of professors spending less than five hours a week in the lab

Church of Ireland Historical Society removes references to founder following accusations of child sexual abuse

Instead of focusing on the reliability of the data, I know first-hand that defamation suits become personal and career-threatening, says David Sanders

Award forces US university science to face up to treatment of immigrant woman who worked past demotions and threats to help create life-saving vaccine

Harvard professor Claudia Goldin is third woman to win Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences

While universities bankroll more research from their own pockets they exercise less discretion about the things they study

Annual meetings should be reimagined as spaces that enable connections – including with practitioners and the media, says Noam Schimmel

UK science secretary claims she is taking a stand against the ‘slow creep of wokeism’ in academia

University of Pennsylvania’s ‘tenacious’ laureates reflect on coping with demotion, dismissal and desk rejection to continue their mRNA research

We need to encourage and support scientists to leap into the unknown to solve our grand challenges faster and more equitably, says Xiangkun Cao

Hideo Ohno urges a level-headed approach as university seeks final green light in high-stakes excellence scheme

Asia saw the largest rise of all continents in research quality, teaching score, and overall performance in the latest World University Rankings

Hong Kong and the Netherlands lead new THE metrics measuring research strength, excellence and influence 

Southeast Asian country has made big gains on student-staff ratio since 2020, while Hungary has improved on share of postgraduate researchers

North America has also revived while Oceania’s international outlook has dipped. Patrick Jack picks out key rankings trends

European nations have the highest research income levels, but Hong Kong and Australia surpass them in research productivity

UK and US universities struggle to keep pace with top Asian performers as research funding shares decline

We’re gathering data on interdisciplinary science and online learning, and making improvements to some of our existing rankings, to capture insights on more of the work that universities do, says �ձᷡ’s chief data officer 

While the process to replace Excellence in Research for Australia is a ‘black box’ exercise, new evaluation mechanisms hold promise

Research ecosystems need some ‘apoptosis’ as some cells emerge and others fade away, summit hears

Pairing of ideologically opposed academics should become sector norm when researchers disagree, says Pennsylvania project leader

Think twice before pushing bush campuses into national institution or shotgun marriages with research elite, says Chris Hutchison

‘The real world doesn’t come neatly compartmentalised,’ summit hears, in exploration of the ‘unique’ strengths of multidisciplinary research

Incentives needed to build research across disciplines to address global challenges, THE summit hears

The authoritarian country has rich datasets for research collaboration, but while some new regulations may feel familiar to European eyes, any comfort must come with big ethical caveats, an expert says

Partnership will seek to reward institutions that incentivise cross-disciplinary work aimed at solving the world’s biggest challenges

Nishan Canagarajah says expansion of prestigious UK university grouping to include his institution is long overdue

Leading economist says new innovation agency needs to be surrounded by a stable ecosystem to enjoy success

The only way to get a permanent contract seems to be to take a teaching position. But that isn’t where my skills or interests lie, says Vanessa Baxter

Only one in five researchers in UK universities have been employed in private sector, says new report

As a human activity, research cannot but be cultural as much as it is scientific, say Annamaria Carusi and Shomari Lewis-Wilson

After its celebrated 2020 response to George Floyd killing, university now accused of political performance

Nobel-winning scientists are now using large language models, but experts say their impact on research is only just starting

Barack Obama’s favourite political thinker Yascha Mounk has made his career attacking right-wing populism. His latest target – identity politics fostered on US campuses – will surprise many of his acolytes, he tells Matthew Reisz

Listing all contributors would avoid damaging rows and properly reflect work of scholars, says elite European university group