Spotlight guides

Expert guides on higher education, bringing together varied advice on the most pressing issues faced by faculty and university staff today. Our spotlights offer a deep dive into different areas of work within an academic institution and explore how best to deliver higher education in different global contexts. Drawing on Campus’s rich repository of insight from professionals at all levels of the academy, from early career researchers and lecturers to provosts and pro-vice chancellors, each spotlight provides multiple perspectives on key challenges.

Two students using a map to navigate a digital world

Boosting AI literacy across your institution

AI literacy goes far beyond basic prompt writing. Learn strategies for building understanding of how AI tools work, how to use them effectively to support teaching, learning and research, where their limitations lie and the ethical implications surrounding their use

Campus contributors, Laura Duckett

Campus

People hold up a picture frame to a classroom

Reframe assessment as part of learning

How to model assessment as a tool for learning as well as a method of evaluation, in a GenAI-enabled world

Campus contributors, Kiera O’Brien

Campus

Research supervision that supports and inspires

Discover the skills that underpin effective PhD supervision and how to develop them for personal and professional advancement

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

Graphic image of a bouquet of flowers in a graduation cap on top of barbed wire

Make learning accessible to all in higher education

True accessibility comes when it is placed at the core of teaching and learning design. Read advice for creating universally accessible learning

Campus contributors, Laura Duckett

Campus

A step-by-step guide to commercialising your research

A step-by-step guide to commercialising your research

Practical insight on how to take your discoveries from research laboratory to marketplace

Campus contributors, Kiera O’Brien

Campus

Connecting the dots between academic and professional services staff

Advice for working with the essential – and often unsung – professional services teams who enable universities to deliver effective teaching, research and student success

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

Opening doors to greater diversity in STEM

Find out how to remove barriers to study and research in science, technology, engineering and maths in order to attract and retain a wider diversity of talented students and academics in STEM fields

Campus contributors, Laura Duckett

Campus

Spotlight guide: Duty of care, making university safe for all

Duty of care: making university safe for all

Safeguarding advice to help universities look after students and staff, both on campus and online

Campus team

Campus

Take your academic writing skills to the next level

Take your academic writing skills to the next level

Whether writing a paper or a book, find out how to improve your academic writing at each stage of the process

Campus contributors, Kiera O’Brien

Campus

Spotlight: What does innovation need to thrive in HE

What innovation needs to thrive in higher education

Advice on cultivating innovative mindsets across a university, among academics, staff and students

Campus contributors

Campus

How to deliver value for international students

When international students have their pick of institutions all over the world when choosing where to study, how do universities stay competitive?

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

Spotlight How to factor family into higher education

How to factor family into higher education

Practical advice for universities to support staff, faculty and students with parenting and caring responsibilities

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

A researcher reading a pile of books next to a robot with a trolley of more books

GenAI as a research assistant

GenAI is reshaping research, from accelerating discovery to easing administrative burdens. Discover practical guidance on how researchers can use these tech tools effectively and ethically

Campus contributors, Laura Duckett

Campus

Spotlight: Should I become a university administrator

Should I become a university administrator?

If you are considering a career move into university management, gather insights from this collection on what promotion from faculty to higher education administration entails

Campus contributors

Campus

Three students are supported by cupped hands in a classroom

Student support in the university classroom

Boost student success with advice on providing support that enables students to flourish in their studies

Kiera O’Brien, Campus contributors

Campus

A hashtag with students sitting studying on it

The business of online education

Guidance on how to successfully develop and market higher education teaching and learning online to deliver value to students and drive revenue for your institution

Campus contributors

Campus

The case for arts and humanities spotlight guide

Making the case for arts and humanities

The arts and humanities are often dismissed as an unaffordable luxury, when these disciplines underpin vital human skills. This collection explores how arts and humanities can be harnessed for the benefit of all – students, universities and wider society

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

Indigenous voices in higher education graphic

Indigenous voices in higher education

How to bring Indigenous expertise and experience into university teaching, research, leadership and student support

Campus contributors

Campus

Two heads represented as the puzzle piece missing from the other

The practicalities of co-creation with students

A guide to collaborating with students to shape teaching, curricula and assessments, and support research, based on insights from academics who are successfully using co-creation all over the world

Campus contributors, Laura Duckett

Campus

Microscope focusing light on a group of people

How to engage the public in research

Advice for fostering citizen science and public engagement in research

Campus contributors

Campus

An illustration of a flower amid bare tree branches

Soft skills for hard times

Find out how to educate students with the skills needed to succeed in a world beset with uncertainty and instability

Kiera O’Brien, Campus contributors

Campus

Interdisciplinary teaching spotlight graphic

A focus on interdisciplinarity in university teaching

Learn how to break higher education out of its disciplinary silos through course design, assessment and lessons adapted to the real world

Campus contributors

Campus

A student leaping from the exam hall into the real world

The evolution of authentic assessment in higher education

Practical advice on assessing students’ skills and application of learning in real-world, professional contexts

Campus contributors

Campus

THE Awards 2025: lessons from the stars of UK and Irish higher education

Learn from leading voices, innovative teams and individuals across the university sector, whose work has been recognised in the shortlist for this year’s Times Higher Education Awards

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

An illustrated image depicting two groups of people arguing with each other headed by a leader holding a megaphone

Dealing with division: the polarised university

How can universities encourage respectful disagreement, empathy and compassion while handling sensitive topics with care and protecting academic freedom – keeping higher education open, inclusive and intellectually rigorous?

