We discuss how Chris McDonald is progressing in his role as minister for science, and whether his appointment signals a major change in direction for research activities in UK universities.

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Chris McDonald took up the role as minister for science in July, entering a newly created Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. The department positions science much more explicitly beside business and economic growth, which has raised immediate concerns about where universities will fit in the agenda.

Two months into the job, McDonald has shown himself to be a minister who wants to make science more useful to the government and economy. But he is taking the helm at a time when researchers already feel anxious about cuts and the future of a cash-strapped sector.

On this week's episode of News Talks, we discuss McDonald's unrelenting focus on science, his privileging of larger research grants, and whether new reforms build on interventions from the previous Labour government.

Times Higher Education Asia reporter Rosalind Skillen talks to reporter Jack Grove, who covers science and research policy. Jack shares his observations from a recent Universities UK conference where Chris McDonald set out more of his stall, and he interrogates how McDonald's position could sit at odds with the Burnham administration's devolution agenda.

For years, the US, Canada, the UK and Australia have dominated the international student recruitment market, but changing social attitudes and government policy restrictions have seen their numbers fall drastically in recent years.

Meanwhile, China, South Korea and Hong Kong and other countries across Asia have all been taking major steps to up their international recruitment, as low birth rates leave them with limited options to grow their recruitment at home.

And their efforts have paid off. Earlier this year, South Korea met its target to enroll 300,000 international students two years ahead of schedule, while Japan last year surpassed its government target of hosting 400,000 international students by 2033 a full eight years early. 

But does this mark a major sea change in international student recruitment? What opportunities does it present to universities across Asia, and how much of a threat is this to Anglophone universities, many of whom are reliant on international student recruitment to remain afloat?

On this week’s episode, host Juliette Rowsell is joined by Asia reporter Rosalind Skillen to discuss what these changes mean for global universities.

We discuss the environmental implications of mass GenAI adoption across higher education and why universities are failing to account for it’s use in their quest to reduce carbon emissions

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GenAI use is now “near universal” among undergraduate students, studies show, with universities increasingly embedding these digital tools across their curricula and assessments.

But what could this mean for the well publicised promises made by thousands of universities worldwide to reduce their carbon emissions and reach net zero?

While the concerns over GenAI’s impact on academic integrity, learning, assessment and employment have been loudly debated across the sector, few questions have been asked about the environmental cost of spiralling GenAI use.

The training of GPT-4, for instance, used the same amount of energy as the domestic electricity consumption of more than 460,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a UN report. This means that offsetting GPT-4’s training carbon footprint of 25,000 tonnes of CO₂e would require 420,000 tree seedlings to be grown for 10 years. Then there is the energy cost associated with its ongoing use and the huge data centres required to run these models.

On this week’s News Talks podcast Miranda Prynne speaks to Times Higher Education reporter Juliette Rowsell who has been investigating whether universities’ embrace of GenAI is undermining their net zero targets to discuss how universities’ relationship with GenAI has evolved in the four years since it’s mass release, what this could mean for institutional carbon emissions and the challenges associated with trying to accurately measure GenAI impact.

They attempt to tackle the question of what universities can or should be doing to improve reporting of emissions associated with GenAI and ultimately, drive more sustainable use of these tools.

We discuss why a leaked exam paper sparked mass protest in India, culminating in the resignation of a government minister and the promise of reform

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The mass youth protests across India that ran through June and July have forced the resignation of former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan as well as extracting a series of conciliatory promises from prime minister Narendra Modi.

But the spark for these protests which bought tens of thousands of students onto the streets of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), was the leaking and forced resit of the Indian medical college entrance exam.

On this week’s episode of News Talks, we discuss why the leaked exam triggered such anger and despair among the Indian youth, how this led to the forming of the Cockroach Janta Party and why the protests were able to bring such huge numbers onto the street.

Campus editor Miranda Prynne talks to Times Higher Education Asia reporter Rosalind Skillen about what sets the CJP apart from other protest groups faced down by Modi and the unique circumstances that led such a rapid escalation of events in a country with one of the biggest youth populations on the planet. Rosalind summarises the deeper tensions that lie behind the protests and gives the outlook for genuine long-term reform.

With Andy Burnham’s new government announcing plans to scrap the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, we discuss what this could mean for UK research

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One of the first moves of Andy Burnham’s new Labour administration has been to announce the closure of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in favour of research sitting within the business department.

On this week’s News Talks podcast, we discuss the role of DSIT over its three year lifespan, the legacy of key figures within the department such as Patrick Vallance and how it’s removal may affect the management and funding of research in the UK.

Campus editor Miranda Prynne speaks to Times Higher Education features editor Paul Jump about the thinking behind Burnham’s decision, reactions across higher education, why DSIT was created in the first place and the possible implications for science and research.

For more on what Andy Burnham’s premiership may mean for UK higher education, listen to 8th July episode in which Miranda explores this topic with THE editor-in-chief Chris Havergal: Podcast: What could Andy Burnham as prime minister mean for UK universities?

We discuss what the next three years may hold for UK universities under an Andy Burnham premiership.

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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 Manchester mayor’s views on higher education and the role universities might play in his future policy agenda.

They discuss how Burnham’s key ambitions might shape the role of universities in the wider education UK education and training system, the value of research within his planned “innovation nation” and where he may stand on key issues such as international students and student loans.

Finally, Chris gives his take on how universities can best prove their worth and find favour with the prime minister-in-waiting.

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

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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 Firsht talks to Miranda Prynne about the institutions and countries which are leading the pack in working towards each of the 17 goals. They discuss the broader global trends highlighted in the ratings which show universities in less wealthy nations closing the gap against their wealthier counterparts and Asia’s institutions growing their presence year on year.

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.

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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 prestigious Hong Kong institutions in cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan, which the Chinese authorities hope will propel the region into the top echelons of global higher education.

Times Higher Education’s Asia-Pacific editor John Ross visited one of these youthful institutions, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-SZ), which just 12 years after it’s launch already boasts 13,000 students studying across eight schools with ambitions to grow to 25,000 students when its new medical school – currently under construction – opens.

On this week’s episode of News Talks, Campus editor Miranda Prynne asks John about his impressions of Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area of China – and gets a colourful description of the CUHK-SZ campus.

They discuss the Chinese authorities’ ambition to develop a regional higher education offering across the Greater Bay Area in line with its economic and technological advancement, the role that Hong Kong’s globally recognised institutions are playing in this effort and whether Shenzhen and neighbouring cities will ultimately take over as a global hub for higher education.

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-in-chief Chris Havergal joins Campus editor Miranda Prynne to interrogate this question. They explore the reasoning behind King's and Cranfield’s decision but also discuss other recent mergers in the UK and Australia to draw lessons on what works and where difficulties often arise.

Chris puts the case for and against university mergers as an answer to UK higher education’s current financial turmoil and offers his take on what the future may hold for a sector in flux.

More episodes of News Talks can be found here: News Talks: a Times Higher Education podcast | Times Higher Education (THE).

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 human stories behind the cuts.

They discuss the strength of feeling among respondents, who and what is blamed for the sector’s financial woes, the impact of the redundancies on those remaining as well as lessons for university senior managers and how institutions might move forward from such a bruising few years.