Vivienne Stern is the chief executive of Universities UK, a membership organisation that represents 140 UK universities. In this role, she's had to weather a raft of challenges from Brexit to the Covid pandemic. 

Host Will Hutton joins her in this conversation where they delve into just how important universities are for Britain, and how these treasured institutions can be protected for future generations. 

This is the first episode of Season 4 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences which tackles the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live. 

Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems.  

Don't want to miss an episode? Follow the We Society on your favourite podcast platform and you can email us on wesociety@acss.org.uk and tell us who we should be speaking to or follow us on twitter  https://twitter.com/thewesocietypod

Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk