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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].

  • UK-India higher education and research

    10 December 2021 by Janet Ilieva

    This blog was contributed by Janet Ilieva, Director and Founder of Education Insight and co-author of ‘Natural Partners: Building a comprehensive UK-India knowledge partnership’. The spotlight has rapidly turned to India,  the second-largest sending country for globally mobile students and home to the world’s largest youthful population under the age…

  • The Impact of travel poverty on education

    8 December 2021 by Ross Renton

    This blog was contributed by Professor Ross Renton, the inaugural Principal of ARU Peterborough – a new university for the city.  ARU Peterborough is being led by Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Peterborough City Council, and Anglia Ruskin University, and will open in September 2022. The post-pandemic mass return to…

  • Rebooting the regulatory framework

    7 December 2021 by Gary Attle

    This blog was contributed by Gary Attle, Partner and Head of Education & Governance for Mills & Reeve LLP. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Office for Students as the regulator for higher education in England took steps to reduce the regulatory requirements which had to be met by registered…

  • Perception is reality: changing how graduates see student finance

    6 December 2021 by Paul Woodgates

    Paul Woodgates is an independent adviser and non-executive director in the HE sector. Perhaps we always suspected that student debt would take its toll on graduates. But in their HEPI Report, Hidden Voices: Graduates’ Perspectives on the Student Loan System in England, Claire Callender and Ariane de Gayardon present a…

  • The teaching of languages

    3 December 2021 by John Claughton

    ‘Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.’ This blog was contributed by John Claughton, Co-Founder of WoLLoW: The World of Languages and Languages of the World and Honorary Research Fellow in Classics Ancient History and Egyptology within the School of Arts Languages and cultures at…

  • All I want for Christmas is a consultation paper (or two) – by Nick Hillman

    29 November 2021 by Nick Hillman

    As we enter Advent, the higher education sector is gearing up for expected new consultations from the Department for Education. Here HEPI Director, Nick Hillman, takes stock of current policy debates, the impending industrial action and the continuing impact of COVID. The calm before the storm It may seem extraordinary,…

  • An open letter to the new Director for Fair Access and Participation

    24 November 2021 by Nick Hillman

    Dear John, Congratulations on your new appointment! We don’t know each other well but I have long admired your career from afar. You clearly care passionately about learners and ensuring they meet their potential. It is a huge and brilliant job that you are taking on, in fact one of…