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Key insights and learnings from the International Conference on the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Postgraduate Researchers, UK Council for Graduate Education
At the start of November 2022 I was fortunate to attend the UKCGE international conference. The conference covered a range of topics from the experiences of black PGRs, to the role of the supervisor in PGR wellbeing. Below I have listed just some of the insights I...
Governance in Small and Specialist HE Students’ Unions
On 7 October GuildHE launched a new joint report with NUS Charity on Governance in Small and Specialist HE Students' Unions, based on interviews with six representative institutions. The launch was supported by a participatory discussion for Vice-Chancellors and...
Huge impact of smaller and specialist universities highlighted in new report
Small and specialist universities are innovative, agile industry experts supporting the economic development within their communities and specific sectors in the economy. Frequently located in smaller towns, on the edge of cities, or in rural or coastal locations,...
Cost of living impact on institutions and students
In early September we wrote to members to ask for their plans and concerns relating to the cost of living increase and the specific issues around energy costs. Many large HEIs are members of the TEC energy consortium which has offered universities some stability at...
Why building on strengths will deliver a future-ready NSS
The National Student Survey (NSS) has proved to be a remarkably robust and stable tool since it was introduced in 2005. With over two thirds of eligible students responding, giving a response of almost 325,000 last year, it provides information that is hugely...
Cost of living and its effect on student achievement
The increased cost of living will undoubtedly affect all of us in society in some way - but HE providers should be mindful now more than ever of the effect that the squeeze in student finances may have a detrimental impact on students ability to succeed. Students have...
(£6m) Reasons to be Cheerful: HEIF Additional Funding
Today Research England announced its funding allocations for 2022-2025. Included within that is a £6 million fund in 2022-23 to support knowledge exchange at institutions not routinely in receipt of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF). Fantastic news and a...
What does the new TEF mean for Small and Specialist Providers?
This blog was developed from the presentation by Dr Alex Bols, Deputy CEO GuildHE, at the Inside Government TEF Reset Conference 2022 on 30 June 2022 What does the new TEF mean for Small and Specialist Providers? Whether the new TEF will enable smaller and specialist...
A return to pre-pandemic ‘upper’ degree awarding promised by universities in England
A return to pre-pandemic ‘upper’ degree awarding promised by universities in England Universities in England have committed to reversing pandemic grade inflation in first and 2.1 degrees. In a first of its kind statement Universities UK (UUK) and GuildHE members have...
REF 2021: World-leading research and exceptional environments for researchers at the UK’s smaller and specialist universities
95% of GuildHE institutions submitted world-leading research to the REF, a remarkable achievement and testimony to the excellence of the sector in key research areas. GuildHE congratulates our member institutions on their success in REF 2021. The results demonstrate...