News and Events

The VET2050 project is launching a series of vision workshops bringing together practitioners, policymakers, employers, and learners to co-design what high quality vocational education and training could look like in England by 2050. These workshops explore long-term challenges and opportunities, from technological change to regional inequalities, and invite participants to imagine ambitious, evidence informed futures for the sector.

VET2050 is funded by the Youth Futures Foundation and delivered by the Institute for Employment Research (Terence Hogarth, Emily Erickson and Stef Poole) in collaboration with colleagues at SKOPE, University of Oxford (James Robson and Yushan Xie ). Our recent blog post provides more detail on the project’s aims, approach, and how these workshops contribute to a wider programme of research and engagement.

If you’d like to stay informed about upcoming workshops, publications, and project activities, we warmly invite you to join the VET2050 mailing list by visiting the our project website.

Register your interest here!Link opens in a new window

Dr Jason Anderson travelled to Assam, India on the invitation of the Government of Assam to deliver an invited talk: “Translingual English-medium instruction (EMI): A pathway to multilingual and multidisciplinary efficacy for international higher education institutions”, and signed a research MOU with Padmini Boruah of the University of Gauhati as part of the conference: International Perspectives on Multidisciplinary Education and Attainment of SDGs in Higher Education, Guwahati, Assam, 29-30 Jan, 2026.

See slides here: https://www.jasonanderson.org.uk/downloads/anderson_2026_translingual_emi.pdfLink opens in a new window

Dr Anderson also delivered an invited lecture at the University of Gauhati entitled: "Exploring the potential of AI with project-based learning: Pedagogy for higher education in the 21st century."

We’re incredibly proud to celebrate an outstanding member of our SELCS alumni community, Sue Sentance (Education Studies) following her recognition in the 2026 King's Birthday Honours.

This is a wonderful achievement and a testament to the impact Sue has made through her work and dedication. Being recognised in this way highlights her exceptional contribution and the difference she continues to make.

Sue's success is an inspiration to our students, alumni, staff, and wider SELCS community. Huge congratulations from everyone in SELCS!

Read more about the Warwick alumni and honorary graduates from a range of fields, who have been recognised in the recent Kings Birthday Honours and Garter Day here.

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Diversity in Data Visualization (Diverse CDT) is a pioneering, fully funded four-year PhD programme jointly delivered by City St George’s, University of London and the University of Warwick.

Applications for PhD studentships with Diverse CDT are now open for 2026 entry.

We have rolling deadlines across several months and the first deadline for submitting an application is 4pm, GMT on 30th January 2026.

Further details here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/cim/apply-to-study/phd-programmes/diverse-cdt/

We are delighted to share some positive results we have received from National Student Survey 2022.

Housing costs are pricing many people out of city living, as demand outstrips supply in areas where there is limited or no new land to release for construction. A new study examines zoning laws in Greater Boston, USA, to better understand what local authorities can do to help.

Since vacant land is scarce in built-up cities and towns and they can’t create new land, local governments must explore other options to tackle this problem.

One approach is to review the zoning regulations which place barriers in the way of building more densely in cities – but until now, the impact of zoning regulations has typically been studied one at a time and there has been limited evidence on which combination of reforms have the biggest effect on supply and affordability.

For example, allowing apartment buildings in certain areas (a popular current policy suggestion) can not achieve much as long as height and density restrictions limit the number of units and floors that can be built.

In their recent paper – Under the (Neighbor)Hood: Understanding Interactions Among Zoning Regulations, published in the Review of Economics and Statistics, Dr Amrita Kulka and her co-authors present the first evaluation of how zoning restrictions combine to impact supply, prices and rents of homes and apartments.

“Being unable to afford a home that meets your needs isn’t just a private problem,” Dr Kulka explains. “It hurts the regional and national economy if people can’t live near the jobs they could do best, it stops young people from building savings and equity in their homes, and prevents people from moving to access better jobs or schools.”

“We found 54 state and local governments around the world which have relaxed one or more zoning regulations in an attempt to increase affordability in their areas – but there is limited evidence on what options work best.

“Our work is the first to create a framework to study how zoning regulations interact and which combination of reforms have the greatest effect on housing supply and affordability.”

The research team chose the three most typical zoning regulations in US cities for the study – regulations which limit construction to single-family homes; maximum height restrictions; and density restrictions – such as rules on how large lot sizes must be, how far houses must be set back from the road, and maximum numbers of units per development.

