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

Blog

The HEPI Blog aims to make brief, incisive contributions to the higher education policy landscape. It is circulated to our subscribers and published online. We welcome guest submissions, which should follow our Instructions for Blog Authors. Submissions should be sent to our Blog Editor, Josh Freeman, at [email protected].

  • Is the future tertiary?

    1 September 2023 by Alice Wilby

    Creating a parity of esteem between Further Education and Higher Education, or between ‘vocational’ and ‘academic’, is often suggested as a good idea to improve skills shortages, achieve levelling up and promote economic growth. As Wales establishes a Commission for Tertiary Education and Research and Keir Starmer signals that Labour…

  • Jo Grady of the UCU responds to HEPI report on vice-chancellors’ pay

    31 August 2023 by Dr Jo Grady

    To suggest that widespread condemnation of spiralling vice-chancellor pay is a product of confected outrage by unions is to seriously underestimate the level of anger this glaring injustice demands. It also diminishes the reality of a significant and growing pay gap ratio between those who lead universities, and those who…

  • Accommodation shortages: are the odds stacked against students?

    29 August 2023 by Martin Blakey

    Demand trends The summer recruitment round is volatile in 2023, and intake levels hard to predict. Even now, after exam results have been announced, many institutions do not have a completely clear view of the shape of their incoming cohort for the approaching academic year. This is perhaps the most…

  • The adaptability answer? How education technology will shape the next generation of leaders

    23 August 2023 by Stephanie Marshall

    The renowned mathematician and codebreaker, Peter Hilton, once said: “Adaptability to change is itself a hallmark of successful education.” Adaptability was central to Hilton’s efforts in deciphering German codes in 1942, and it’s just as important today. The pace of innovation and scale of disruption all around us is accelerating.…

  • University-educated leadership: curse or blessing?

    22 August 2023 by Lucian J Hudson

      At a time when the UK is having to define and redefine its leadership and influence on the world stage, HEPI’s Soft-Power Index serves as a timely and challenging reminder that quality of leadership matters, and that it matters not just on a national scale, but globally. There are two questions to ask…