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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].

  • Research security: a vital aspect of Foreign and Direct Investment

    10 March 2023 by Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng

    Midlands Innovation is a strategic partnership of eight research-intensive universities. Universities in the Midlands and the pan-regional growth body, the Midlands Engine, are piloting how universities can work together to attract Foreign Direct Investment into regional Research and Development. HEPI’s report, The role of universities in driving overseas investment into UK Research…

  • Transformational leadership – it’s a female thing

    8 March 2023 by Ceri Nursaw

    This guest blog in the current series on leadership with NCEE has been kindly penned for HEPI by Ceri Nursaw, the Chief Executive of the NCEE. On International Women’s Day it feels appropriate to talk about female leadership in universities.  With still only seven women CEOs in the FTSE 100 and…

  • Higher education in London

    8 March 2023 by Nick Hillman

    This is the text of a speech made this week by Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, to London Higher. I jumped at the chance to speak to London Higher in part because I am an alumnus of our host institution, having studied here at the end of the last century…

  • Two Decades of Change at Oxford University

    3 March 2023 by Mike Ratcliffe

    This review of the new book by Gill Evans, After North, has been kindly written for HEPI by Mike Ratcliffe, who is an experienced Academic Registrar. Anyone who would like a copy of the book itself should email the author here. Next Tuesday, HEPI is hosting its first Annual Lecture since…

  • Social Value as a lens for higher education strategy

    1 March 2023 by Professor Tony Wall and Dr Adam Shore

    This guest blog has been kindly written by Professor Tony Wall and Dr Adam Shore of Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University. It is the third in the current series of blogs produced for HEPI by the NCEE. Earlier blogs from this HEPI / NCEE series as well as the…

  • Exploring Generative AI in higher education

    28 February 2023 by Matt Riddle

    By Matt Riddle, Principal and Director of Learning Experiences, Curio The higher education sector is undergoing a technological revolution, with AI tools like ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and Midjourney leading the charge. These tools are transforming the way students learn and the way universities and workplaces operate. HEPI / Curio Questionnaire:…

  • Should Oxford students walk away from the NUS?

    27 February 2023 by Nick Hillman

    On 27 February 2023, students at the University of Oxford begin a referendum on whether their Students’ Union should disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS). Nick Hillman, HEPI’s Director writing in a personal capacity, considers the pros and cons of Oxit. Over 30 years ago, I helped run an NUS…

  • International graduates find employers need more information on the Graduate Route visa

    24 February 2023 by Elaine Boyes and Anne Marie Graham

    This blog has been kindly written for HEPI by Elaine Boyes, Executive Director, AGCAS and Anne Marie Graham, Chief Executive, UKCISA. Recent research by AGCAS (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services) found that international graduates using the Graduate Route visa need resilience and perseverance to succeed in the UK job market.…