The timely and provocative articles by Shirley Walters and Han Soonghee in PIMA Bulletin No 26 raise fundamental questions about what kind of society we should aspire towards, and the role of adult learning in achieving such a society.

An interesting piece in the New Statesman on the ongoing degree inflation (with First Class degree awards being 7% in 1994 and 29% in 2019) and how it might have much wider implications and repercussions for the UK economy in comparison with its competitors. The author asks why such improvement has not been reflected in soaring productivity – instead of the UK having one of the lowest levels of productivity amongst its economic competitors.

The British Council has recently made an award to Donetsk State University of Management in the Ukraine to progress the field of leadership development. A Certificate has been awarded as part of a training programme which included a week-long visit to University of Glasgow from the Rector and Vice Rector of the university and three other staff. The visit to Glasgow provided an opportunity to learn from the experience of staff at Glasgow University and included lectures, workshops and visits within the School of Education. A cultural programme was also organised in the city.

Congratulations to Srabani Maitra and her team for winning support for a project entitled, 'Building Research Collaboration with India and Kyrgyzstan to explore the role of universities in developing skills for smart cities'.