United Kingdom

India’s university rise broadens beyond IITs, but internationalisation lags

More than half of India’s ranked universities improved their position in the QS World University Rankings 2027 , with 18 institutions achieving their highest-ever positions as gains increasingly spread beyond the country’s elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The rankings feature 52 Indian universities, up from just 14 a decade ago, making India the world’s fifth most represented higher education system behind the US, UK, mainland China and Germany. Over the past decade, India’s presence in the rankings has grown by 271% – the fastest proportional increase of any G20 nation. Some 26 Indian universities improved their position this year, nine remained stable, 15 declined and two entered the rankings for the first time. At the top of the table, IIT Delhi climbed to 118th globally, matching the highest position ever achieved by an Indian institution, a record previously set by IIT Bombay in 2025. IIT Bombay ranked 134th, followed by IIT Madras at 170th, IIT Kharagpur at 205th, and IIT Kanpur and IISc Bangalore, which were jointly ranked 221st. University of Delhi remained India’s highest-ranked non-STEM institution at 322nd globally. However, the most significant trend this year was the widening distribution of rankings success beyond the IIT sector. Among the strongest performers were Vellore Institute of Technology, which rose 94 places to 597th globally, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, which climbed 93 places to 575th, and Shoolini University, which entered India’s top 10 after rising 51 places to 452nd. Chandigarh University climbed 49 places to 526th, while Jamia Millia Islamia advanced more than 75 places to 686th. According to QS, 13 of the 18 institutions reaching all-time high positions this year were non-IIT universities. The number of ranked non-IIT institutions has increased from seven in 2017 to 43 today, while ranked institutions now span 19 states and union territories compared with just nine a decade ago. Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the results reflected the impact of reforms introduced under National Education Policy 2020. “India’s strong performance in the latest global university rankings reflects the transformative impact of NEP 2020, with 52 universities across 19 states and union territories now represented and more than half improving their positions,” said Pradhan. “As institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology Delhi achieve record-high rankings, India is emerging as a leading global knowledge hub, driven by research, innovation and the talent of its youth.” The rankings also highlighted areas where Indian universities are increasingly competitive internationally. India now has 11 universities among the world’s top 100 for citations per faculty, a measure of research impact, while six institutions rank among the global top 100 for employer reputation. Bharathiar University, one of two Indian debutants this year, entered directly into the global top 100 for citations per faculty, ranking 75th worldwide on the indicator. Graduate employability emerged as another area of strength. The University of Mumbai climbed 70 places to 25th globally for employment outcomes, one of the most significant single-year improvements recorded in this edition of the rankings, while the University of Delhi ranked 35th globally on the indicator. More than a third of Indian universities improved their employer reputation score, giving India the second-highest net improvement in Asia on the indicator, behind only Taiwan. India’s performance also stood out against a challenging year for several established higher education systems. While 52% of Indian universities improved their ranking, only 35% of UK institutions and 16% of German universities recorded gains. In the United States, just 13% of ranked institutions improved while 66% declined. Mainland China remained the strongest-performing major system, with 72% of ranked institutions improving and 13 universities entering the rankings. Globally, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology retained the top position for a 15th consecutive year, while Stanford University and Imperial College London shared second place. Oxford and Harvard completed the top five. Elsewhere, Australia saw 58% of institutions improve, with UNSW Sydney becoming the country’s highest-ranked university for the first time, while Canada endured a difficult year with 66% of universities declining despite McGill University retaining its position as the country’s top institution. We are seeing improvement across a much broader cross-section of the sector, suggesting that long-term investments and reforms are beginning to translate into measurable outcomes Ashwin Fernandes, QS India Despite the positive results, the rankings also underscored persistent challenges facing Indian higher education. QS identified internationalisation as one of the sector’s weakest areas, with 90% of institutions recording no improvement in international student numbers and only one Indian university ranking among the world’s top 500 for international faculty representation. Academic reputation also remained a challenge. Just 8% of Indian universities improved on the indicator, compared with 28% that declined, suggesting that gains in research output and graduate outcomes are not yet translating into equivalent levels of international recognition. The rankings noted that India continues to host relatively small numbers of international students compared with major destinations such as Australia, Canada and the UK, despite government efforts to expand inbound mobility through initiatives such as Study in India. The challenge was also highlighted in a NITI Aayog report published earlier this year, which estimated India could host 1.1 million international students by 2047 if barriers including limited scholarships, infrastructure constraints and concerns around global perceptions of Indian higher education are addressed. Commenting on the results, Ashwin Fernandes, chair of QS India and vice president for strategic and international engagement at QS, said the breadth of progress was particularly significant. “What makes this edition of the rankings compelling is its breadth. Progress is no longer concentrated among a handful of elite institutions. We are seeing improvement across a much broader cross-section of the sector, suggesting that long-term investments and reforms are beginning to translate into measurable outcomes,” he said. “For years, the story of Indian higher education was one of potential. Increasingly, it is becoming a story of delivery.” The post India’s university rise broadens beyond IITs, but internationalisation lags appeared first on The PIE News .

