Crossword Genius

A rebel with ambition to rise in the world of scholarship (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

academia

'the world of scholarship' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a rebel with ambition to rise' is the wordplay.
'rebel' becomes 'cade' (15th-century rebel Jack Cade).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'ambition' becomes 'aim' (aim can mean an ambition or goal).
'to rise' is a reversal indicator.
'aim' backwards is 'mia'.
'a'+'cade'+'mia'='ACADEMIA'

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for academia that I've seen before include "Teaching environment" , "scholastic life" , "university life" , "scholarly life" , "Scholarly world" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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