REF 2029, franchising crackdown, year in review

This week on the podcast we discuss the ambition to make the UK the world’s leading innovation nation. With plans to devolve innovation funding, build globally significant clusters in every region and strengthen collaboration, what role will universities play in delivering the government’s vision? Plus we discuss new research from Wonkhe and Advance HE revealing why emerging higher education leaders feel confident in their own abilities but frustrated by their institutions’ capacity to manage change. And we consider the latest developments in graduate recruitment and international student visas. With Charlotte Corrish, Head of Public Policy at the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and Research Agenda, and Mack Marshall, Editorial Coordinator at Wonkhe, and presented by Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe. During times of transformation emerging leaders need to be inside the leadership tent A slightly better outlook for graduate jobs

This week on the podcast we examine how universities are rethinking academic integrity in the age of AI. As institutions move away from blanket bans and detection towards more nuanced approaches to assessment, a new Wonkhe and Studiosity white paper explores how to balance the opportunities of AI with the need to protect genuine learning. Plus we discuss the Conservatives’ plans to restrict access to student finance for non-UK nationals, proposals to limit Universal Credit for under-25s, and what the party’s conference tells us about its emerging approach to higher education. And we take a look at what else has caught our guests’ attention in higher education policy this week. With Mark Peace, Professor of Innovation in Education at King’s College London, Annie Bell, Associate Director for Higher Education at Public First, and John Blake, Director at The Post-18 Project, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe. Kemi the Conqueror? Something of an embroidery… Keeping the learning real in the AI age requires coordination and open communication

This week on the podcast we examine what Labour Party conference told us about the government’s plans for higher education – or, perhaps more significantly, what it didn’t. We also consider what higher education should make of MI5’s warning about research collaboration with the China General Technology Research Institute, the suspension of Buckinghamshire New University’s student sponsor licence, new expectations for student accommodation, and the latest picture on antisemitism on campus. With Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe, Gary Hughes, Chief Executive at Durham Students’ Union, Mack Marshall, Editorial Coordinator at Wonkhe, and presented by James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and Research Agenda. All our coverage from Labour Conference 2026 Espionage alert sees MI5 take an interest in Chinese research collaboration

This week on the podcast Home Office figures show more than 20,000 fewer study visa applications in August than a year earlier – so is the fall in international recruitment catastrophic for university finances, or merely extremely bad? Universities UK International wants enrolments to return to growth, but new modelling from Public First suggests there is nowhere stable left to grow. Plus we discuss a new report from the Graduate Futures Institute finding that graduate opportunity remains deeply unequal, and our guests pick their stories of the week. With Ben Vulliamy, Executive Director at the Association of Heads of University Administration, Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, Sharanya Sivarajah, Community and Policy Officer at Wonkhe and presented by Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe and Editor at Research Agenda. Study visa applications see a big fall in the key month of August UUKi: Higher Education Sector Action Plan Public First: The international student trap: new modelling finds UK universities have nowhere stable left to grow Why international recruitment keeps chasing the wrong markets University of Leicester: Britain has widened access to university but graduate opportunity remains unequal, report warns

This week on the podcast we examine the government’s response to criticism of the student loan system. With ministers still describing the system as unfair and in need of reform, what might meaningful change now look like? Plus we discuss the Office for Students’ new freedom of speech conditions of registration, and we take a look at the other higher education policy and sector stories that have caught our guests’ attention this week. With David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe, Pam Macpherson Barrett, Director of Policy and Regulation at the University of Leeds, and Mack Marshall, Editorial Coordinator at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe. Students feel free to speak – unless they’re training to be doctors The tone has changed on free speech, but the architecture hasn’t Student loans are still broken and unfair