18 Jun 2026

Wonkhe

Opportunity is shaped by where you live, who you are, and how much money your family had

David Kernohan reads in to a new report from the Sutton Trust on how ethnicity, gender, place, and poverty combine to determine opportunity

17 Jun 2026

WonkHE Blogs

Opportunity is shaped by where you live, who you are, and how much money your family had

David Kernohan reads in to a new report from the Sutton Trust on how ethnicity, gender, place, and poverty combine to determine opportunity

17 Jun 2026

The Guardian Education

Harvard and Bard face fresh questions from lawmakers over ties to Epstein

Democrat Jamie Raskin seeks ‘comprehensive accounting’ and requests interview with outgoing Bard president Harvard University and Bard College are facing new questions about the institutions’ relationship with Jeffrey Epstein amid allegations that the convicted child sex trafficker leveraged his ties to the universities and their faculty to traffic women, while also burnishing his reputation to avoid detection. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House judiciary committee, said in a statement that Harvard and Bard had both previously attempted to investigate the role their universities and leadership played in facilitating Epstein’s abuse, but that those attempts either failed or fell short of a full accounting of what occurred. Continue reading...

17 Jun 2026

HEPI Blog

New HEPI Report ‘Interconnected Innovation: Physical connectivity as the missing ingredient in UK research and innovation policy’

The UK’s research strengths are world-class, but too often they operate in isolation rather than as part of a connected national system. A new HEPI report argues that better transport and infrastructure links could unlock significant gains in collaboration, innovation and economic growth. Interconnected Innovation: Physical connectivity as the missing ingredient in UK research and innovation policy (Report 202) challenges policymakers to rethink how research investment is assessed and delivered. The report highlights evidence that improving physical connections between places can have a dramatic impact on collaboration, with one study finding that linking cities through cost-effective flights can increase scientific partnerships by as much as 30 to 50 per cent. Yet despite these potential gains, transport connectivity remains largely absent from discussions about research funding and innovation policy. The authors argue that the UK’s relatively compact geography should be a major competitive advantage, but that current approaches often focus too heavily on individual institutions or regions rather than the networks that connect them. The report calls for greater investment not only in research assets but also in the “connective tissue” of the research ecosystem, including transport links, shared infrastructure, mobility schemes and collaborative networks. In doing so, it offers a fresh perspective on how the UK can maximise the value of its existing research strengths. At a time when policymakers are searching for ways to boost productivity, innovation and economic growth, this report makes the case for a more joined-up approach that aligns research policy with infrastructure planning. To read the press release and find a download link to the full report, click here. The post New HEPI Report ‘Interconnected Innovation: Physical connectivity as the missing ingredient in UK research and innovation policy’ appeared first on HEPI .

17 Jun 2026

Guidance: What a gangmaster's licence is and who needs one

Guidance for people who provide and use labour in the agriculture, horticulture, shellfish, and food processing and packaging sectors.

