In a pair of books exploring aspects of Jewish identity, Devorah Baum reflects on Jewishness and the human condition. She talks about turning uncomfortable ‘Jewish feelings’ such as guilt into something positive, and how humour is a way of coping with life’s trials
Industrial and commercial partnerships for economic growth are important, but universities must also look to the public and third sectors, says Claire Taylor
Ministers are foolish to abandon the conclusions of the 1971 review that has informed UK research policy for 45 years, say Donald Braben and John Dainton
The radio show In Our Time is a sort of academic seminar on the airwaves. Its presenter tells Matthew Reisz about bringing scholars to the public, and the risks UK academia faces
New data show how universities took up the slack when businesses cut back on R&D. But the crisis also led to greater demands on universities to boost growth
John Morgan witnesses a pioneering collaboration between two Sheffield universities, drawing upon the city’s manufacturing heritage to become a hub of industrial innovation and a model of civic engagement
Academics able to link their expertise to world events can raise their personal and institutional profiles to previously unimaginable levels, says Russell Reader
The $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a huge opportunity to build academic capacity in Pakistan, say Abdur Rehman Cheema and Muhammad Haris
Stephen Mumford tells Matthew Reisz about his desire to bring his discipline to a wider audience, why Norway was the perfect place to write his Cartesian debut novel and why insights into causation have more practical relevance than might first appear
Horizon 2020 could have more success getting technologies off the ground if it does not neglect the basic work that sparks breakthroughs, say Geert de Snoo, Floor Frederiks, Peter Lievens and Katrien Maes
Conducting clinical trials during an epidemic for the first time, researchers fast-tracked the creation of a vaccine for Ebola, but not before 11,000 people had died
Life science is a big part of the UK government’s industrial strategy, but neglecting basic research will drive top researchers abroad and threaten the flow of translatable discoveries, says Philippe Froguel
Universities in the US, South Korea and elsewhere must contribute to the advancement of the knowledge-based industries of the 21st century, says Doh-Yeon Kim
Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania deploy a host of financial and intellectual resources to help locals build richer, healthier, more inclusive cities. John Morgan reports
For British science to thrive rather than just survive, EU partnerships and global recruitment remain key to fruitful collisions of concepts, says Ian Walmsley
Funding bodies must foster a long-term vision for public awareness if research is to gain a place in the cultural mainstream, say Sam Illingworth and Andreas Prokop
