News Talks by Times Higher Education

We discuss what the next three years may hold for UK universities under an Andy Burnham premiership.  --- With Andy Burnham expected to take over as prime minister this month, this week’s podcast explores what this may mean for the UK’s beleaguered higher education sector. Times Higher Education editor-in-chief Chris Havergal sits down with Miranda Prynne to examine what is known about the former...

What do the 2026 Sustainability Impact Ratings tell us about the countries and regions whose universities are prioritising work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals - - - As the 2026 Sustainability Impact Ratings are unveiled, we discuss what the latest results reveal about institutional and regional efforts on UN Sustainable Development Goals. Times Higher Education rankings editor Naomi...

We discuss the ambitions of Shenzhen and other cities in China’s Greater Bay Area to develop higher education systems that match their global economic and industrial clout. --- Shenzhen and other cities in China’s Greater Bay Area are leveraging the higher education prowess of neighbouring Hong Kong to develop their own world-leading universities. A series of branch campuses have been set up by pr...

We discuss whether mergers are a sensible way forward for UK universities beset by financial challenges. The announcement that King’s College London and Cranfield University are planning to join by August 2027, raises questions about whether university mergers offer a sensible way forward for the UK’s beleaguered higher education sector. So this week, on News Talks, Times Higher Education editor-i...

We discuss the fall out from tens of thousands of layoffs across UK higher education after a Times Higher Education survey exposed the anger, fear and stress that pervade the sector. In this week’s podcast, the author of the UK redundancy survey, THE features editor Paul Jump talks Miranda Prynne through the results which paint a picture of a demoralised, exhausted and fragmented sector and the hu...

As the University of Sussex celebrates legal victory against the Office for Students, we discuss what the ruling means for the future of the regulator. ---  The Office for Students (OfS) has been defeated in the High Court with its £585,000 fine, imposed on the University of Sussex for failing to protect free speech, overturned. In this episode of News Talks, find out what this landmark ruling cou...

After Péter Magyar’s landslide election victory, we discuss why restoring independence and academic freedom to Hungarian higher education may not be an easy task.  --- Right wing populist leader Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule in Hungary has come to an end after his rival Peter Magyar won a two thirds majority in the general election. Centre-right leader Magyar has promised to rebuild relations with E...

As UK universities queue up to open new branch campuses in India, we discuss what has sparked this renewed enthusiasm for a form of transnational education (TNE) which was, until recently, considered moribund - and why many remain cynical about the chances of success Several UK, and Australian, institutions have launched, or are on the cusp of launching, new branch campuses in India, encouraged by...

The far reaching reforms proposed by Australia’s Strategic Examination of Research and Development (Serd) have been widely welcomed by the country’s higher education sector – but how many will the government choose to adopt? On this week’s podcast, Miranda Prynne quizzes THE’s Asia Pacific editor John Ross about Serd’s key recommendations and the likelihood of such transformative – and expensive -...

As proposals for the future Horizon Europe are scrutinised by the European Parliament, we discuss likely changes to the seven-year funding programme and whether it can support a coalition of like-minded powers amidst the current geopolitical upheaval. The next version of Horizon Europe, due to launch in 2028, is likely to show much greater alignment with EU economic and defence priorities, backed...

The number of international students enrolled on masters by research (MRes) courses more than doubled in the year after the government introduced a ban on dependent visas for other courses, new figures revealed this week. Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) data obtained by Times Higher Education show that there were 6,085 non-UK-domiciled students enrolled on MRes courses in the 2024-25 aca...

We discuss why the University of Sussex has mounted a legal challenge against a £585,000 fine imposed by the Office for Students (OfS) for failing to uphold freedom of speech. The case, being heard in the high court in London this week, brings to the fore questions over academic freedom, institutional autonomy, trans rights and EDI policies and the role of the OfS. On this episode of News talks, T...