The 2023 TEF submissions have been published but, as Jim Dickinson and David Kernohan observed on WonkHE, “there’s no way any human is going to read all of them”. I have however read the institutional narratives from the 14 English members of University Alliance (16 of the UK’s leading professional and technical universities) and have […]
It’s been another whirlwind year for the higher education sector – and a successful one for the Alliance. These are my reflections on a few of the stand-out moments from 2023. 1. ‘Must do better’: the House of Lord’s Industry and Regulators Committee reviews the OfS We kicked off the year by working with our […]
Pandemic learnings As the public Covid-19 inquiry grinds painfully on, it is appropriate for us in the Higher Education sector to conduct a little reflection of our own. There is much about lockdown life we all want to forget: the grim headlines, the concern for our loved ones and ourselves, the questionable Netflix binges and […]
“Orkney is a unique archipelago of islands, regularly ranked as one of the best places to live in the UK. But its appeal is much greater than this. Orkney has an entrepreneurial and innovative culture which lends itself to testing new and varied ideas. As an island group, it offers variety through its mix of […]
In our latest ‘Innovators’ blog, Dr Helen Aveyard writes about how Oxford Brookes University are empowering nurses and midwives to become researchers. “In 2021, The Chief Nursing Officer for England, Ruth May, published the Strategic Plan for Research which outlines the intention to ‘create a research environment that empowers nurses to lead, participate in and […]
Employability is an individual matter. It requires each student to embrace their professional development and to access the support and opportunities our universities provide. Unfortunately, many students leave it too late, assuming employability is a set of skills they can acquire at some point before they graduate. However, academics and other staff responsible for employability […]
If you ask any UK Vice Chancellor what’s keeping them awake at night, it’s highly likely to be the financial sustainability of their institution and the wider sector. Years of frozen funding coupled with rising costs are inevitably taking their toll across all four nations. University leaders are also increasingly worried about the impact the cost-of-living crisis […]
Universities are faced with rising costs and shrinking margins, and the challenges are many. Student attraction and retention remains a priority, amid an everchanging mix of domestic and international students. There is no doubt the competition for international and other highly sought-after students has been heightened by COVID, and the ability to manage profitability through […]
Professional and technical universities educate approximately 1 in 3 midwives and specialise in innovative provision such as degree apprenticeships. In our latest ‘Innovators’ blog, Sue Lawrence, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery at the University of Greenwich writes about how her institution innovated by developing one of the country’s first degree apprenticeships in Midwifery. “Back in 2019, […]
Professional and technical universities like those across the Alliance have great links to the creative industries – but creative graduates often find the transition to employment difficult. Dr Edward McCaffrey, Senior Lecturer in Film Production at Middlesex University writes about how he worked collaboratively to boost employability prospects for creative arts graduates. “When I started thinking […]
