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  1. Transforming justice through research: reforming maternal care for pregnant prisoners and new mothers

    October 29, 2025

    In this blog, Professor Laura Abbott from the University of Hertfordshire describes how a decade of qualitative research into pregnancy and maternal separation in prison led to landmark sentencing reforms earlier this year. “Pregnancy and early motherhood in prison constitutes a complex intersection of health and justice systems that presents considerable challenges for effective, compassionate […]

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    Professor Laura Abbott

  2. Designing for Energy Transitions: Lessons from Solar E-Cooking in Rwanda 

    October 13, 2025

    “Winning the Global Impact Award at this year’s Alliance Awards for our Solar Energy Transitions (SET): Inclusive e-cooking in sub-Saharan Africa project was a genuine privilege, not least because of the strength of the other shortlisted nominees. Each project was delivering excellent examples of challenge-led research that had both global relevance and local impact.  Funded […]

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    Dr Alison Halford, Dr Jonathan Nixon

  3. Elevate, Evaluate & Collaborate: why UA members created an Evaluation Network for Access and Participation

    April 23, 2025

    During the last two years, over two hundred and thirty providers of higher education have submitted Access and Participation Plans (APP) for approval to the Office for Students (OfS). Another forty-six are set to submit in the next six months. In these new plans, providers lay out how they will improve equality of opportunity for […]

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  4. My journey from student to successful entrepreneur, revolutionising health and safety in construction and engineering

    April 14, 2025

    My name is Andrei Feraru, and today I own a Coventry-based business called Feraru Dynamics with my brother Vlad. My journey from undergraduate student to entrepreneur began while on placement with Rolls-Royce as a student at Coventry. That was when I first learned about the devastating effects of a preventable condition called Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome. […]

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  5. My speech in parliament: highlighting the crucial role of doctoral training programmes and Alliance universities

    April 7, 2025

    “On the 11th of March 2025, I was fortunate to be invited to represent both the University Alliance’s (UA) Doctoral Training Alliance Programme (DTA) and Teesside University at a parliamentary reception at the Palace of Westminster. Vice Chancellors of multiple UA universities were in attendance, alongside Members of Parliament, the Shadow Cabinet and even the […]

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  6. So now will the government take the chainsaw to HE regulation?

    March 31, 2025

    Head of Policy Susanna Kalitowski takes a deep-dive into regulatory burden in higher education. Originally published by the Higher Education Policy Institute’s blog The Prime Minister recently declared that Britain has ‘too much regulation and too many regulators’ before the shock announcement to abolish the world’s biggest quango, NHS England. Since December, the Government has been […]

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  7. Professional doctorates – and why these are my two favourite words in the HE dictionary

    March 27, 2025

    Those of us who worked with former Higher Education Minister Robert Halfon will be all too familiar with his “two favourite words in the English language”, “Degree” and “Apprenticeships”. I would like to advocate for two more: “Professional” and “Doctorates,” for many of the same reasons that Robert Halfon was such a cheer leader for […]

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  8. Aligning my goals with University Alliance: how I made the most of my internship opportunity

    March 20, 2025

    My internship at University Alliance was incredible. When application season arrived, like many English students, I felt apprehensive about future career prospects, unsure of which roles my degree would prepare me for, and only had a vague idea of what I wanted to do post-graduation. The only things I was certain of at the time […]

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  9. Apprentices of the Alliance

    February 11, 2025

    Alliance universities are some of the foremost providers of degree apprenticeships, with apprentices studying everything from Nursing, to Quantity Surveying, to Automotive Engineering all the way to Digital Design. This National Apprenticeships Week we’re showcasing some inspiring degree apprentices from across our membership, highlighting how their courses have shaped their learning and future careers. Abigail, […]

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  10. The Future of Work Starts Here: Studio KT1’s Innovation Journey

    February 6, 2025

    What started as a small university-funded initiative in 2019 has now delivered over 120 projects and collaborated with industry giants like BBC, Unilever, Matt Collishaw, Canary Wharf, Wates and Mozilla. Studio KT1 was meant to last three years, but it thrived during a global pandemic, launched an award-winning pop-up, and became a profitable, student-powered creative […]

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