17 Jun 2026

Acumen acquires EduCorePro to boost AI-driven enrolment transformation

The deal brings EduCorePro’s technology platform, products, and specialist AI team into Acumen’s global admissions and enrolment services division, strengthening the company’s ability to deliver faster, more accurate and more scalable enrolment outcomes for higher education institutions worldwide. As part of the transaction, EduCorePro founder and CEO Bhushan Samant will join Acumen as chief technology officer of its admissions and enrolment services division, where he will lead the integration of AI capabilities into the company’s global operations. Acumen said the combined organisation will integrate EduCorePro’s automation and AI tools with its own human-led admissions expertise to build a next-generation enrolment platform. Acumen said the acquisition comes as institutions are under pressure to improve “compliance, application quality, fraud detection, visa credibility, operational efficiency and conversion performance,” while also managing increasing demand for faster decision-making and improved applicant experience. EduCorePro’s existing platform focuses on AI-powered tools designed to streamline admissions workflows, including document handling, applicant engagement, operational reporting and enrolment intelligence. Acumen said these capabilities will help universities improve application turnaround times, engagement and conversion efficiency. The company also highlighted broader sector challenges driving the need for automation, noting that universities are operating under “growing application volumes and heightened student expectations around speed, responsiveness and user experience.”. “International student recruitment and admissions is entering a period of profound operational change,” said Adrian Mutton, executive chairman, Acumen. Universities are increasingly being challenged to improve compliance oversight, identify and prioritise high-quality applicants more effectively, strengthen fraud detection processes, improve applicant response times and deliver a significantly better student experience — all while operating within tighter financial and operational constraints Adrian Mutton, Acumen “Universities are increasingly being challenged to improve compliance oversight, identify and prioritise high-quality applicants more effectively, strengthen fraud detection processes, improve applicant response times and deliver a significantly better student experience — all while operating within tighter financial and operational constraints.” The combined business will focus on AI-enabled tools including application triaging, fraud detection support, workflow automation, predictive enrolment intelligence and scalable admissions management systems. Commenting on the deal, Samant described Acumen as the “ideal organisation” for EduCorePro to partner with. “Together, we have an opportunity to fundamentally improve how institutions manage recruitment, admissions and enrolment operations through the intelligent and responsible application of AI technologies,” Samant added. The post Acumen acquires EduCorePro to boost AI-driven enrolment transformation appeared first on The PIE News .

17 Jun 2026

DfE Consultation Outcomes

Local areas prepare new Experts at Hand teams

Local areas to begin increasing access to speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists from September 2026.

17 Jun 2026

DfE News Stories

Local areas prepare new Experts at Hand teams

Local areas to begin increasing access to speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists from September 2026.

17 Jun 2026

DfE Policy Papers

Local areas prepare new Experts at Hand teams

Local areas to begin increasing access to speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists from September 2026.

17 Jun 2026

Local areas prepare new Experts at Hand teams

Local areas to begin increasing access to speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists from September 2026.

17 Jun 2026

Schools Week UK

Revealed: The 99 winners of silver Pearson National Teaching Awards

Heads, teachers, support staff and schools recognised in annual awards The post Revealed: The 99 winners of silver Pearson National Teaching Awards first appeared on Schools Week .

17 Jun 2026

FE Week

Revealed: The 99 winners of silver Pearson National Teaching Awards

Teachers, leaders and support staff recognised in annual awards The post Revealed: The 99 winners of silver Pearson National Teaching Awards first appeared on FE Week .

