World’s best institutions for influencing inventions revealed Nature Index examines how research articles are cited in third-party patents By Ellie Bothwell 10 August
Interview with Stephen Milner The Italian scholar discusses how Machiavelli might have appraised current politics, the benefits of birdwatching and discovering Stevie Wonder By John Elmes 10 August
Clearing ‘set to be more competitive than ever’ Dip in number of applications puts students in the driving seat, say sector experts By Holly Else 10 August
The week in higher education: 10 August 2017 The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the world’s media By 91茄子 reporters 10 August
Danes step away from patenting in favour of ‘open science’ Aarhus University has signed up companies to fund fundamental research in what it calls a ‘patent-free playground’ By David Matthews 10 August
How to teach students to think beyond their subject The Humboldt University of Berlin, the historical home of interdisciplinarity, is experimenting with new ways to encourage a broader perspective By David Matthews 9 August
National Student Survey 2017: campuses omitted after NUS boycott Students’ unions achieve goal in teaching excellence framework protest at Cambridge, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield, and eight other institutions By Jack Grove 9 August
Think locally and globally to balance the books post-Brexit Post-Brexit university funding issues are about more than the big pots of research cash, writes Gurpreet Jagpal By Gurpreet Jagpal 8 August
Secrecy and isolation: the formula for innovative science? Professor cites Soviet achievements as evidence of how detachment from mainstream scholarship can foster innovation By Matthew Reisz 8 August
Research funders urged to act on short-term contracts Staff covering for academics on leave are often given no time to conduct research themselves By Chris Havergal 8 August
Alistair Jarvis named as Universities UK chief executive Former deputy steps up to lead as Brexit and funding challenges loom By John Morgan 7 August
Can rising entry standards explain the rise in firsts? Data on the entry qualifications of students at UK universities suggest that there must be more to the growth in top degrees By Simon Baker 7 August