It is not uncommon for doctoral writers to get supervisor feedback saying they need to unpack an idea. But what does this unpack really mean – and how does a writer get in a situation where they have something that needs to be unpacked? Well. Let me start with the last question first of all. How do […] … learn more→

Curious by nature, I have always been passionate about science. During my studies, it seemed natural to me to turn to research. Like the majority of doctoral students, my enthusiasm has been somewhat shaken by the reality of the laboratory, between the experiments that do not work, the hypotheses swept over after several months of experimentation, as […] … learn more→

I work in a glass box. In higher education, as elsewhere, the cultural barriers to workplace progression for women, often referred to as the glass ceiling, are well reported. The glass floor of the box, one the other hand, is less common, and stems from my discipline – law. In legal education there tends to […] … learn more→

When it comes to sportsball players, colleges “steal” star athletes from each other on a regular basis, at least when it’s time to grab incoming freshmen. It’s little different than in professional sports, which often bid for available players. It’s funny to use the word “steal,” of course, but I can certainly understand how people […] … learn more→

Your adult academic life will be defined by two of the most important exams: your SAT exam and your GMAT exam. You will spend quite some time properly preparing for these exams, but many of you are still unaware of how to manage the process itself. Fear not, because, in the following paragraphs, we will […] … learn more→

Donna Strickland, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada, was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in physics. The third woman to have ever been awarded this prize in 117 years, she shares it with Arthur Ashkin and Gérard Mourou. Strickland explained that she’s been treated as an equal by her male peers, which […] … learn more→

Kiswahili will, from 2020, become the latest language to be taught in South Africa’s classrooms. This East African lingua franca, which is also an official language of the African Union, will be an optional subject. The news has been greeted with interest and has drawn praise from some quarters. But practical questions related to South Africa’s current […] … learn more→

Academics are often accused of writing unreadable, jargon-laden prose. This is unfair. In my experience, academic writers are almost never wilfully obscure, and write perfectly well. But it is true that academic writing can feel uncongenial and effortful to read. We don’t do it on purpose. Most of us would love to write in a […] … learn more→

There is increasing pressure being placed on universities to deliver better “value for money”. Universities minister Sam Gyimah wants school leavers to have greater access to the labour market outcomes for each individual course. This would mean that prospective students could see which ones provide a good return on their investment. It’s thought by the government, that […] … learn more→

The entrance to a university often hints at the kind of education it offers. In his memoir, Imagined Life, Richard Hoggart described how “goodwill breathed from the bricks” of the bustling main lobby of Goldsmiths, University of London. It was, he said, a place where “intense vitality [was] felt the moment you crossed the threshold […] … learn more→