17 Jun 2026

Teaching Regulation Agency

“More of the right people”: diplomats walk a tightrope on UK-India student migration

Ben Moller, Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner to India, opened with a positive case for the bilateral relationship at the Cambridge India Business Dialogue late last month. Pointing to UK campus expansions across India and noting that British-educated Indians were statistically more likely to invest in the UK, he framed student mobility as a long-term economic pipeline, a theme echoed by fellow speakers Lord Karan Bilimoria and ICICI Bank CEO Raghav Singhal. But that warmth existed alongside an insistence on separating “legal” from “illegal” migration. The UK processes “a huge number of visas” from India, he said, and while “legal migration is fantastic and promotes growth,” both governments were working closely together on irregular arrivals. He drew an explicit line: “More of the right people and less of the wrong people.” It’s a framing that sits uneasily alongside a 30% fall in UK study visa applications in Q1 2026 and a sector asking which signals to believe. When I questioned him on whether that framing was producing unintended consequences for international students, specifically the political discourse around the Graduate Route visa, his response was measured. “We are trying to find the right balance,” he said, acknowledging a brief dip in visa numbers following the change in government, but arguing the UK was still successfully attracting students. Migration, he added, “is a very important part of the political discourse and rightly so”. It was a careful answer. Whether it was a sufficient one is harder to say. The numbers tell a more turbulent story Figures reported by The PIE News showed Indian students falling from nearly 140,000 in 2022/23 to 111,329 in 2023/24, a decline of over 20%. A partial recovery followed, with a 31% increase in Indian student visa grants in Q1 2025 year-on-year, but a Q4 2025 grant rate of 85% complicate any claim of stability. Germany, Australia, and New Zealand have all recorded rising Indian student interest in the same period. The Graduate Route sits at the centre of this volatility. Its reintroduction in 2021 drove the surge in Indian enrolments that saw Indian students overtake Chinese nationals as the UK’s largest international cohort. The 2025 immigration white paper proposed cutting its duration from two years to 18 months, a change confirmed in March 2026 and effective from January 2027. HEPI has flagged this as a primary concern, noting that post-study work rights are a significant driver of where students choose to study. Indian nationals still received 95,231 sponsored study visas in the year ending December 2025, 23% of the total, and led Graduate Route extensions with 90,153 granted. The pipeline is real. The question is whether policy is working with or against it. India’s High Commissioner to the UK, Periasamy Kumaran, added that overt activism in the field of student immigration advocacy risked producing further backlash, and that the balance would sort itself out as part of a natural cycle, the UK’s need for innovation would inevitably pull Indian students back in. The logic has some basis, but it sets aside the burden students carry in the meantime. A prospective master’s student from Chennai weighing a September 2026 application cannot wait for market equilibrium. She is already factoring in a shorter Graduate Route, higher maintenance fund requirements, rising tuition fees, and a securitised political climate. Diplomacy and the binary problem Moller’s distinction between legal and illegal migration is reasonable as far as it goes. Irregular migration routes, small boat crossings, fraudulent documentation, visa overstays – all of them represent a genuine policy challenge, and governments have a legitimate interest in addressing them. But the language of “right” and “wrong” people carries implications that often leads to conflation in public discourse. The language of “right” and “wrong” people carries implications that often leads to conflation in public discourse Asylum seekers, refugees, and those arriving via refugee family reunion routes made up around 16% of total UK immigration in 2025. Of the 100,625 people who claimed asylum that year, approximately 39% had arrived legally before making a claim. The top nationalities claiming asylum via small boat crossings are predominantly people fleeing documented conflict, whose claims sit squarely within the Refugee Convention. An Eritrean escaping conscription into an authoritarian military who crosses the Channel in a dinghy is, under this framing, a “wrong” kind of arrival. The binary does not accommodate these cases cleanly and immigration systems, by their nature, are full of them. The problem is not that the legal-illegal distinction is wrong. It is that once “right” and “wrong” enter the political discourse, they don’t stay calibrated. They travel into tabloid coverage, into the perceptions of parents and agents in Mumbai and Chennai, and into the enrolment decisions of students who register tone as readily as policy. The 2023 dependant ban illustrates this: aimed at misuse of the student route, it collapsed the dependant-to-student ratio from six per 20 to one per 20 by September 2025, with documented collateral effects on legitimate student enrolment. The wider picture for UK higher education is not comfortable. Postgraduate enrolments are falling; English universities face a proposed £925-per-student levy ; and a sector positioned as both economic export and soft-power instrument of the UK-India relationship is asking which set of signals represents the real policy direction. The UK-India CETA, signed in July 2025 and projected to add £25.5 billion annually to bilateral trade, represents a genuine commitment. So does the expanding network of UK campuses opening across India. The relationship has rarely looked stronger on paper, and there is an appetite on both sides to keep building it. Whether the balance Moller described can be found and what it costs in the meantime for students remains unanswered. The post “More of the right people”: diplomats walk a tightrope on UK-India student migration appeared first on The PIE News .

