Only a few months ago British higher education was a boom sector, attracting hundreds of thousands of international students to some of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Then coronavirus struck: exams were cancelled, foreign travel restricted and campuses closed.
The country is in lockdown for who knows how long. In 100 years they may give lectures on the global response to the pandemic, but first universities have to see off an existential threat unimaginable when the new year began.
Facing a funding black hole of up to £7 billion from potential loss of income, vice-chancellors are asking for an emergency bailout from the government to cover the gap created by a likely drop in international students as well as reductions in revenue from