Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of St Andrews and outgoing President of Universities UK, reflected on her journey from Oxford graduate through London publishing—where she “learned to read a balance sheet and make a business case”—to academic leadership in Scottish medieval literature. She outlined Universities UK’s Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce, critiqued the sector’s competitive consumer culture, championed Scotland’s four-year degree and welcomed the Lifelong Learning Entitlement as a chance to diversify pathways. Touring UK institutions, she found “fantastic examples of teaching, research and community engagement,” and remains optimistic that higher education can emerge “in a different shape, but stronger.”

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