17 Jun 2026

FE Week

Ringfencing post-16 SEND funding not ‘right approach’, says DfE

Government rejects separate dedicated funding stream for SEND in further education The post Ringfencing post-16 SEND funding not ‘right approach’, says DfE first appeared on FE Week .

17 Jun 2026

Teacher misconduct: attend a professional conduct panel hearing or meeting

Forthcoming professional conduct panel hearings and meetings and how to attend a hearing as an observer.

17 Jun 2026

DfE Consultation Outcomes

Help and support for colleges

Information about the range of help and support available from the Further Education Commissioner, Department for Education and delivery partners.

17 Jun 2026

DfE News Stories

Help and support for colleges

Information about the range of help and support available from the Further Education Commissioner, Department for Education and delivery partners.

17 Jun 2026

Help and support for colleges

Information about the range of help and support available from the Further Education Commissioner, Department for Education and delivery partners.

17 Jun 2026

DfE Policy Papers

Help and support for colleges

Information about the range of help and support available from the Further Education Commissioner, Department for Education and delivery partners.

17 Jun 2026

DWP

Current DWP research being undertaken by external organisations

Check a list of live research being conducted by research organisations for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

17 Jun 2026

University of Cambridge News

Oldest strains of plague caused deadly outbreaks 5,500 years ago

Oldest strains of plague caused deadly outbreaks 5,500 years ago Jacqueline Garget Wed, 06/17/2026 - 16:00 Plague is commonly associated with rats, crowded medieval cities, and the epidemics that swept across Europe during and after the Middle Ages. But a new study published today in the journal Nature shows that the disease was already lethal 5,500 years ago, when it killed humans in small, mobile hunter-gatherer communities - long before the rise of agriculture and cities created the conditions usually associated with plague epidemics. An international group of researchers analysed ancient DNA from human remains found at four hunter-gatherer cemeteries in the Lake Baikal region of East Siberia. Using advanced DNA sequencing techniques, the researchers reconstructed ancient bacterial genomes preserved in teeth, revealing previously unknown early strains of plague. “Based on the plague DNA, the genetic relationships between the victims, the archaeological analysis and the radiocarbon dating, we’ve built a really clear, complete picture of what happened during these outbreaks,” said Dr Ruairidh Macleod, who conducted the research at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, and is first author of the study. The study combines genetic, archaeological and radiocarbon evidence to reconstruct how the outbreaks unfolded within the prehistoric groups. “Whether the earliest forms of plague were mild or virulent has been a matter of debate, but our findings demonstrate that these ancient strains were already highly lethal,” said Professor Eske Willerslev, at the University of Cambridge's Department of Genetics and the University of Copenhagen, who led the research. In total, DNA from Yersinia pestis - the bacterium that causes plague - was detected in 40 percent of individuals (18 of 46). This is higher than the detection rate reported from some medieval plague pits. A more lethal disease than previously thought Previous studies showed that early strains of Yersinia pestis lacked some of the genetic traits that later enabled bubonic plague to spread efficiently via fleas and rodent hosts. This led many researchers to believe that the earliest forms of plague were unlikely to have caused major outbreaks. However, the new study challenges that assumption. The mortality profiles at the two largest cemeteries show an exceptionally high number of children and young teenagers among the dead – something that has puzzled archaeologists working on the graves for decades. “The unusually high number of children and the short time-span was a real puzzle that we’ve been trying to solve since the 1990s. Finding out that plague was the cause is extraordinary, but it makes so much sense,” said archaeologist Andrzej Weber of the University of Alberta, Principal Investigator of the Baikal Archaeology Project. Radiocarbon dating showed that many of the burials occurred within a very short time span. In several cases, siblings or parents and children appear to have died and been buried together. Did extreme immune responses cause death? The ancient plague strains also carried a unique superantigen – a toxin-producing genetic factor not seen in historic plague strains. Superantigens can trigger extreme immune responses and are associated with severe inflammatory complications, likely increasing the severity of infection. “This finding changes our understanding of the earliest plague outbreaks: even before the bacterium evolved efficient flea-borne transmission, these ancient strains appear to have carried a potent combination of virulence factors that could make infection highly lethal,” said senior author Martin Sikora, Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen. Together, the findings suggest that the earliest known plague outbreaks may already have been as deadly as later historical forms of the disease, especially for children, even without flea-borne transmission. The study also supports the idea that plague may have originated in Central or North-East Asia before later spreading across Eurasia through wild rodent reservoirs. Archaeological evidence suggests these hunter-gatherers interacted closely with marmots – large burrowing rodents that still carry plague today – and researchers believe the outbreaks may have spread directly from infected marmots into humans. Reference: Macleod, R. et al: ‘ Lethal Plague Outbreaks in Lake Baikal Hunter-Gatherers 5500 Years Ago .’ Nature, June 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10540-5 Adapted from a press release by the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen. Based on the plague DNA... we’ve built a really clear, complete picture of what happened during these outbreaks. Ruairidh Macleod Vladimiri_Bazaliiskii Yes Licence type Attribution-Noncommerical

