Campus by Times Higher Education

THE Podcast: Times Higher Education Europe Teaching Rankings explained

Ahead of our inagural Europe Teaching Rankings, we discuss what metrics the Times Higher Education data team have used to compare like for like in teaching excellence across European countries and how universities and governments can get involved in making the data set even richer. The full results of this pioneering research will be announced at the Times Higher Education Teaching Excellence Summit at the University of Glasgow on 11 July. 

 

Sara Custer is joined by Phil Baty, editorial director for global rankings, and Duncan Ross director of data an analytics. 

THE Podcast: Data and how it's changing the way universities work

Data has become central to decision making in higher education. Information is available like never before that can help universities be more inclusive, improve graduate outcomes and develop future strategies. But not everyone in an instituion can be on board with this new way of working and the resource requirements to turn data into something meaningful are large. 

 

Sara Custer speaks with THE's director of data and analytics, Duncan Ross, as well as Martine Carter director of strategy and senior executive officer at the University of Surrey, Richard Salter directer of analytics at King's College London and Lucian Hudson director of communications at The Open University. 

THE Podcast: Does a university's location inspire innovation?

Coming to you from a log flume in Florida just after the THE Young Universities Summit, the team reflect on the event's conversations and questions. Many young instituions thrive on the oppoturnities in their home metropolises but is a booming urban environment critical to be an innovative university? And are higher education's foundational missions, like the serach for truth and public service, still core to newer universities? Buckle your safety belt and tune in. 

 

John Gill, editor of Times Higher Education, is joined by Phil Baty, editorial director of global rankings and Tim Sowula, head of content and engagement for the THE World Summit Series. 

THE Podcast: Analysis of the teaching excellence framework 2018 results

Times Higher Education journalists analyse the results of the second year of the UK's teaching excellence framework (TEF) looking at the classifications given to key instituions, changes in the methodology from last year and whether the exercise has become so complicated, students can't even understand what the gold, silver and bronze awards mean.

Chris Husbands, chair of TEF and vice-chancellor at Sheffield Hallam University, is also interviewed to give his thoughts on the the 2018 results and the future of the assessment. 

Sara Custer is joined by news editor Chris Havergal, data editor Simon Baker and reporter Anna McKie. 

THE Podcast: University reputation and the "B-word"

What a university's reputation and the 'B' word (no, not Brexit) have to do with delivering higher education outcomes.

Rankings editor Ellie Bothwell joins Sara Custer to discuss how research and graduate employment are linked to reputation and to reveal the top 10 of the 2018 THE World Reputation Rankings. An interview with Ovidia Lim chief communications officer at the National University of Singapore sheds light on how one institution generates word of mouth promotion. 

THE Podcast: Data on global STEM enrolments

Times Higher Education's data editor, Simon Baker, joins Sara Custer this week to explore female enrolments on STEM related undergraduate courses and the trend that Gulf universities outperform all other countries in this metric by a wide margin. 

And we turn to Natasha Ridge, executive director of the Al Qasimi Foundation for Reserach Policy in the UAE to help explain why there are so many female STEM undergradautes in the Gulf but so few female STEM professionals. 

 

 

THE Podcast: Forever young? Universities under 50

Without hundreds of years of tradition to follow, how do young universities build reputation and attract global talent? We discuss how young universities are trying to chart a new course for higher education and we look at some examples among the post-92 group of universities in the UK and the institutions in the Australian Technology Network of universiites, whose have an average age of 25. 

 

Sara Custer is joined by deputy news editor John Morgan, head of content and engagement for the THE World Summit Series Tim Sowula and executive director of the ATN Renee Hindmarsh. 

THE Podcast: AI and higher education

Europe has officially entered the race to be a leader in artificial intelligence technology and it’s leveraging its “European values” as a way to attract investors. Rachael Pells talks about the European Commission’s AI research fund injection and the awkward positioning Brexit will place on the UK’s involvement in this initiative. 

How universities in Europe will benefit from this funding remains to be seen but in the US, where there are no European values and AI development is league’s ahead of the continent, researches say the boom is from private sector innovation while public grants are harder to come by. There's also some scepticism about the government ever becoming an ethical watchdog. 

Sara Custer is joined by THE reporter Rachael Pells and professor in computer science at Cornell University Claire Cardie.

THE Podcast: Women in higher education

We know women are paid on average 15.9 per cent less than men per hour at UK universities but when it comes to knowing gender gaps in bonuses, our reporter has found the waters are much murkier.  And while women may be at the helm of universities today, four decades ago it was almost unheard of. We talk to a woman who broke the mould for female leaders in US higher education. Speaking of mould breaking, we also hear about the first women allowed to sit university entrance exams in the UK, even though it was another decade before they could actully study a degree.  

 

Joining Sara Custer is THE reporter Rachael Pells, historian at the Instittue of Advanced Study, Philip Carter, and 9th president of the University of Chicago, Hanna Holborn Gray. 

THE Podcast: Free speech and academic freedom

The right of students' to free expression on campus is a sacred one and part of the academic advancement they should be engaging in. But are universities sacrificing academic riguor to placate no-platforming students? What role does the media play in the public's perception that free speech is under threat at universities? And what do the controversies around free speech have in common with dangers to academic freedom?

These are some of the questions Sara Custer discusses with deptuy news editor John Morgan and Hanna Holborn Gray who served as president of the University of Chicago from 1978 to 1993 and actiing president of Yale University from 1977 to 1978.