Andrew Gunn

Unusually busy for August on the University of Manchester campus today … because of all the people wanting to see a giant cat at the museum. The cat that slept for a
thousand years is free to visit until September 14th

Walking through the University of Bonn campus today

Beyond the buzzwords: rethinking diplomacy through the lens of higher education Marina Cino Pagliarello Diplomacy is under pressure - from climate change and trade inequalities to military conflicts on multiple fronts. Russia’s war in Uk

On the ECPR #EuropeofKnowledge blog Marina Cino Pagliarello explores how #universities increasingly act not just as knowledge producers but as strategic actors in global diplomacy- shaping cooperation, trust, and influence across borders #diplomaticactors era.ideasoneurope.eu/2025/06/24/b...

Why we must save the University of York’s Vice-Chancellor’s House York is one of a growing list of universities eager to bulldoze their 20th-century architectural heritage, writes Yanqi Huang

Why we must save the University of York’s Vice-Chancellor’s House by Yanqi Huang. Interesting opinion piece on the future of the architecture of the 1960s ‘plateglass’ universities. www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/opinion...

Excellent new piece by my @educationuom.bsky.social colleague, Zhuo Min Huang. advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-vie...

Interesting new article on Comparing city governance models for economic development: the emergence of shared, visionary leadership? By Prof Georgina Blakeley et al. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

When teaching competes with research for academics’ attention: addressing a key challenge in developing teaching excellence in the European university Many academics prioritise research activity over the pursuit of teaching excellence – a prioritisation that threatens the European Commission’s agenda for teaching excellence in higher education. T...

When teaching competes with research for academics’ attention: addressing a key challenge in developing teaching excellence in the European university. Insightful new article from my @official-uom.bsky.social colleague Professor Linda Evans. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Academic writing is getting harder to read—the humanities most of all We analyse two centuries of scholarly work

“We found that, in every discipline, the abstracts have become harder to read over the past 80 years. The shift is most stark in the humanities and social sciences, with average Flesch scores falling from around 37 in the 1940s to 18 in the 2020s.” Reposting this.

www.economist.com/science-and-...

Pictures from my visit this semester to the European University Institute Florence. I presented at the KIND-Knowledge and Informal Diplomacy-conference on universities as informal diplomatic actors. As a diplomatic act, I presented my host Marina Cino Pagliarello with UofManchester Bicentenary book

Well done Ian. I look forward to hearing more about it.

If you are working on HE policy in Asia, please consider joining our panel on "Comparing Higher Education Policy in Asia: Politics, Actors, and Processes" at the 2025 ICPP conference in Chiang Mai.

Deadline for proposals is January 31:

www.ippapublicpolicy.org/conference/i...

Re-post and follow us to enter our draw to win our latest #coldwar #bookgiveaway with @craigunger.bsky.social

US/CA/UK addresses only
Click on the link below for other ways to enter and T&Cs.
⬇️⬇️
coldwarconversations.com/giveaway/
⬆️⬆️

The University of Manchester campus this morning with a bright sun low in the sky

My condolences to his family. He will be remembered by those who worked with him at the University of Sydney and across the Network worldwide.

In Memoriam: John Hearn, WUN Executive Director 2009-2018 - WUN Professor John Hearn concludes his work as WUN’s Executive Director on 31 July 2018

In Memoriam: ProfessorJohn Hearn former Executive Director of Worldwide Universities Network. I am saddened to hear of John’s passing. He ran WUN in all the years of my involvement and invited me to meet him at his Sydney home when I was researching alliances. wun.ac.uk/article/wun-...

Today 👇

Join us on 13 Nov for our Global Public Seminar in Comparative and International Education
Tatiana Fumasolli will discuss: One size fits all? The role of Hong Kong universities in the emerging Greater Bay Area.
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

That’s the ECPR General conference all over for another year. Great to visit University College Dublin this year 🇮🇪☘️ #ecprgc24

Great to visit the Universally Manchester festival on campus this weekend, part of the University of Manchester bicentenary celebrations #UoM200. We also had some Mancunian sunshine 🐝🎈 🌤️🎓

Too busy to read our analysis of REF Environment Statements? Check out our handy 6-minute blog post version here! 👇🏻👇🏻@mjinglis.bsky.social @lizstokoe.bsky.social

Great to have Professor Michael Mintrom of Monash University visit the University of Manchester in the #UoM200 bicentenary year. Michael held a workshop on public policy analysis and met with some students from our MA International Education who presented him with a gift

Professor Duncan Ivison will succeed Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell as President & Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester on 1 August 2024. Congratulations to Duncan!
www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/new...

Knowledge Politics and Policies European Consortium for Political Research

Call for papers for a panel on ‘The European Universities Initiative (EUI) between consolidation and expansion’ at @ecpr.bsky.social 2024 conference. Chaired by Marina Cino Pagliarello & Andrew Gunn. Contact us if you have a paper you would like to present in Dublin #ecprgc24 ecpr.eu/Events/Event...