17 Jun 2026

DfE Consultation Outcomes

Transparency data: Open academies, free schools, studio schools and UTCs

Information on all academies, free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges (UTCs) open in England, and those in the process of opening.

17 Jun 2026

DfE News Stories

Transparency data: Open academies, free schools, studio schools and UTCs

Information on all academies, free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges (UTCs) open in England, and those in the process of opening.

17 Jun 2026

DfE Policy Papers

Transparency data: Open academies, free schools, studio schools and UTCs

Information on all academies, free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges (UTCs) open in England, and those in the process of opening.

17 Jun 2026

Transparency data: Open academies, free schools, studio schools and UTCs

Information on all academies, free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges (UTCs) open in England, and those in the process of opening.

17 Jun 2026

EU Commission Press Releases (EAC)

Déclaration du Commissaire Serafin lors de la cérémonie de signature de l'accord SAFE à Paris

European Commission Discours Paris, 17 Jun 2026 Madame la Ministre, Monsieur le Ministre, Monsieur le Commissaire, Mesdames et Messieurs, Nous sommes ici pour franchir une étape importante dans la constructio...

17 Jun 2026

The Guardian Education

Top teaching union backs Burnham as Labour’s best chance of beating Reform

Exclusive: NASUWT leader Matt Wrack also calls for more robust change from the government on education policy UK politics live – latest updates The leader of one of the country’s biggest teaching unions has backed Andy Burnham, saying he is Labour’s best chance for beating Reform in a general election. The general secretary of NASUWT, Matt Wrack, was speaking to the Guardian in the run-up to Thursday’s Makerfield byelection, in which the Greater Manchester mayor hopes to return to parliament and pave the way for a possible leadership challenge. Continue reading...

17 Jun 2026

Promotional material: UK-India Trade Deal: Double Contributions Convention explainer

Information on the Double Contributions Convention that the UK and India have agreed.

17 Jun 2026

The countdown begins: UK-India FTA enters into force on July 15th

Businesses to start preparations for historic UK-India trade deal worth £4.8bn to enter into force next month.

