On 12 November this year the research work of the ESRC/HEFCE Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) begins. At a time when higher education and research have never been more central to society and economy, CGHE (pronounced ‘SEE-GEE’), has been funded for five years by the UK Economic and Social Research Council to carry out 13 research projects on the future of higher education in the UK and across the world, in collaboration with partner researchers and stakeholders in higher education.