One of our staff at South Mimms U tries to become a digital hermit to understand the difference between loneliness and solitude. But is he just trying to escape a difficult personal choices he needs to make? 

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

There's a growing movement to tax robots - mechanical and software robots alike. They are, after all, threatening to take away at least a third of all jobs, with more and more white collar workers under threat from Robot Process Automation. But, if you tax a worker, shouldn't they be allowed to vote whether they're human or man-made? The principle of 'no taxation without representation' is a fundamental one. Our legal studies scholar, working for a new 'think-tank' called Democracy for Robots, believes that robots should be allowed to vote. But how can they choose who to vote for, and who would be programming their political views? An intriguing dilemma for the Digital Age.

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Karl Marx is known for his political philosophy and critique of Capitalism but not for imaginative prose or parenting skills. He was, by all accounts, a loving and doting father and it wouldn't be a surprise if, at some point, he had tried to write a children's story. But could he steer clear of political analysis and stick to imaginative prose? New evidence shows that, yes, he did attempt to write a children's story, and, no, he could resist the temptation to use the story to explain his Theory of Surplus Value. 

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Child labour wasn't so bad - was it? The Victorians thought it was very good for young children. Charles Dickens didn't think so after working when he was just 12. But perhaps he missed the point. A spokesperson for a new political think tank believes it would be better if we sent children out to work instead of to school. Her arguments seem weirdly logical. 

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Charles Darwin called earthworms 'nature's ploughs' and wrote his final (and most popular) book about them. Our very own Dave Dave - musician and philosopher - has a radical theory about who's really calling the tune on Planet Earth, and it's not us humans. 

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

The rise of the autonomous car is inevitable. All the big car companies and most of the big tech ones are working on them. But will the AI technology inside their 'brains' mean that their ideas and passions could rule their engines? At South Mimms U our team has discovered that their prototype autonomous car has developed the ability to fall in love and feel passion. It's not a route that we did not expect the tech to take.

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

The inventor of the telephone - Alexander Graham Bell - thought the best way to answer it was to say 'Ahoy!'. But Thomas Edison believed that 'hello' was better and more modern. At South Mimms U we think that 'Ahoy' might be great for the digital age. Our lecturer in Technological Anthropology is campaigning to revive 'Ahoy!' - which is, by the way, how Mr Burns in The Simpsons always answers the phone.

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Strange new software developed at South Mimms U allows us to speak to our older selves. But would you want to? And if you did, what would you say? One of our intrepid faculty tests the technology out with strange consequences. 

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Gun control is a huge issue in the USA, and the most fervent gun owners cite the Second Amendment to the Constitution. But does it really give them a right to own a firearm? Our Constitutional History expert has a new take on the amendment - which is onnly 27 words long - and a radical idea to link rights with obligations and save the lives of young soldiers in the process. His argument has real firepower!

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

When the South Mimms U religious studies department put on an Easter Passion Play, our Head of Religion cast an overweight actor to play the role. It caused outrage. But why? Can't a fat man play Jesus? what if Jesus himself had been... err portly? Would we worship him any less fervently? The controversy illuminates our prejudices and preconceptions. Fascinating.

The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.