17 Jun 2026

Nuffield Foundation

2025 Annual report: defining our new direction

Looking back over my first year at the Nuffield Foundation – set out within the pages of this report – I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved so far. Having published an ambitious new strategy in 2025, we’re now firmly engaged in putting it into practice. We are doing this through collaboration – it has been thought provoking and inspiring to work with, and learn from, such a diverse range of organisations, experts and practitioners. Responding to a changing landscape If ever a reminder was needed of the importance of our work, 2025 provided it. Political and economic disruption, at home and globally, has created further instability for policymakers and the public. The need for authoritative evidence, and for bringing that evidence to decision-makers in a timely way, has never been more crucial. Equally vital is taking the longer view – building insight and expertise where it is needed while scanning the horizon for emerging issues. And the value of investing in newer priority areas from our Strategic Review – including trusted and effective institutions, demographic change, and the societal impacts of climate change and the transition to net zero – has only become clearer. Focus on young people’s futures Among many competing needs, we placed particular importance on our concerns for young people’s futures – a perennial Nuffield theme – especially post-16 transitions , SEND provision , and the risk of disengagement from education, employment, or training and how this can be addressed. Investing in long-term research and impact Landmark work supported by our Strategic Fund – such as The skills imperative 2035 and The Pissarides review , both completed in 2025 – demonstrates how ambitious long term research investment can contribute to national debate. Our new strategy makes this an ideal moment to reopen the Strategic Fund and support transformative, multidisciplinary research capable of shaping policy and practice. The first grants from the Racial Diversity UK Fund were awarded, seeding the development of a much needed portfolio of work providing timely insight on how to move towards a racially just and inclusive future. Alongside this, our in-house programmes Grown up? Journeys to adulthood , Public right to justice , and AI and education , produced a flow of insights on issues that have featured highly on news and policy agendas. Strengthening insight through our expert centres Nuffield’s expert centres – The Ada Lovelace Institute , the Nuffield Council on Bioethics , and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory – have all played key roles over the last year in advancing our purpose. Whether addressing new issues in bioethics, family justice or AI and emerging technologies, their work is a vital part of the Foundation’s commitment to tackle inequalities, promote inclusiveness and fairness, and ensure science and technology work for people and society. In 2025, we began implementing our first annual action plan for equity, diversity, and inclusion , aiming to ensure that our work, partnerships and organisational culture reflect the values underpinning our mission. This is an ongoing priority, with a year-two plan now underway. Looking ahead with purpose As we look ahead, and our exploration of newer thematic areas gathers pace, I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to our work this year – all our grant-holders, stakeholders, Trustees, and colleagues. Together, we will continue to champion evidence that shapes a more prosperous, fairer, and inclusive society and helps people lead better, more secure lives. Read the annual report The post 2025 Annual report: defining our new direction appeared first on Nuffield Foundation .

17 Jun 2026

DWP

Guidance: Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment: run a workshop

This 'Workshop in a box' provides materials to run sessions that gather and share views for the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

17 Jun 2026

EUNIS Community

EUNIS at TNC26: strengthening the bridge between higher education and NRENs

Last week, EUNIS Board members Isabel Gallin and Evelien Renders, together with newly elected Board member Ilja Afanasjevs from Latvia, participated in the annual TNC conference, GÉANT’s flagship event for Europe’s National Research and Education Networks (NRENs). One message is becoming increasingly clear: education is moving higher up the agenda within the NREN community. For many years, GÉANT and the NRENs focused primarily on networking infrastructure. Later, trusted digital identity became a major area of collaboration, leading to services such as eduroam and eduGAIN that are now used by millions across Europe and beyond. Today, the scope is expanding once again. Last week, GÉANT presented its new strategy, which includes education as one of its emerging service areas. This is an important development for universities and colleges across Europe, reflecting the growing recognition that digital transformation in higher education requires close cooperation between institutions, technology experts, policymakers, and the organisations that provide the underlying digital infrastructure. This shift was also visible throughout the conference. The Special Interest Group for Education attracted a full room of participants, demonstrating strong interest from NRENs in supporting educational innovation and interoperability. A dedicated session on European University Alliances highlighted growing momentum across Europe, with an increasing number of NRENs actively exploring how they can contribute to alliance infrastructure, cross-border services, digital identity, and data exchange. To support this growing collaboration, EUNIS and GÉANT are currently developing a Memorandum of Understanding. The aim is simple: create stronger links between higher education institutions and the NREN community. EUNIS can help bring the voice of universities into discussions on emerging services, standards, and policy developments, while GÉANT and the NRENs provide valuable expertise and operational experience from Europe’s digital infrastructure landscape. These developments align closely with EUNIS’s mission to empower digitalisation professionals, strengthen institutional resilience, and help shape the future of digital higher education in Europe. In addition to participating in the programme, the EUNIS representatives also met with potential new members and partners, continuing to expand the network of organisations working together on the future of European higher education. We look forward to collaborating closer with the NREN community in the future!

