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The UK's only independent think tank devoted to higher education.

Nick Hillman

  • What might governing bodies ask their vice chancellors?

    18 October 2015

    This is an extract from a speech made by Nick Hillman, HEPI Director, to the Committee of University Chairs Autumn Plenary, held in central London on Friday, 16th October 2015. The instructions I have received for this event advise that ‘our most successful speakers are those who encourage the audience to reflect on what…

  • Students and the 2015 general election: Did they make a difference?

    15 October 2015 by Nick Hillman

    Before the 2015 election, it was believed students would play an important part in the result. They were the target of Labour’s commitment to reduce fees, and the NUS’s ‘Liar Liar’ campaign was aimed at politicians who had broken promises made at the previous election. Meanwhile, a new electoral registration…

  • Work hard, play hard: HEPI / UPP party conference events

    3 October 2015

    On Tuesday, 29th September 2015, HEPI co-hosted a roundtable discussion at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. It focused on some new research exploring students’ views on applying to higher education, alternatives to higher education and employability. A similar event will be taking place at the Conservative Party Conference in…

  • Now that’s what we call soft power: 55 world leaders educated in the UK

    1 October 2015

    HEPI has undertaken a small piece of desk research which reveals that 55 world leaders (Presidents, Prime Ministers and monarchs) from 51 countries attended higher-level education in the UK. Nick Hillman, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), said: ‘The Home Office wants to restrict the number of foreigners coming to study…

  • A warm welcome awaits freshers…

    16 September 2015 by Nick Hillman

    …by the look of this banner currently up at the University of the West of England. But anyone who finds the transition to higher education tricky should know they are in good company. At a HEPI / HEA breakfast on student wellbeing earlier this year, a leading figure in the sector said the one thing…

  • REF, TEF and tumble: will the TEF lead to a new division between lecturers and researchers?

    7 September 2015 by Tom McKenzie

    This guest blog is written by Tom McKenzie, Lecturer in Economics at the University of Dundee and Fellow of the London Centre for Social Studies. It is, in part, a response to HEPI’s recent publication comparing the UK and German higher education systems. University academics multitask. Broadly, our time is split between research, teaching and administrative…

  • Keeping up with the Germans?: A comparison of student funding, internationalisation and research in UK and German universities

    3 September 2015 by Nick Hillman

    This pamphlet compares the UK and German higher education systems and find some stark differences. Funding: While fees were being tripled in England, German states were abolishing them.  Internationalisation: While the UK has been sending mixed messages to potential international students, Germany has looked outwards as a way to strengthen its…