Curious little story this one. REF Team telling everyone they can't use REF 2029 logo any more. Seems to contradict previous years' guidance, and could make work for people.

OfS issues warning after finding evidence of grade inflation. Investigation finds two universities breached regulations with their assessment algorithm, with three at risk of future breaches. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Experts have welcomed plans for “a new, more agile approach” to how the UK science department manages R&D funding, but one has warned about its implications for long-term funding decisions. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Universities will fail without radical reform, warns former VC. White paper “shies away” from solutions to HE funding crisis, says erstwhile Leeds Met chief in Policy Exchange report. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Dsit allocations: ‘Agile’ R&D funding approach welcome but risky, experts say. R&D experts also question “bold” doubling of Advanced Research and Invention Agency spending. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

"Dsit’s assessment is that every £1 of civil public R&D investment generates £8 in economic benefits. This rather raises the question of why we don’t just bosh it another £3bn and wipe out the budget deficit, but we’re probably oversimplifying things" www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-he-govern...

Johnson: “Policy around international education isn't owned by a single department, it’s subject to a tug-of-war...the tensions lead to great policy volatility & a whipsaw effect that's extremely unsettling for the families of international students.” www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

New today from Dsit: UKRI’s budget will total £38.6bn over the four years from 2026 to 2030. In 2026-27, UKRI has been allocated a budget of around £9.2bn, up from around £8.8bn in 2025-26, a 4.6 per cent rise. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

'On 30 October, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Dsit) set out how it will spend its £58.5bn R&D budget over four years from April 2026, following on from allocations to departments made in the spending review in June.' 1/2

🚨Breaking Dsit funding news🚨 UKRI allocated £39bn budget over next four years. National funder will receive around £9.2 billion next year, as Dsit plans “more agile” R&D funding. More details: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Former universities and science minister also criticises university governance and regulation.

Jo Johnson, former uni/sci minister at #GoingGlobal2025: Politicians in so-called 'big 4' countries for international students (UK, US, Can, Aus) "in the process of throwing away what is perhaps one of their greatest strategic assets, that's the ability to attract talent from all around the world."

Vallance: US deal key to restoring UK life sciences confidence. Science minister says drug-pricing agreement will shape investment and spending. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

REF must ditch focus on individuals, says Ottoline Leyser. Former UKRI head also echoes previous calls for universities to do less research. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

"The war-readiness of modern democracies depends just as much on universities...and civil institutions as it does on the fearsomeness of our weaponry." @chrisjparr.bsky.social looks at what Europe's defence spending boom could mean for research. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Malcolm Press, Man Met VC and UUK president at #GoingGlobal2025: "Transactional education [represents] a growing opportunity to strengthen what we can do [as universities]."

Universities minister Jacqui Smith at #GoingGlobal2025: Resources are “finite”, so we need to deliver education in the “most sustainable and effective way”. "We are proud of our world class universities...we will provide new income" at a time of financial challenge. A reference to fee rise.

Scott McDonald, British Council ceo, speaking at #GoingGlobal2025. "HE without the freedom to question, research and debate is not really HE," he says. He's recently back from Kyiv, Ukraine, where the BC's office was damaged by Russian missiles. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Now free to access. Just like libraries.

Concentration of Aria funding in south-east England increases, despite the agency setting out plans earlier this year to widen the spread of its spending. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Another delay in the REF 2029 process. The PCE pilot results have now been pushed back for a second time. Suggests to me that PCE is at the heart of the discussions taking place behind the scenes while the whole exercise is on pause. Story from @robinbisson.bsky.social 👇

If security depends on advances in science, increased defence spending brings risks & rewards. Interesting time for debates about dual use research globally, but especially so in Europe. My feature on how the EU’s defence boom could transform R&D. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

How could Europe’s defence boom transform research? Via @chrisjparr.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Was a pleasure to speak at length with erstwhile long-serving Glasgow VC for this morning's 8am Playbook. Here's a short news write-up (full interview in replies for Playbook subscribers). www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Research funding and REF reforms ‘will drive specialisation’ Government says plans for university sector in its post-16 skills and education white paper could result in “more focused volume of research” www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Breaking: England to see automatic tuition fee rises each year from 2026, skills white paper reveals. Labour government says inflation-linked increases will be tied to teaching quality. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Universities do a great deal of wonderful work in their local areas, but this risks being overshadowed by local higher education institutions laying off scores of local people. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-he-govern...