17 Jun 2026

DWP

Current DWP research being undertaken by external organisations

Check a list of live research being conducted by research organisations for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

17 Jun 2026

Guidance: Buying or selling a business with a gangmaster’s licence

Check if you need to apply for a new gangmaster’s licence when you buy a business.

17 Jun 2026

Schools Week UK

Treasury could claw back savings from reduced teacher pension contributions

Ministers consider pooling savings anticipated by schools to fund 'wider spending pressures' such as defence The post Treasury could claw back savings from reduced teacher pension contributions first appeared on Schools Week .

17 Jun 2026

The Netherlands records first-ever international student drop

During the 2025/26 academic year, there were 129,764 international students enrolled across degree levels at Dutch universities and higher professional education (HBO) – a 0.1% decline of just 133 students on the year before. “Although it is a slight decrease, it certainly indicates a break in the trend,” said Jonatan Weenik, researcher at Nuffic, the Dutch body for internationalisation. The figures, released in Nuffic’s annual report, show a 3.8% decline in new international undergraduate enrolments, while new master’s students were up by 2.9% at universities and 8.4% at HBOs. According to Weenink, the increase in master’s students can partly be attributed to international students already in the country transferring from undergraduate degrees. “If you disregard those transfer students, there is also a decline in the university master’s.” “The fact that enrolment in bachelor’s programs continues to decline likely indicates that the drop in total numbers will continue for some time,” he said. While 2025/26 marks the third consecutive year of declines at the undergraduate level, it is the first time that total students across universities and higher professional education have fallen. Notably, Weenink highlighted a “striking” 28% decrease in new Chinese students, with China falling out of The Netherlands’ top five source countries for the first time since 2006. “A possible explanation for this is the rising position of Chinese universities in international rankings, making students more inclined to study in their own country,” he suggested, noting that Chinese enrolments in other European and Western countries are showing similar trends. Despite remaining the top sending country, the data showed new enrolments from Germany decline by 9% last year, in continuation of a trend seen since 2020. Elsewhere, there was a modest rebound of European students following a three-year decline, as Italy, Romania, Spain and Poland follow Germany to make up The Netherlands’ top five source markets. The fact that enrolment in bachelor’s programs continues to decline likely indicates that the drop in total numbers will continue for some time Jonatan Weenik, Nuffic While overall non-European students decreased by 3.5%, Indian student totals rose by the same amount, with new master’s students from India rising by 16.5%. What’s more, Türkiye overtook India as the second-largest sending country outside the European Economic Area , with both standing closely behind a rapidly shrinking China. Within The Netherlands, the number of international students in the capital decreased for the first time this year by 1.7%. “Amsterdam is, after all, the city with the most international students and has the image of a very international city,” said Weenink. “The decline fits the national picture, but is still striking in that light.” Meanwhile, Eindhoven saw a significant 13.4% increase, largely fuelled by more international students pursuing engineering degrees, something Eindhoven University of Technology is well known for. The 11% rise in international students studying engineering has made it the second-largest field after economics, reflecting universities’ agreement to actively recruit international students only in disciplines facing labour shortages, such as engineering. The data follows several years of federal restrictions on international students in The Netherlands, under the government’s internationalisation in balance bill (WIB) which sought to bring down international enrolments and strengthen the Dutch language in education. Whilst several of the bill’s most controversial measures have been rolled back – including the requirement to formally prove the right of English-taught courses to exist – universities have taken their own measures to reduce international enrolments to sustainable levels. The post The Netherlands records first-ever international student drop appeared first on The PIE News .

17 Jun 2026