Sciences Po head finds middle way between academia and politics The new 43-year-old head of Sciences Po discusses how he is helping Ukrainian students, institutional change and his classmate Emmanuel Macron By Jack Grove 20 April
R&D investment in left-behind regions is not a levelling-up panacea Growth in competitiveness, employment, incomes and regional attractiveness occurs only when policy is aligned with local need, says Simon Collinson By Simon Collinson 20 April
UKRI sorry for pursuing Researchfish Twitter complaints Funder admits it contacted universities over critical tweets relating to impact platform but did not factor this into grant-awarding decisions By Jack Grove 19 April
Cambridge finally set to recognise University and College Union University had been last public institution in UK not to formally recognise main sector union By Tom Williams 19 April
Reform of research assessment must avoid unintended consequences Discontent about the shortage of university posts and funding will also continue regardless of how people are judged, says Jan Palmowski By Jan Palmowski 19 April
Simone Buitendijk: ending precarious working The University of Leeds vice-chancellor discusses why UK higher education should go Dutch and the national scandal that drew her to academia By Rosa Ellis 19 April
Russian student reporters track campus oppression despite arrests Doxa editor Armen Aramyan discusses year-long house arrest, narrowing academic freedom and the future of Russia’s independent media By Pola Lem 15 April
UK ERC grantees inundated with offers as two-month deadline nears Researchers on tight deadline to decide whether to jump ship or accept replacement funding guarantee By Tom Williams 14 April
Free tuition for Ukrainian refugees at Scottish universities Holyrood creates ?1 million fund for international students facing hardship By Chris Havergal 14 April
Germany’s ‘extremely elitist’ Excellence Strategy changes tack Compromise between egalitarian and competitive ideals could usher in bigger university groupings and more interdisciplinary evaluation By Ben Upton 14 April
Inflation drives English student loan interest rate upwards Graduates facing interest rate ‘rollercoaster ride’ in coming years unless changes are made to the way cap is implemented, Institute for Fiscal Studies says By Tom Williams 13 April
Another English funding review ‘inevitable’ after fees freeze V-cs increasingly predict next government will have to look again at sector funding as costs rise and universities face ‘running on fumes’ By John Morgan 13 April