To simulate the effect of relaxing regulations, or upzoning, the team identified zoning boundaries which ran within Greater Boston municipalities, rather than exploring differences across local government boundaries where other factors might come into play.

The 26,078 zoning boundaries across which at least one type of zoning restriction differs were carefully sifted to remove any boundaries where price and density might be affected by other factors such as access to high-quality schools or other amenities. This left 2,835 boundaries to analyse.

Using lot-level zoning data and housing data from property tax records, the team tested how the different zoning rules each side of the border influenced housing supply, housing type, housing characteristics, land values, and prices or rents per unit.

To increase housing supply, the key combination of regulations proved to be density and height restrictions – areas where both of these regulations were more relaxed had up to 85 per cent more housing units per lot than those where the rules were strict, but with no effect of housing prices. Where density rules alone were relaxed, supply increased by only 7 per cent, while loose height restrictions alone had almost no effect.

To tackle affordability, the key regulations in Greater Boston were density, alone or in combination with relaxation of the other regulations. Where density rules were less strict, prices for single-family homes were around 4.4% lower than the other side of the boundary. Rents were also lower. Allowing more density along with allowing flats increased units per lot by 62 per cent and also increased affordability.

Dr Kulka attributes this in part to the way restrictive zoning regulations influence the composition of a neighbourhood’s housing mix.

“Restrictive zoning regulations push developers towards larger family houses and rental units with more floorspace and rooms, which command higher prices. This means that some households, who would prefer living in a smaller unit, have to overconsume housing, making it harder to live in certain attractive neighborhoods and leaving less disposable income for spending on non-housing items.”

The researchers applied their model to simulate the long-term effects of reforms in Massachusetts. In 2021 the city passed a reform which required municipal authorities to permit multi-family housing and increased density near public transit stops. The simulation found that such small-scale upzoning policies can be an effective way to increase supply and reduce prices, particularly in neighborhoods surrounding train stations in suburban municipalities.

Dr Kulka said:

“Our Greater Boston evidence shows that the most effective way to increase supply and lower prices is to relax density restrictions while allowing the construction of multi-family homes. In other cities and countries, different regulations might be the most restrictive.

“For example, there is evidence of height restrictions being particularly burdensome in Japan. On the other hand, under a non-zoned planning system in the UK, local governments make it difficult to densify areas by designating sites for new residential development that are often on the fringes of cities and towns.

“Our methodology can be applied to any zoning-based system, offering a robust way to identify which combination of regulations policymakers should focus on if they want to increase housing availability and affordability in their city centres.”

• Amrita Kulka, Aradhya Sood, and Nicholas Chiumenti; Under the (Neighbor)Hood: Understanding Interactions Among Zoning Regulations. The Review of Economics and Statistics 2026; doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/REST.a.1736Link opens in a new window

Warwick ESRC DTP New Year's Social happening on Wednesday 4th February 2026.

Dr Sangwoo Lee, Assistant Professor, Institute for Employment Research, said: 'The minor reduction in unemployment seen in today's data, is accompanied by a 0.3 % increase in economic inactivity - partly driven by discouraged jobseekers retreating from the market rather than being absorbed into stable jobs. We're also seeing a gradual shift towards non-traditional working arrangements. Strengthening protection these workers should be a priority.

Warwick Law School organised a flagship one-day workshop at London Climate Week 2026 on ‘Unpacking ‘Green’ Finance: Promises, Practicalities and Performance’. The event, convened by the Climate Finance for Equitable Transitions (CLiFT) network, brought together almost 60 researchers, policymakers, civil society practitioners, journalists, artists and cultural workers, to interrogate international architecture of climate finance and its implications for global climate justice.

The University of Warwick’s Philosophy Department has risen to 38th place globally in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, marking a significant leap in its international standing. Philosophy is one of ten Warwick subjects now ranked in the global top 50, reflecting strong performance across teaching and research.

University leaders highlighted that this year’s improved rankings underscore the department’s growing global reputation and its commitment to high‑impact scholarship. The climb also contributes to Warwick’s strongest overall subject‑ranking performance since 2020, showcasing broad excellence across its academic disciplines. Read the full story here

The University of Warwick’s Centre for Teacher Education (CTE) has received a glowing report following a recent Ofsted inspection, highlighting the exceptional quality of training and support provided to its teaching trainees. The inspection report underscores the University’s commitment to nurturing future educators who are well-prepared and passionate about their careers.