Every couple of weeks, we will post a Guest Blog from a member of staff, or a brief Q&A on an event visited/ general views on HE.

Please check out the HE Guest Blog Archive for more.

This week's HE Guest Blogger comes in the form of the HE Q&A, with Laura Meadows, Assistant Registrar for Teaching Quality stepping up to the plate to give her answers...

The HE Q&A - Laura Meadows

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the university sector over the next year?

"International recruitment and UKBA visa restrictions. I’m using ‘recruitment’ in the broadest way too – this is a problem for the recruitment of staff and students alike."

If you were David Willetts for a day, what one policy would you change?

"I’d get rid of impact from the REF – it’s corrosive. We can’t know and will not know the impact of most research for decades. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth funding. And we certainly can’t know all the outcomes of research before we start – that’s why we do it in the first place…."

If you could go back in time and do a different degree, what degree would you do?

"History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art"

What's your favourite think tank?

"Er… I don’t have a favourite – I actually don’t think they’re that useful…"

What excites you most about your job?

"Listening to academics talk about their research and passion for teaching and why doing both well matters."

Tell us something genuinely interesting about something you're currently working on

"I’m currently working on a business case for a new Humanities Building…."

Tell us something inspiring about why you work in Higher Education

"Higher education can and should be transformational and that needs protecting at all costs."

Which current member of the cabinet would you most (and then least) like to be in charge of Higher Education?

"Most: Eric Pickles.
Least: So many to choose from…Theresa May, George Osborne, Michael Gove… Gove would be the most dangerous at this stage."

On twitter, are you Team @timeshighered or Team @gdnhighered?

"@timeshighered"

Name three words or phrases that are overused in your particular field of higher education

"Innovative; Impact; Student Experience."

What was the last thing that you read about HE that you found genuinely interesting? Please post a link.

http://andrewmcgettigan.org/2012/11/21/uclan-changing-corporate-form/

Do you keep in touch with anyone who does your job but in a different University?

"Yes – at Nottingham, York and Sheffield. They’re really helpful and occasionally running things by them is useful – it’s also interesting to see how other places approach similar issues."

If you could find out more about what any department in the University does, what department would this be and what would you like to know?

"Research Support Services – I’d love to know how to write a successful funding application"

How on top of developments in HE policy do you feel? What area would you like to know more about?

"I feel pretty up to date…"

What is your favourite HE-related word?

"Scholarly"