Category: Higher Education

Knowledge work and the role of higher education in an AI era

As AI becomes increasingly entangled into different forms of knowledge work, Bert Verhoeven and Vishal Rana discuss how higher education can adapt to meet the needs of a changing labour market. Pointing to the limits of traditional forms of testing in …

Does the REF add any value to UK research?

Since the UK decided to link research assessment to research funding, there have been critiques that the competitive nature of the REF assessment creates a winner takes all environment. Whilst this is difficult to assess, Banal-Estanol et al. use a nov…

The bias puzzle – Understanding gender differences in academia

Bias in academia can often be difficult to pinpoint and separate out from difference. Responding to a recent call from the journal Nature to set new guidelines for studies dealing with race and ethnicity, Vincent A. Traag and Ludo Waltman, outline how …

Book Review: The Palgrave Handbook of Imposter Syndrome in Higher Education edited by Michelle Addison, Maddie Breeze and Yvette Taylor

In The Palgrave Handbook of Imposter Syndrome in Higher Education, editors Michelle Addison, Maddie Breeze and Yvette Taylor bring together contributors to reflect on the crisis of imposter syndrome in higher education. The book gives fascinating insig…

Bridge or Barrier – Does generative AI contribute to more culturally inclusive higher education and research?

Whilst the ability of generative AI to produce text in English has been widely covered, the implications of its ability to translate and act as a cultural broker into English have received less attention. Considering use contexts in education and resea…

Are universities too slow to cope with Generative AI?

Similar to other ed-tech trends, generative AI has led to a lively debate and divide between those boosting the potential disruptive nature of the technology and more critical perspectives. Mark Carrigan argues that as generative AI is already making i…

Why don’t we account for luck in research careers?

Success in academia is popularly linked to hard work and individual ability. However, a study of how academics describe their research careers suggests luck plays a significant role. Following this observation, Sarah R Davies and Bao-Chau Pham discuss …

Redistribution of research funding is essential to any project to ‘level up’ the UK

Funding for Research Development and Innovation and the aim of the government to ‘level-up’ the UK and improve productivity are closely linked. However, Adrian Webb argues in its current form these investments often work against this agenda, a state of…

How to use generative AI creatively in Higher Education

Generative AI presents clear implications for teaching and learning in higher education. Drawing on their experience as early adopters of ChatGPT and DALL.E2 for teaching and learning, Bert Verhoeven and Vishal Rana present four ways they can be used t…