Ask not what you can do for the humanities, ask what the humanities can do for you! Humanities teaching and research in higher education are under huge pressure. Facing major challenges in student recruitment, financial sustainability, the loss of specialised knowledge and skills, the expectation to show clear research impact, the challenge of preserving and reinventing humanities for the 21st century is real and urgent. Yet the humanities are an inheritance from the earliest formation of the university, are part of its essence, and must play a role in ensuring the universities of tomorrow have the breadth of understanding needed to fulfil their purpose in a complex world. How can universities make sure that they are themselves getting full value from the knowledge and methods developed through the humanities?