So, let's play predicting the future of UK universities. Obviously they'll need to cut costs, and staff costs will be the first thought of most senior managers.

The easiest way to do this will be not to renew short-term contracts and not recruit any new staff to these contracts.

That means teaching loads will increase for permanent staff, as they cover the teaching that used to be done by precarious colleagues.

Research time will be eroded (to zero in some institutions) and research expectations will be reduced for a while, but then will return to normal once REF is rescheduled. Research time will not return to normal.

This will mean more pressure to get external funding for research, and will widen the gap between people spending more time on externally-funded research and people spending more time on teaching.

In the meantime, those just finishing their PhDs around now will effectively be passed over, because when recruitment restarts universities will recruit people just out of PhDs, not people who graduated a few years ago and haven't been able to work in academia since.

Universities will also become much more sensitive to how individual staff members drive recruitment. Those who run large masters programmes or give hugely popular first year lectures may be more valued, those who teaching under-recruiting courses will be under pressure to change.

Spending will shift from providing plush halls and sports facilities to providing a better online experience.

So, we may be able to break our dependence on casualised staff, but probably not by giving more people permanent contracts, so much as changing the working lives of those who already have permanent contracts.

Obviously there are going to be lots of other things going on as well. I'm only thinking about individual universities, and not the sector as whole. So - what am I missing at the moment?