This is the text of a speech Nick Hillman delivered this week at the University of Bradford. Thank you for inviting me back to Yorkshire, and indeed to the bit of Yorkshire that sometimes feels like it has more universities per head of the population than anywhere else in the…
The Higher Education Policy Institute is today publishing a new paper, Increasing Employer Support for the Tertiary Skills System in England (HEPI Report 189) by Professor David Phoenix, Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University. The report argues that, despite being one of the primary beneficiaries of our tertiary skills system, many employers…
New research reveals undergraduates and graduates overwhelmingly believe in the importance of getting a degree, but a high proportion say – with the benefit of hindsight – they would have made a different decision about what or where to study. The report, The benefits of hindsight: reconsidering higher education choices…
With Skills England expected to formally begin operating next month, a new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) shows that this government agency is likely to face an uphill struggle as it seeks to become a credible and respected organisation both within and outside government. Written by Tom…
In a new report, Boys will be boys: The educational underachievement of boys and young men (HEPI Report 188), Nick Hillman and Mark Brooks OBE show differences in educational achievement between men and women have meant half a million young men missing out on higher education over the past decade. This calculation…
For decades, pundits and politicians have been talking about a ‘swing to science’ – a shift of students in schools and universities from the study of humanities and social studies to the study of ‘STEM’ (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). But for most of this time, the opposite was happening…
HEPI and Kortext launch the Student Generative AI Survey 2025, showing striking increases in Generative AI usage among students.
In a new paper written for the Higher Education Policy Institute, Five Decades: One Lens – A view from the rear stalls, the longest serving university leader in the country, Dr John Cater, tells the story of Edge Hill University. Dr Cater reveals how his institution went from being a small teacher…
*** Join us at 12:30pm, Wednesday 5 March for a webinar on how the school and college curriculum can prepare students for higher education – you can sign up here.*** HEPI has published One Step Beyond: How the school and college curriculum in England can prepare young people for higher education by…
The HEPI report provides an in-depth analysis of the 2024 student encampments protesting for Palestine, highlighting their motivations, challenges, and institutional responses.