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

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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].

  • Skills development is not just about transition into work: we need innovative thinking about higher level skills too

    23 February 2021 by Paul Layzell & James Bennett

    This blog was kindly contributed by Professor Paul Layzell, Principal of Royal Holloway, University of London and James Bennett, Director of StoryFutures Academy. You can find Paul on Twitter @RHULPrincipal and James @james_a_bennett. The UK has a skills challenge. On this, business leaders, politicians, educators and commentators can all agree.…

  • Anthony Seldon: From Policy-Takers to Policy-Makers

    22 February 2021 by Anthony Seldon

    Today’s blog is an extract from this year’s Annual Lecture of the National Conference of University Professors (NCUP), which has just been delivered by Sir Anthony Seldon (the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham). You can find Anthony on Twitter @AnthonySeldon. ***Tomorrow, HEPI and Advance HE are hosting a…

  • THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS: Free speech and academic freedom

    20 February 2021 by Nick Hillman

    Free speech and academic freedom in higher education institutions came back with a vengeance this week, as the Government announced their long-awaited proposals. It is one area where the main players have a tendency to imply their positions are more black-and-white than they really are. For example: the Government may…

  • Exam grades without exams: A better way

    19 February 2021 by Keith Geary

    Keith Geary is a former headteacher of two comprehensive schools and is currently a school governor and examiner. Ofqual’s 2020 proposals for exam grades without exams stretched to 68 pages and generated a summer of results chaos and uncertainty for students and higher education admissions. 2021’s proposals run to 46…

  • Informing parents is the key to unlocking the next generation of apprentices

    17 February 2021 by Katie Bell

    This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Katie Bell, Chief Marketing Officer, UCAS. You can find Katie on Twitter @DrKatieBell. For many parents, an apprenticeship musters up images of overalls and oily hands, but in the modern day that could not be further from the truth. From nursing and policing…

  • Response to the new announcements on free speech and academic freedom by Dr Arif Ahmed

    17 February 2021 by Dr Arif Ahmed

    This guest blog has been kindly contributed by Dr Arif Ahmed, who is a reader at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, where he authored the amendments to the new Statement on Freedom of Speech. The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, proposes to protect free speech at…

  • Supporting students in times of hardship

    16 February 2021 by Professor Amanda Broderick, Dr Diana Beech and Vivienne Stern

    This blog has been kindly contributed by Professor Amanda Broderick, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of East London, Dr Diana Beech, Chief Executive of London Higher, and Vivienne Stern, Director of Universities UK International. Every university in the country recognises the duty of care it has to the health…

  • How can we support teachers to handle their students’ catch-up? Support from an online source

    15 February 2021 by Diana Laurillard

    This blog was kindly contributed by Diana Laurillard, Professor of Learning with Digital Technology at the UCL Institute of Education. You can find Diana on Twitter @thinksitthrough. Teaching in every education sector has changed beyond all recognition over the past year and the dramatic conversion from primarily face-to-face teaching to…

  • Wendy Alexander: Assessing the new International Education Strategy

    12 February 2021 by Wendy Alexander

    Wendy Alexander is the Vice-Principal (International) at the University of Dundee and was previously the Associate Dean of Global Business at the London Business School. She is also a former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. You can find Wendy on Twitter @wendy_alexander. It is an irony of our times…