There are demands from many directions that universities should be more relevant (which means different things to different people), more inclusive, less inclusive, that all but a dozen or so should abandon serious research, and so on. These are hardly new, but the pressure will increase as funding 142 universities becomes even more problematic: the student loan system is widely seen to be placing too great a burden on graduates, there is little appetite for an increased contribution from the taxpayer, and income from overseas students is very likely to fall. Universities should be planning now to cope with the increased challenges they will soon face.
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at King’s College London, including terms as Head of Department and Dean of Physical Sciences. Terms on councils of Queen Elizabeth College, King’s College London, London Mathematical Society (also Chair of its Education Committee), European Mathematical Society, Joint Mathematical Council of the UK, and the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. Formerly Honorary Secretary and Newsletter Editor of Save British Science, and Chair of Governors of Highbury Grove School.
