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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].

  • New Recipe, Same Ingredients? For levelling up, proof will be in the pudding

    23 February 2022 by Paul Crawshaw

    This blog was contributed by Paul Crawshaw, Professor of Social Policy and Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law at Teesside University, Middlesbrough. On the day the eagerly-anticipated Levelling Up White Paper was published, like many across the sector I took time out to rapidly digest its key messages. I…

  • AI for HE: a student journey market map

    22 February 2022 by Mary Curnock Cook and Nic Newman

    Mary Curnock Cook, Network Chair, and Nic Newman, Partner, at edtech venture fund Emerge Education take a tour of AI tools currently available for universities, providing a ‘market map’ and emphasising the importance of data architecture to enable the adoption of AI solutions. The adoption of technology in higher education is changing…

  • The Importance of the Employee ‘Deal’

    18 February 2022 by Mark Sterling

    This blog was contributed by Professor Mark Sterling, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor (Staffing) and Beale Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Birmingham. There has been much debate of late over academic careers and even the rewards associated with them. Whichever side of the debate you land on, we can probably all…

  • Book Review: Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide: A Practical Guide for FE and HE Settings by Sharon Mallon and Jo Smith (eds.) (London, 2022)

    16 February 2022 by Laura Brassington

    HEPI’s Policy Manager, Dr Laura Brassington, reviews Sharon Mallon and Jo Smith (eds.). 2022. Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide: A Practical Guide for FE and HE Settings. With a foreword by Rosie Tressler, OBE. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78775-418-8. 400pp. £40.00.  The publication of Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide: A…

  • Changing Fees, Changing Lives?

    15 February 2022 by John Cater

    This blog was contributed by Dr John Cater, Vice-Chancellor of Edge Hill University. Throughout the past decade, and to some extent for the 15 years that preceded it, politicians, the media, families, graduates and aspiring graduates have obsessed about student tuition fees and maintenance grants and loans. And for good…

  • What influences the geographical mobility behaviour of university graduates?

    14 February 2022 by Kostas Kollydas

    This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Kostas Kollydas, Research Fellow at City-REDI/ WMREDI, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham (@KKollydas, @WMREDI). Introduction University graduates comprise a special subgroup of the workforce, as they accumulate high levels of human capital and can improve a region’s skills base. They can make a positive impact on…

  • The Importance of a Differentiated Sector

    11 February 2022 by Saskia Loer Hansen and David Phoenix

    This blog was kindly contributed by Saskia Loer Hansen, Interim Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, and Professor David Phoenix, Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University and Chief Executive of LSBU Group. While it was a disappointment that higher education funding was left out of the autumn budget, it was…

  • Universities, Research, Development and Innovation and the Levelling Up White Paper

    10 February 2022 by Giles Carden

    This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Giles Carden, Chief of Staff at Lancaster University. The Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper was finally launched on 2 February 2022. It sets out a complete ‘system change’ of government working, with the aim of levelling up the UK. Central to the new…