University World News

GLOBAL: Examination howlers: but who is fooling whom?

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:59:34 +0200

As students return to their campuses in Europe and other countries in the northern hemisphere, they will face the first set of examinations for the year. But while they have little choice but to si...

SOUTH AFRICA: Hoax call to deport Zimbabwe graduates

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:00:08 +0200

A statement that appeared in the press calling for the repatriation of Zimbabwean graduates of South Africa's University of Fort Hare, has been dismissed as a hoax. But last week a dozen students w...

TUNISIA: Progress in agricultural R&D

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:04:41 +0200

Agricultural research and development projects have been highlighted in La Presse of Tunis. The newspaper has interviewed Amor Chermiti on the activities of Inrat, the National Institute of ...

MALAWI: Churches try to avert university quotas

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:05:39 +0200

Malawian clerics have embarked on a last-minute attempt to stop a co...

NIGERIA: Telemedicine arrives at Lagos

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:06:33 +0200

Telemedicine has finally arrived in Nigeria via a pilot project rece...

SOUTH AFRICA: Universities face more under-prepared students

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:07:33 +0200

Increased numbers of South African school-leavers eligible for unive...

THE NETHERLANDS: Too few women are professors

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:08:06 +0200

Universities in the Netherlands have 271 full professors who are wom...

FRANCE: More autonomous universities

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:08:51 +0200

A second group of French universities became autonomous this month, ...

UK: Tories to close visa loophole

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:09:38 +0200

A British Conservative government would demand a �2,000 (US$3,250) b...

AUSTRALIA: Indian murder inflames tensions

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:10:24 +0200

The stabbing to death of Indian accountancy graduate Nitin Garg in M...

INDONESIA: Cleaning up higher education

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:11:52 +0200

Indonesia's National Board for Higher Education Accreditation has an...

GLOBAL: Foiled attack spotlights foreign students

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:12:35 +0200

The Christmas Day attempt by a Nigerian student to set off a bomb on...

HAITI: Quake devastates universities, kills academics

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:16:47 +0200

Universities have been destroyed and students and academics killed in the earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday. Unesco urged "academia to show solidarity" and universities elsewhere to take in H...

YEMEN: Talks with China on increasing scholarships

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:44:45 +0200

Yemen and China have held talks about increasing cultural exchange scholarships between Yemeni and Chinese universities, the Yemen News Agency reports. Minister of Highe...

TAIWAN: Universities must be globally competitive: President

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:44:48 +0200

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou stressed on Tuesday the importance of making Taiwan universities globally competitive, and said he hoped they could attract 30,000 foreign students over the next fou...

NEPAL: Scholarships for the poor countrywide

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:47:08 +0200

The Student Financial Support Fund Development Committee (SFSFDC), which falls under the University Grant Commission, is set to provide scholarships to meritorious students from poor and disadvanta...

US: Wisconsin moves to stop use of phony degrees

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:48:05 +0200

Wisconsin International University could be forced to change its name. So might Heed University. And a job applicant who recently tried to claim a phony degree from Madison Business College could b...

US: Researcher on climate is cleared in inquiry

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:49:26 +0200

An academic board of inquiry has largely cleared a noted Pennsylvania State University climatologist of scientific misconduct, but a second panel will convene to determine whether his behaviour und...

CHINA: Test of English but not Chinese 'traitorous'

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:50:00 +0200

Four Shanghai universities that included an English test in their independent admission examinations but chose to leave out Chinese have come under flak for giving "more importance to a foreign lan...

SCOTLAND: University chiefs attack innovation fund

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:51:21 +0200

Lecturers' leaders and university principals last week attacked the handling of a controversial �110 million (US$172 million) fund to boost innovation in Scottish higher education, writes Andrew De...

UK: Seven compete for each place at top universities

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:52:10 +0200

Almost seven students are competing for each place at elite universities in the UK this year amid warnings that record numbers of straight-A candidates will be rejected, write Graeme Paton and Andr...

US: Class cuts wreak havoc at California universities

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:53:02 +0200

California's budget crisis came into stark focus in the halls of Sacramento State University, where many students returning for spring semester were turned away from classes they had hoped to get i...

US: Science funding gets a boost

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:53:54 +0200

A tough budget year could have meant big cuts for science research funding, but as mapped out in the Obama administration's plan for the 2011 fiscal year released on Monday, it doesn't, writes Jenn...

US: University adds worker rights to Abu Dhabi contract

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:55:12 +0200

Workers involved in building and operating New York University's Middle East campus in Abu Dhabi must have protections in areas such as how often they are paid and how many hours they can work in a...

IRELAND: Professors teach just four hours a week: Minister

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:56:04 +0200

Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe has accused some university professors of teaching as few as four hours a week, writes John Walshe for the Irish Independent. They are e...

