Higher education reforms rushed through

The UK government’s controversial Higher Education and Research Bill – representing the biggest shake up of the country’s university and research systems since the 1960s – has passed into law, prompting mixed reactions from the country’s academic communities. As part of the reforms, the UK’s seven research councils, along with Innovate UK and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which will become Research England, will be brought together under a new body, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which will be overseen by former chief scientific adviser to the government Mark Walport.