A few weeks ago, I wrote a draft introduction for this magazine’s accompanying weekly newsletter, the QS Midweek Brief (subscribe if you haven’t), in which I reflected on the Higher Education Policy Institute’s debate paper, ‘Preparing for populism’.

It’s a valuable and instructive document and I recommend you read it when you get the chance. It provides indepth analysis of the political landscape British universities are currently struggling to navigate, and provides some ways forward, and has broad applications to other countries.

At the time, I wrote the following, highlighting what I thought was one of its more important points:

“[The report argues that] the sector must reframe its core offer. In particular, the paper argues that the sector should focus on shared narratives of national renewal rather than individual wealth, at least within the political realm. To borrow a populist phrase, universities should show the public how they are ‘Making Britain Great Again’.”

I ultimately chose to rewrite the introduction for a few reasons. The main reason, however, was that I thought the political overtones did not quite match the spirit of the articles it was accompanying, particularly “Unis urged to use research to remain relevant”, which is included in this edition of the magazine.

For the cover story of this edition, HEPI’s debate paper is significantly more relevant. ‘Ripple effects’ explores the broader impact of the US’ negative higher education policies on broader internationalisation efforts. We already know international student numbers to the US are decreasing – although I feel it should be noted that with over a million, the US still has a lot of international students.