New beginnings

As researchers return to campus, are universities fit to receive them?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. As academics settle back into their laboratories after 18 months of intermittent access, many will be relieved. But for some, that feeling is being overshadowed by the stark reality of working in badly maintained, unfit buildings that lack appropriate technology—under power structures that do not facilitate modern research. 

Last week, academics went on strike in France, in part over the conditions of the country’s university buildings, which unions have called “deplorable”. The government is now reviewing energy and efficiency data on public higher education buildings with a view to fixing the worst.