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While submitting to authority comes naturally to Asian universities, their Western counterparts have traditionally resisted coercion. But Donald Trump’s compact could change the game with the illusion of a freedom-restricting deal that is freely entered into, writes Saikat Majumdar

The clever stimulation of popular resentment against the perceived elitism of higher education only leaves the masses to the mercy of oligarchs who have aced the populism game, says Saikat Majumdar

Pressure on academics to be internationally mobile is greater than ever, but the excitement of the new is often offset by strains on personal life. As the festive family reunion season gets into full swing, we hear from those who have returned to their native countries – and some who perhaps never will

Limits on free speech, funding cuts and political appointments at public universities risk squandering a golden opportunity to create a thriving higher education system, says Saikat Majumdar

As the Indian and the US examples both show, openness and flexibility is easily limited by parochialism and provincialism, says Saikat Majumdar

As vaccination programmes offer the prospect of a return to physical teaching, what aspects of their pre-pandemic life will academics most heartily re-embrace (or at least touch elbows with)? And are there aspects of locked-down life that they will miss? Our six contributors offer a range of perspectives

Indian universities have seen numerous cases of discrimination against students from oppressed castes, sometimes even leading to suicide. With international student mobility only set to increase, this crucial diversity issue is unlikely to remain confined to the subcontinent, says Saikat Majumdar

Mounting workloads and mushrooming publication output are making the task of staying abreast of the latest developments in the literature ever more difficult for academics. Here, eight researchers reflect on their own approaches and offer their tips

The relationship between PhD students and their supervisors is often said to be the most intense in the academy, with huge implications for student success. Yet most supervisors receive little if any training. Here, six academics give their take on how to approach it 

The scholarly calling may be all about intellectual pursuits, but university life is not without its petty irritations. A dozen academics describe the daily distractions that annoy them most