Looking back at 2023: the show must go on

All the star turns, plot twists and cameo appearances of another year in research policy

There has been plenty of theatre during 2023 for the UK’s research and higher education sector. Some characters have made their stage debuts while others have departed, all amid intrigue, subplots and the occasional fight scene.

After the chaotic political upheavals of 2022, when everyone was going off script, the government seemed to have got the show back on the road by January. The stage was set by the early launch of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with some familiar faces in the cast.