Europe

A guide to evaluating and managing climate risks to universities

In the third part of their series, Rob Wilby and Shona Smith explain how universities can determine their climate risk exposure, then identify actions to reduce associated threats to people, property and operations

Robert Wilby, Shona Smith

Loughborough University, University of Leeds

How to promote primary interest in basic medical education at the undergraduate level

A major challenge for educators is to present the theoretical beauty of medicine to students who have a broad spectrum of prior experience, ability and motivation – whether their interest is clinical or theoretical

Attila Mócsai

Semmelweis University

Supported social groups and student belonging: how do I get started?

Connecting students who share a lived experience such as bereavement, family estrangement or loneliness can help to foster a sense of community and belonging at university, explains Hannah Moore

Hannah Moore

University of Bath

Young women campaigning for more action on climate change

A practical approach to tackling eco-anxiety

We induce eco-anxiety by teaching students about climate change, so training them in practical and achievable solutions to it are needed, too, write Helen Hicks and Dawn Lees

Helen Hicks, Dawn Lees

The University of Exeter

A white male academic talking to a young Black female student

Tips and tricks for impactful reverse mentoring

How to structure and manage effective reverse mentoring programmes which can bring benefits for participants and the wider sector

Rachael O’Connor

University of Leeds

A group of students discussing a project

Teamwork, support and structure: the core principles of rewarding student internships

Student internships are an effective way to facilitate student-staff collaboration but, to work well, they require teamwork, the right support and structure, and a focus on tangible outputs

Craig McEwan

The University of Exeter

Medical student in virtual reality headset

Using VR to change medical students’ attitudes towards older patients

A five-minute virtual reality exercise has the power to dramatically shift students’ understanding of and empathy for dementia patients’ experience

János Kollár

Semmelweis University

Teaching guides ADHD students in digital learning

With the right support, students with ADHD can thrive in digital learning environments

Don’t generalise about digital learning being problematic for students with ADHD. Rather, find the digital tools that develop their unique talents, argues Dustin Hosseini

Dustin Hosseini

University of Glasgow

University staff member talking to a female student

The case for reverse mentoring in higher education

Reverse mentoring can drive progress on many challenges faced in higher education today, if planned with care, as Rachael O’Connor explains

Rachael O’Connor

University of Leeds

Universities and academics need to make space for ‘useless’ research

The academic race for short-term results and practical applications must be balanced with research that can, in due time, become incredibly useful, writes James Derounian

James Derounian

De Montfort University

Illuminating the shadowy path to success in academia

Postdocs and early career researchers, do not believe the myths about the route to a stellar academic career, says Andrew Stapleton. Here are better directions to get you and your work noticed

Andrew Stapleton

Independent academic

A man and a woman expressing shock at something they have seen on their phones

The power of precaution: navigating content warnings in academia

Basic principles to guide the use of content warnings in higher education, based on a student-led day-long workshop which invited input from university staff and students

Andrea Namirembe , Ella Taviner

The University of Exeter

Navigating crisis communications in HE: strategies for an effective response

Tiffany Beck provides a play-by-play guide to planning a comprehensive communications strategy for when crisis situations strike

Tiffany Beck

PLMR

Shifting landscapes of social media data for research

What can researchers do in light of changes to social media platforms’ APIs that reduce and monetise access to data? In this uncharted territory, aspects to watch include new access routes and user protections

Brittany I. Davidson, Joanne Hinds, Daniel Racek

University of Bath, LMU Munich

Training students for jobs that do not exist yet

The rethinking of course materials and programmes to incorporate future trends is a key requirement for all forward-thinking providers, write Aaron Taylor and Victoria Rafferty

Aaron Taylor, Victoria Rafferty

Arden University

Two students walking down a corridor talking through some notes

Offer students a personal touch through peer support

As universities expand, they will need to take more of a personal approach to higher education – despite the huge cohorts – but how? Emma Norman suggests looking to the students themselves

Emma Norman

The University of Exeter

Making the dream work: the ingredients of successful partnerships

John Miles gives advice on helping new partnerships succeed and managing issues when they arise

John Miles

Inkpath

Is open access tarnished?

