Feature article

Hear academics and university leaders reflect on their professional journeys and address some of the biggest questions facing higher education today. The Campus podcast gets under the skin of the issues and individuals defining the future of teaching, research, EDI, digital transformation and sustainability in the academy. Test

By Eliza.Compton , 29 July, 2022

Block to the future: why block scheduling has taken so long to catch on

Block teaching has been around since the mid-noughties, but those short-lived early trials were ahead of the curve. Simon Thomson and Carl Flattery explore why block planning might finally be having its day

Reading time

5minutes

By dene.mullen , 29 July, 2022

The promotion process needs bigger, better data if we’re to make it fairer

Universities need bigger and better data on the promotions process

Enough of the tiny sample sizes at institutional level – if we want to identify the issues that hold back careers, we need sector-wide figures and cooperation

Reading time

4minutes

By Miranda Prynne , 29 July, 2022

Why universities in emerging countries should invest in social media marketing

Image showing people engaging through social media communications

Why should higher education institutions in emerging countries invest in social media rather than flashy marketing campaigns to develop brand credibility and brand equity? Charitha Harshani Perera, Rajkishore Nayak, and Long Thang Van Nguyen explain

Reading time

3minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 28 July, 2022

How block teaching supports students from under-represented groups

Illustration of student career development and Lego

Shorter, more immersive units are helping raise attainment and success for students with complex and diverse needs

Reading time

4minutes

By Miranda Prynne , 28 July, 2022

It is time to bring back peace studies

Recent world events point towards the need for a commitment to peace at every level of society, writes Annelise Riles, as she explains how universities can promote peace-making and related skills through teaching, research and collaboration

Reading time

4minutes

By dene.mullen , 28 July, 2022

ECRs can still evidence leadership and management skills on their CVs

illustration of written and online resumes

Even when you’ve ‘just’ been a postdoc, the key is correctly labelling your skills and experience so potential employers understand what you bring to the table

Reading time

4minutes

By dene.mullen , 27 July, 2022

Beware the pitfalls of making lectures ‘interesting’ and focus on curiosity instead

Academics and lecturers should not conflate interesting with entertaining

Conflating ‘interesting’ with ‘entertaining’ and getting caught in a never-ending loop of shinier and shinier edutainment should be shunned in favour of cultivating sustained interest

Reading time

4minutes

By Miranda Prynne , 27 July, 2022

The transformative potential of narrative writing explained

Image depicting a story emerging from the pages of a book

Narrative writing is one way academics can meaningfully communicate their work to the public but it can be hard to master. Steven Beschloss shares a guide to improve narrative writing skills

Reading time

3minutes

By dene.mullen , 26 July, 2022

Next level? The pros and cons of game-based learning

Gamification brings great benefit to online university classes but has negatives too

Using gamification in the classroom can work wonders for engagement, but does it come at too great a cost to deep thinking, asks Frederik van Dam

Reading time

4minutes

By Miranda Prynne , 26 July, 2022

Lessons in running workshops to train students in basic electronics

Workshops that train pre-university students in open-source electronics and programming platform Arduino can broaden access to and knowledge of readily available technology. Here‘s a guide for how to design them

Reading time

3minutes

Feature article