UK names first winners of simplified, anonymised research grants Research scheme advocated by Dominic Cummings may provide template for streamlined grants process in future By Jack Grove 18 December
New lockdown scuppers Dutch campus opening strategy Trying to steer a sustainable middle course, Dutch universities have been at 20 per cent capacity this semester By David Matthews 17 December
Scores of antisemitic incidents on UK campuses, says charity Community Security Trust finds 123 incidents affecting Jewish students, academics and student bodies over past two years By John Morgan 17 December
UK v-cs report ‘significant progress’ on tackling grade inflation Review says stall in the rise of firsts and widespread commitment to ‘statement of intent’ is already protecting degree standards By Anna McKie 17 December
Covid ‘nearly eliminated’ on UK campus after asymptomatic testing University of East Anglia figures show positive cases among students declined dramatically throughout first term, with very few cases among staff By Ellie Bothwell 16 December
Top universities grew intake by 8 per cent after grading shift Ucas says disadvantaged students were among those who benefitted but warns of tougher challenges ahead By Simon Baker 16 December
One in five students testing positive ‘has no Covid main symptoms’ Early data from University of Bristol survey suggest asymptomatic testing will be crucial in understanding spread among students By Ellie Bothwell 15 December
Imperial staff call for president’s resignation over bullying Union branch say allowing president and chief financial officer to stay sends a ‘terrible message to staff’ By Anna McKie 15 December
Dozens of Turkey’s pro-Erdo?an rectors have no research record More than 50 rectors with no international publications continuously tweet pro-government messages, reflecting country’s waning academic freedom By David Matthews 15 December
Quality assurance agencies need to reinvent themselves Two decades of Bologna-driven programme accreditation has proved that universities can be trusted to assure their quality, says Michèle Wera By Michèle Wera 15 December
Imperial College London’s Alice Gast ‘very sorry’ for bullying Accusations led to disciplinary hearings for both president and chief financial officer By Anna McKie 14 December
Can Europe build its own Darpa? Fearful of lagging behind the US and China, the continent now has multiple Darpa-like agencies. But they face challenges securing political independence, funding, and turning prototypes into reality By David Matthews 14 December