Campus contributors, Laura Duckett

Campus

Advice for finding and securing research funding

Advice for finding and securing research funding

Tips for writing grant proposals, identifying the right route to funding and keeping a clear head on the journey

Kiera O’Brien, Campus contributors

Campus

Demonstrating research excellence Campus spotlight guide image

From the lab to life: how to demonstrate research excellence

Advice on innovative and traditional methods of communicating your research and impact to different audiences

Campus contributors

Campus

How to motivate students and staff in higher education

Advice for faculty to find and maintain the motivation that they, and their students, need to progress in their work and learning

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

Spotlight guide Teaching and researching across international borders

Teaching and researching across international borders

How to support a global higher education system in which international students and academics work and learn alongside peers from all over the world

Campus contributors

Campus

A life ring flotation device being thrown in the air against a backdrop of column-flanked neoclassical building

An academic’s survival guide

Academia offers rich rewards but these sit alongside job insecurity, spiralling workloads and repeated rejection. This survival guide explores how scholars can navigate key challenges in order to find fulfilment in their academic careers

Laura Duckett, Campus contributors

Campus

A warm welcome for new students

Advice on how to roll out the welcome mat for the new intake, on campus and in the classroom

Kiera O’Brien, Campus contributors

Campus

How to work well with industry spotlight graphic

How academia can work well with industry

Advice on how universities and their staff can maximise the benefits of academic-industry partnerships for researchers, students and society

Campus contributors

Campus

Woman pushing doors across a zebra crossing while another watches

What next for EDI? Protecting equality of opportunity in HE

As equity, diversity and inclusion practices face mounting political and cultural challenges, this guide includes strategies from academics around the world on preserving fair access and opportunity for all

Laura Duckett, Campus contributors

Campus

An academics’ guide to policy impact

How to plan and share academic research so policymakers take notice and apply your findings to real-world issues

Laura Duckett, Campus contributors

Campus

Spotlight guide: Make mental health a university priority

Make good mental health a university priority

With poor mental health now rife across higher education, what can be done to create a supportive campus environment that strengthens well-being and resilience among university students and staff?

Laura Duckett, Campus contributors

Campus

Critical thinking in teaching and research

Practical strategies and advice for university educators and researchers to develop and teach the skills to analyse, evaluate, understand and communicate knowledge in an information-saturated world

Eliza Compton, Campus contributors

Campus

Higher education's bumpy road to net zero

Higher education’s bumpy road to net zero

How universities and academics can ensure rhetoric translates to action on the climate crisis

Kiera O’Brien, Campus contributors

Campus

Spotlight graphic for How to build belonging at your institution

How to build belonging at your institution

Advice and strategies for creating a university campus where all students and staff feel accepted, valued and respected

Eliza Compton, Campus contributors

Campus

A headless person wearing a suit with a speech bubble for a head holding a phone

What can higher education learn from social media?

This collection explores how social media can be used to develop skills, shape pedagogy and foster online learning communities, as well as support academics in building their professional profiles and extending the reach of their research

Laura Duckett, Campus contributors

Campus

Bringing GenAI into the university classroom

How to use generative AI to improve teaching, rethink assessment, reduce course admin and equip students with AI literacy and other career enhancing skills

Campus contributors

Campus

Spotlight guide: Back to the basics of pedagogy

Back to the basics of pedagogy

Techniques and methods to enrich your teaching - and your students’ learning outcomes

Campus contributors

Campus

Spotlight guide: Advice for surviving your PhD dissertation

Advice for surviving your PhD dissertation

Tips for each step of researching, writing and refining a PhD dissertation

Eliza Compton, Campus contributors

Campus

Redefining the university library for 2025 and beyond

Redefining the university library for 2025 and beyond

University libraries must keep pace with the many changes sweeping across global higher education in order to serve students, researchers and the wider public. In this guide, library teams and academics offer advice on how to do so

Kiera O’Brien, Campus contributors

Campus

Academic publishing today: what you need to know

A guide to the complex and changing world of academic publishing and how to work with it to get your research out there

Campus contributors

Campus

AI and assessment in higher education

Threat or opportunity? Advice for using, managing and embedding artificial intelligence in university assessment, skills development and task design

Eliza Compton, Campus contributors

Campus

Spotlight guide: Get students workplace ready

Get your students workplace-ready

With the shape of the future job market harder to predict than ever before, here’s how to prepare your students with transferable skills and digital literacy, ready them for job applications and strengthen your university career services

Campus contributors

Campus

Image of a person taking off in a hang glider

Is your academic career cleared for take-off?

Academic career advice to help you reach new heights in higher education, from crafting the perfect CV to navigating teaching and research pathways

Campus contributors

Campus

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