As open access terms have split into colour-coded brands, not all allow totally unrestricted access and reuse. Among these, “bronze OA” stands out as a potentially damaging misnomer, writes Steven Vidovic

Steven U. Vidovic

University of Southampton

A group of students sitting in a group talking

Break the ice early to build student belonging

Ice-breaking activities borrowed from the performing arts that can help students form bonds and build belonging from the start of a course

Kelly Edmunds , Leanne Fridd

The University of East Anglia

Unlock knowledge within local communities through citizen social science

With regional prosperity now central to the UK government’s thinking, universities need to transform the way they conduct research to respond to emerging needs and provide solutions to today’s social, economic and environmental issues

Henrietta L. Moore

UCL

What can we do about the diversity problem in economics?

A group of economists offer five ideas on how to allow and encourage wider access to economics degrees – which is crucial to making the discipline more effective

Amrit Amirapu, Amanda Gosling, Emma Gorman

University of Kent, University of Westminster

Digital accessibility is real and tangible

A workshop using real-life examples and first-hand experience of how assistive technology works can result in a deeper understanding of accessibility needs

Tharindu Liyanagunawardena

University of Reading

Environmental considerations for businesses

Accounting for sustainability: we need to change how we teach

Accountants of the future will need to respond to as yet unknown sustainability reporting standards. Freirean dialogic teaching where lecturers learn alongside students through discussion helps build the skills to respond to such change

Jennifer Rose

The University of Manchester

What is an authentic teacher and how can you become one?

Three tips identified by students that will help you develop an honest, strong relationship with students and become a more authentic teacher

Setenay Dilek Fidler, Gustavo Espinoza Ramos

University of Westminster

Teen with fingers on lips indicating a quiet space for autistic students

Five steps to support autistic students on their higher education journey

As we strive to create inclusive environments, it’s essential to implement strategies that assist and cater to the unique challenges faced by autistic students, says Jane Dashwood

Jane Dashwood

The University of Warwick

Students chatting to friends outside a university building

Build students’ sense of belonging to build graduate skills

Why a sense of belonging is crucial to learning and how we can rebuild it within universities, following the disruption of the pandemic, in ways that also boost graduate skills

Hilda Mulrooney

Kingston University

Sensitive marking and the end of the line for the academic essay

Rather than flagging essays by students with specific learning difficulties for “sensitive” marking, why are universities not rethinking the way they assess to make it more equitable for all students?

Andrew Read, Donna Hurford

University of Southern Denmark, Independent consultant

A row of students each concentrating on an individual assignment

Are ‘quick wins’ possible in assessment and feedback? Yes, and here’s how

It takes coordination, communication and credibility to implement quick improvements in assessment and feedback, as a team from the University of Exeter explains

Beverley Hawkins, Eleanor Hodgson , Oli Young

The University of Exeter

Medical teaching resources need to represent all skin colours to enable doctors to serve a diverse population

Medical education must diversify its learning resources away from a focus solely on white patients to prepare students to diagnose and treat patients of all ethnicities, write Musarrat Maisha Reza and Naabil Khan

Musarrat Maisha Reza, Naabil Khan

The University of Exeter

Timeline and calendar for project management

How to use a project management approach to help run research projects

Jon Gunnell explains how to adopt the PRINCE2 project management method to help overcome the many challenges of running a multi-year research project

Jon Gunnell

University of Sheffield

The flipped classroom: an evidence-based approach

The flipped classroom is most effective when it places active learning at its core, research suggests. A new model for flipped learning, developed by Manu Kapur and colleagues, aims to do just that

Manu Kapur

ETH Zurich

Saying people’s names right: what policymakers can do

How can leaders and policymakers in higher education help staff and students to respect people’s name-based identities? Jane Pilcher and Hannah Deakin-Smith identify steps to take

Jane Pilcher, Hannah Deakin-Smith

Nottingham Trent University

How a school exchange with my daughter led me to question the role of universities

Giving a class at my daughter’s school and having her visit my university gave rise to serious questions about childcare, education and how our universities fit into society, says Andy Farnell

Andy Farnell

Visiting professor

Man climbing up-and-down graph-like staircase

How to sustain a journal and beat the academic publishing racket

Starting a journal is hard enough – keeping it going is an ongoing challenge. Here’s how to maintain success in academic publishing

