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Are technicians a hidden indicator of teaching excellence?
Analysis of TEF 2023 submissions found universities referencing technicians in teaching excellence claims were twice as likely to achieve Gold ratings and three times less likely to receive Bronze. A third of providers mentioned technicians in 2023, up from a fifth in 2017. Researchers suggest technician visibility may indicate broader institutional cultures where teaching quality is shared across academic and professional staff rather than siloed within academic roles alone.
AI is raising the first rung: Who will turn graduates into professionals?
Matched: Artificial Intelligence
AI is absorbing routine entry-level work that traditionally helped graduates develop professional judgement, disrupting the longstanding arrangement between universities, employers and professional bodies. Entry-level roles are becoming "seniorised," demanding leadership and adaptability earlier. The author argues universities must embed judgement-building across curricula, employers must replace the developmental value of routine work deliberately, and government should establish a formal graduate formation model clarifying responsibilities and funding — with equity in access a central concern.
A missing opportunity in the higher education transformation debate
UK universities investing in transformation programmes are overlooking a key source of value: improving how staff actually work. Process mapping and cross-functional workshops before launching major changes can prevent costly mistakes, such as solving the wrong problem. Drawing on examples from policing and healthcare reform, the author argues that understanding real workflows across organisational boundaries is essential to effective transformation, and that staff experience and wellbeing are central to institutional performance, not incidental to it.
Leading through disruption
Matched: AI
Higher education leaders face compounding pressures including financial restructuring, course closures, AI integration, and employer scrutiny. Research shows redundancies damage morale while leadership turnover accelerates. Drawing on Heifetz and Linsky's adaptive leadership framework, the article argues institutions focus too heavily on technical fixes while neglecting adaptive challenges — the human, cultural, and behavioural change required. Leaders are urged to name adaptive work explicitly in change plans and build sustainable support structures alongside operational ones.