The University Experiment

The accelerating pace of change in today’s world means that universities must modify how they fulfil their function of seeking and sharing knowledge.

Innovative ways of teaching, learning and doing research are helping universities around the globe to adapt to the modern world.

Arizona State University is trying to reinvent academia by tearing down walls between disciplines.

High-quality faculty, valued and rewarded, is the key to building a world-class research institution, says Jie Zhang.

Housing industry labs in academic settings benefits all parties, say Jana J. Watson-Capps and Thomas R. Cech.

Massive open online courses are transforming higher education — and providing fodder for scientific research.

Robert Lue enjoys a deft study of online pedagogy.

The e-textbook is only one part of a bigger revolution in online learning.

Undergraduate textbooks are going digital. Declan Butler asks how this will shake up student reading habits and the multi-billion-dollar print textbook market.

Harvard is embarking on an experiment to foster collaboration and interdisciplinary research. Corie Lok looks at whether it can change its culture and reinvent communities along the way.

Five years in, has a lofty experiment in interdisciplinary research paid off?

Pittsburgh's universities are helping the city to emerge from its Rust Belt roots and forge a knowledge economy. Paul Smaglik reports.

The second phase of the German Excellence Initiative is helping scientists and universities. But sustaining its gains in the long term could be a challenge.

The suggestion that women are not advancing in science because of innate inability is being taken seriously by some high-profile academics. Ben A. Barres explains what is wrong with the hypothesis.

Women are still underrepresented in academic science, and universities are struggling to do something about it. But there are efforts afoot, reports Robin Mejia.

A standard test for admission to graduate school misses potential winners, say Casey Miller and Keivan Stassun.