We just passed our seventh birthday, almost without a moment to reflect as earthquakes continued to rock the sector that we champion. But on we must go, and our mission to open up the HE policy debate and promote new and previously unheard voices and perspectives has never felt more vital. We’re not going to rest for a second in that mission.
For those who’ve only recently found us, we’ve grown from a blog about HE policy that I started while working in policy jobs across the sector and ran as a Sunday afternoon hobby, to a tiny startup company in 2014, to an established team of wonks leading the higher education debate in the UK. We provide a suite of information services to the higher education sector, produce amazing events and much more besides.
Here is how Wonkhe has appeared across its major versions:
In technical terms, we’re usually playing catch up with our ambitions. When we moved from hobby status to proper company in 2014 – relaunching the site and brand at the same time – I imagined a busy platform but never envisioned that we’d be publishing as much as we now do every day, alongside a daily email briefing, podcast and all the rest.
The new site reflects our ambition and brings us up-to-date on a technical level. Our articles are the heart of Wonkhe and now have more room to breath. Typefaces are clearer than ever before. Your focus is drawn towards what we think is most useful and important – be that a new job listing, exciting event or great article from our archive. The whole site is bolder.
Our new long read feature gives readers a clear signal that they’ll need to settle in for something substantial (thanks to The Guardian for the inspiration). I’ve never believed that a blog should be limited to 400 words and am excited to promote even more long-form essays, investigations, new ideas and more.
Our now vast archive is more accessible and it’s never been more fun to explore. You can easily find and switch between issues, blog themes and authors to get at what you’re looking for, and the main search function has been dramatically improved.
We’re able to be even more responsive as news breaks around us, ensuring that you can find the best analysis and commentary about individual issues on the home page and the main navigation menu.
As with any new site, there’s a list of features and fixes still to come and we’re not yet using everything the site can do today while the platform beds in. But I’m really happy to bring this new version to life and excited about it continuing to improve in both big and subtle ways.
I hope you enjoy the refreshed Wonkhe experience, please let us know what you think and stay with us on the next step of our journey.