In episode 3 of the Arch. Ed. Podcast, we revisit the November 2014 Architecture Foundation debate on the future of architectural education, with guests Peter Clegg, Senior Partner at FCBS (and Professor of Architecture at the University of Bath); Gem Barton, editor of Edge Condition and Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton; and Neil Spiller, Dean of Architecture at the University of Greenwich. In anticipation of the long awaited RIBA Review of Architectural Education, some familiar questions were posed. Why is architectural education so long? Why does it have such a standardised structure and duration? Is our studio culture supportive or exclusive? Can design crits ever relinquish their combative and abusive reputations? And does the perennial unit system of organising the design studio into a free market of student choice continue to serve students?

In episode 2 of the Arch. Ed. Podcast, we take a look back at the REF. With 3,781 outputs and 146 case studies from 1,025 academics at 45 higher education institutions, the 2014 Research Excellence Framework certainly kept the Architecture, Built Environment and Planning sub-panel of peer reviewers busy. We explore how things have changed since the 2008 RAE. How have academic institutions articulated the wider societal impact of their research? How is research-by-design changing the landscape of architecture research? And can we expect to receive a larger or smaller slice of the pie when HEFCE makes its funding decisions in the spring? Were institutional strategies for including some outputs and excluding others successful in improving overall research scores? With guests Prof. Jeremy Till (Head of Central Saint Martins; Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of the Arts London), Elena Marco (Associate Head of Architecture, University of the West of England) and Professor David Coley is Professor of Low Carbon Design and Head of the Energy and the Design of Environments research centre at the University of Bath. . Available here on and iTunes from late evening GMT, Monday 19 January. Get new episodes of the Arch. Ed. Podcast automatically downloaded to your device - click here to subscribe on iTunes or add the RSS feed www.archedpodcast.com/thearchedpodcast?format=rss to your preferred podcast app.

A new year, and a new podcast. James Benedict Brown introduces the Arch. Ed. Podcast and its rationale.