Risk-averse universities ‘hindering own REF performance’. Most-read on our site just now. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Why not just get ChatGPT to peer review it? 🤷‍♂️

Breaking: Tories would slash university places by 100k. Student numbers cap plan billed as saving £3 billion to invest in apprenticeship funding. Tomorrow, Badenoch will unveil plans to limit student numbers across all subjects. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Rocketing visa costs ‘squeeze university research budgets’. Research-intensive institutions forced to hike spending on immigration fees, freedom of information requests show. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Great day 1 at the Hidden REF Festival 2025. Really friendly vibe, and really interesting discussions about non-traditional research outputs. @hiddenref.bsky.social Write-up: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Risk-averse universities “hindering REF performance” by ignoring non-traditional research. Institutions should “pull their socks up”, @nataliejessic10.bsky.social tells the 2025 Hidden REF Festival (@hiddenref.bsky.social). Free to read: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Excellent address by the Uni of Liverpool's Natalie Wallis at #HiddenREF festival (@hiddenref.bsky.social). Report to follow. In the meantime, here's something Wallis wrote for @resprofnews.bsky.social recently on non-traditional research outputs: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

Excited to be at day 1 of the Hidden REF festival (@hiddenref.bsky.social). Fair to say it's an interesting time for research assessment. #hiddenref

Rocketing visa costs have forced UK research-intensive universities to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds extra to recruit international staff over the last two years—with costs at individual institutions reaching as high as £2 million a year. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

‘It’s bananas’: why student fee levy spells trouble for research. Funding maintenance grants through money raised from international fees leaves universities facing “awkward questions”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

It was a busy Labour Party conference for HE and R&D, with major announcements in the main hall and a lively fringe programme.🌹 Here is a rundown of our coverage, starting with news that a fee levy will fund maintenance grants in England. #Lab25 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Rising UK visa fees have forced research-intensive universities into spending hundreds of thousands of pounds extra to recruit international staff over the last two years—with costs at individual institutions reaching as high as £2 million a year. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Some great quotes in this #Lab25 fringe. Sussex VC says some journalists are on a “relentless campaign against universities” because they see them as “generators of woke ideology” (despite benefitting from university and expecting it for their kids). www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

This was really interesting to look at. The creep, creep creep of higher visa costs means that in the space of 2 years, at least 5 Russell Group universities have seen their spending on visa costs rise by more than £100,000. Meanwhile, it's not as if we are in halcyon days for university funding.

Universities ‘must not forget EDI obligations’ amid REF 2029 pause. University of Oxford’s chief diversity officer says most Britons “believe EDI is a good thing”. #Lab25 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Keir Starmer ‘scraps 50 per cent university access’ target. Starmer two years ago: “I never thought I would hear a modern Conservative prime minister say that 50 per cent of our children going to university was a ‘false dream’.” www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Keir Starmer: "I don't think the way we currently measure success in education. That ambition to get 50% of kids to uni. I don't think that's right for our times." #Lab25

Universities in England will be chuffed that they will have an international fee levy imposed but not rest of UK. Newcastle VC says charging students 6% more to cover the cost seems less likely than simply taking cash from he bottom line: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Labour government to bring back student maintenance grants, says education sec. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Big HE announcement does come in Bridget Phillipson speech at #Lab25. Labour will introduce "new targeted maintenance grants for students who need them most". More details to follow.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson rattling off education achievements of the Labour government at #LabourConference. Nothing on higher education yet.

It was a lively session. Refreshingly frank statements from panellists and audience alike.

Lowering entry grades ‘may come back to bite selective universities’. #LabourConference 2025: UUK president warns high-tariff institutions could struggle to meet student needs. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...