Issue #47: September 2025
People, Not Just Numbers: Strength in Community
As a new academic year begins, campuses are buzzing with fresh energy. Students are arriving, colleagues are reconnecting, and all of us are bracing for the pace that September always brings. It’s a time of possibility and of pressure, of fresh challenges and opportunities, not just for students, but for all of us working in HE. It’s a time to reflect on the power of community, collaboration, and the shared purpose that drives us forward.
In this edition, we’re celebrating just that. Our award-winning Scotland Network coordinated by Andrew Unwin and Martina Leo, shares the story of how connection, creativity, and collaboration can spark meaningful change, and why sometimes the simplest ideas are the most powerful. Alongside this, Jake Harding and Martha Horler explore how we measure engagement and success in higher education. Their piece asks a vital question: are students simply headcounts on a register, or people whose learning journeys are far richer and more complex than attendance data can capture? It’s a reminder that while data is powerful, it is compassion, empathy and context that make it meaningful.
We also spotlight the UK’s first so-called “super-university,” created through the merger of Kent and Greenwich. From autumn 2026, the new ‘London and South East University Group’ will serve almost 50,000 students under a single vice-chancellor. The Office for Students has welcomed the move as an innovative response to financial challenges, while UCU has raised concerns about job losses and instability. Whether viewed as a pragmatic adaptation or a symptom of crisis, the merger highlights the turbulence HE is facing.
As ever, these stories demonstrate what makes higher education unique: it’s not just about policies, strategies, or numbers, it’s about people. Together, these contributions set the tone for the year ahead: one where we continue to adapt, innovate, and support each other, but also one where we remember to see the human stories behind the numbers.