HAITI: University rector reports on quake devastation

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:56:58 +0200

"It's my first time on the internet since Tuesday's earthquake," writes Dr Jacky Lumarque, Rector of Universit� Quisqueya in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. "My apologies to friends who may have been worrie...

NORWAY: Sacked professor loses case

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:57:50 +0200

A sacked professor of medieval history who sued the University of Oslo for wrongful dismissal has lost the case. Arnved Nedkvitne was sacked by the university's academic senate last year. His claim...

SOUTH AFRICA: Top UK astronomer suspended

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:27:18 +0200

The suspension in South Africa of internationally recognised British astronomer Professor Phil Charles has stunned the astronomy community and raised concerns about this country's relationship with...

UK: Video diaries reveal depths of post-Christmas blues

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:58:26 +0200

The return to university after Christmas is a low point for many students as they face examinations following a festive break that is often less restful than expected. Researchers at the University...

GLOBAL: Examination howlers: but who is fooling whom?

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:59:34 +0200

US: Top 10 higher education state policy issues

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:00:32 +0200

In 2009, two contradictory movements shaped the US public higher edu...

AUSTRALIA: Casual approach to the academic workforce

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:01:47 +0200

The response of Australian academics to the Changing Academic Profession survey indicates that they are among the least satisfied academics in the world. This dissatisfaction has been expressed aft...

NORWAY: A free system but for how long?

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:09:17 +0200

Higher education in Norway is a part of a welfare society and is defined as a public good so 100% of the education part of the budget is publicly funded. Although a few private institutions exist, ...

INDIA: Selling services or spreading light?

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:10:09 +0200

Over the last 20 years, the growth of the global middle class has driven up demand for higher education. A global market for education is operating with new forms of information-ranking systems to ...

EUROPE: Expansion for EU vocational education

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:11:24 +0200

The Greece-based European Union agency charged with promoting vocati...

AUSTRALIA: A golden opportunity for developing countries

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:12:39 +0200

A professor from the Melbourne Business School in Australia has prop...

EUROPE: New methods to clean up industrial processes

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:13:43 +0200

The EU will provide EUR1 million (US$1.4 million) to help a team of UK researchers at Leicester University develop a range of ionic liquid solvents to provide safe, non-toxic alternatives to harmfu...

GLOBAL: Wood to head commonwealth association

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:16:59 +0200

The Association of Commonwealth Universities has appointed Imperial College London's Professor John Wood as its new Secretary General. Wood, currently senior international relations adviser at the ...

SOUTHERN AFRICA: New health research initiative

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:17:20 +0200

A new initiative aimed at encouraging development of health research capacity in Southern Africa has been launched. The academic training project is being funded by the Wellcome Trust of London, on...

EUROPE: Nowotny new ERC President?

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:18:11 +0200

With the retirement of Fotis C Kafatos as President of the European ...

GERMANY: Proposal to train imams at universities

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:19:10 +0200

Germany's Wissenschaftsrat or Science Council has recommended that I...

FRANCE: Paris-Dauphine fees increase may be illegal

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:21:30 +0200

A decision by the University Paris-Dauphine to increase fees for some...

ISRAEL: Controversy over upgrading college to university

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:22:40 +0200

Controversy has erupted over a decision to upgrade an Israeli colleg...

UK: Spending on universities slashed

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:25:42 +0200

English universities are facing massive cuts for the first time in a...

GLOBAL: Ranking universities by web popularity

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:28:00 +0200

A company that produces an online ranking of the world's universitie...

EUROPE: EUA president promises rankings review

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:32:19 +0200

University rankings can sometimes be confusing and should not be the...

EUROPE: Developing a worldwide league table

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:34:05 +0200

The European Union plans to publish a worldwide ranking of universit...

US: Voluntary support down by 12%

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:26:29 +0200

It is hardly surprising that voluntary support for US colleges and u...

CANADA: China snubs university over Dalai Lama

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:55:52 +0200

The Chinese government has removed Canada's University of Calgary from its list of accredited institutions - a move school officials fear is linked to the Dalai Lama's visit last autumn, writes Gwe...

UK: Climate change scientist 'hid' data flaws

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:49:03 +0200

Professor Phil Jones, the beleaguered British climate scientist at the centre of the leaked emails controversy, is facing fresh claims that he sought to hide problems in key temperature data on whi...

INDIA: Finance for poor students on the cards

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:45:20 +0200

To help students from financially poor backgrounds pursue higher education, the Ministry of Human Resource Development is contemplating the formation of an Education Finance Corporation to provide ...

JAMAICA: Government ponders fund for needy students

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:46:21 +0200

Jamaica's government has agreed to consider, for the next financial year, a programme of support for tertiary students in dire financial distress and at risk of deregistration, reports ...