VC Annual Lecture - Universities in the crosshairs: why they are under attack, and what they should do about it

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford, Professor Brian Cantor hosts an annual lecture which brings distinguished speakers who are experts in their fields to Bradford.

Sir Richard discussed how England is a genuine world leader in the higher education, two British universities sit right at the top of the latest global league tables, and there are 31 in all on the global top 200 – only marginally fewer than the numbers for Germany, France and China combined. The UK has less than 1 per cent of the world’s population, and around 4 per cent of its researchers, who are heavily concentrated in our university system. Between them, they produce nearly 16 per cent of the world’s most highly cited research papers. But its position is under threat from policy errors and political misjudgements at home, and rising competition abroad.

He explored why this is and what should happen now. Watch the full lecture or read Sir Richard Lambert transcript.