James Williams, Asma Mohseni

University of Derby

Grow your own accessibility allies

The steps to making learning content accessible include identifying areas that need attention, overcoming barriers and recruiting allies to get the job done, writes Luke Searle

Luke Searle

University of Southampton

Setting scenarios for a university adapted to climate change

In the second part of their series, Rob Wilby and Shona Smith explain how running institutional plans through different scenarios can help improve a university’s resilience to future challenges relating to climate change

Robert Wilby, Shona Smith

Loughborough University, University of Leeds

Written feedback for students – keep it clear, constructive and to the point

James Derounian offers tips for giving compassionate feedback that will enable students to understand where their work went right and wrong

James Derounian

De Montfort University

Two hands, one offering up a tree growing out of the earth, the other offering up a high-rise city

Decolonisation as a driver for the Sustainable Development Goals

How decolonial approaches can underpin and drive work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals across higher education

Sean Porter, Eleanor Cook

The University of Exeter

Decolonising interview methods: a call to look to the moon

The interview process often rests on colonial perceptions of what counts as knowledge, how knowledge is generated and who ‘owns’ it. But researchers can use orienting questions to reflect upon and decentre this approach

Rosalind Edwards, Teah Carlson , Rachel Liebert

University of Southampton, Massey University, University of East London

The top three ways to support international graduate employability

Building effective partnerships with employers and using feedback to shape curricula and careers services will boost outcomes for students, universities and industry alike

Eric Huang

University of East London

A racing driver and his co-pilot in a simulation

Co-pilots: a new way of improving hybrid teaching for everyone

Bringing in a ‘co-pilot’ instructor to support the running of hybrid classes can improve the teaching and learning experience for students and their lecturers, write Omar Merlo and James Eteen

Omar Merlo , James Eteen

Imperial College London

A woman logging onto her laptop while eating lunch

A quick guide to designing and delivering effective bite-sized learning

A beginner’s guide to creating content, using the relevant tech tools and fostering active engagement through bite-sized learning

Patrina Law

The Open University

Campus Talks: How to use generative AI in your teaching and research

Higher education is only beginning to understand the impact that generative AI tools such as ChatGPT will have on teaching and research. Three intrepid explorers join us in this episode to share what useful functions they’ve discovered for the technology

Jennifer Rose, David Nicol, Brooke Szücs

The University of Manchester, University of Glasgow, The University of Queensland

Darwin and teaching originality in university

Teaching originality: an essential skill in the age of ChatGPT

Academic originality is not about chance, genius or magic. It is about engagement and a clear sense of scholarly contribution. And it can be taught, writes Alastair Bonnett

Alastair Bonnett

Newcastle University

Apply the social model of disability to HE: viewing inclusion as a social good

William E. Donald and Marius Frank present 10 benefits to applying a disability framework that empowers individuals to create a more inclusive society

William E. Donald, Marius Frank

University of Southampton, Ronin Institute, Microlink

“Feedback” appears in white text with a yellow background, with a contrast ratio of 1.7:1. The image has a reflection of an open window on it, making the text much harder to read. In some places the contrast of the text is as low as 1.0001:1

A colour matrix to make visual content more accessible

Accessible content is better content. One way to boost accessibility in visual materials is paying attention to colour contrast during the design process. Here’s a tool to make that simpler

Matthew Deeprose

University of Southampton

An old map of Africa showing countries as former British and French colonies

Bring staff and students together to decolonise in seven steps

Seven stages to decolonising a curriculum, drawing lessons from a staff-student collaboration to decolonise the teaching of geography

Caitlin Kight, Eleanor Cook

The University of Exeter

Three architecture students and an instructor work on a project

What is authentic enquiry learning?

When students work in teams to examine a real-world problem, the result offers a means to bring teaching and research together. Here, Kate Black and Jonny Hall explain how this pedagogy benefits students, academics and society

Kate Black, Jonny Hall

Northumbria University

A bridge between academics and communications staff

Science communication in a post-Covid world calls for a new way to span the gap between researchers and university comms teams – and a new skill set, as Michael Head explains

Michael Head

University of Southampton

A person using artificial intelligence tools in their work

Useful applications of AI in higher education – for which no specialist tech knowledge is needed

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence has left users struggling to keep up. Cato Rolea explores practical applications of these tools in higher education

Cato Rolea

Nottingham Trent University

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