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| 02 March 2014 | Issue 0309 | Register to receive our free e-newspaper by email each week | Advanced Search |
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NEWSLETTER
 Education Under Attack 2014 NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report RUSSIA Eugene VorotnikovThe Russian government has designed a new set of rules to combat fake dissertations and degrees. The move is in accordance with a recent order by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev after a series of scandals that exposed well-known politicians, businessmen and officials who illegally received degrees from prestigious Russian universities. EUROPE The European Union Parliament last week supported draft rules that will offer non-European international students and researchers improved living and working conditions. The aim is to boost the ability of member countries to attract the world's finest minds. EGYPT Ashraf KhaledA decision by an Egyptian court last week reinstating police guards at public universities has drawn mixed responses, just before academic institutions were due to resume classes. The court order came more than three years after police guards were removed from universities and replaced by civilian security guards. GERMANY Michael GardnerLeaked pay statistics showing drastic increases in the salaries of university leaders have caused an uproar in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The disclosure comes while universities and the state government are squabbling over new higher education legislation. EGYPT Wagdy SawahelEgypt has inaugurated an observatory for monitoring progress in science, technology and innovation, as part of its efforts to promote the development of a knowledge-based economy through higher education and research reform. FEATURES WORLD BLOG UNITED STATES William Patrick LeonardDue to cuts in public subsidy of higher education in the United States there is an increasing problem of oversupply of PhD students. Several solutions have been suggested, but cutting admissions to PhD courses seems a sensible short-term option. COMMENTARY GLOBAL Stephen WilkinsIt is commonly assumed that English will be the language of transnational higher education, but several institutions deliver transnational programmes in other languages, including Mandarin and Spanish. These are likely to increase in the future, but more likely on a regional rather than a global basis. CHINA Miguel RobergMany universities are vying for Chinese students, but the most successful are those that engage directly with potential students through social media platforms, answering specific questions rather than simply pushing out information to students. AUSTRALIA Andee JonesCensorship of critical voices in academia can take various forms, including social exclusion, which can literally make people sick. FACEBOOK University World News has a popular Facebook group. If you are not a member, do consider joining to see our regular updates, post on our wall and communicate with us and other University World News fans. You can also follow University World News on Twitter @uniworldnews
WORLD ROUND-UP UKRAINE As opposition lawmakers in Ukraine continue their purge of government officials, one ouster causing particular glee is that of the minister of education and science, Dmytro Tabachnyk, writes Daisy Sindelar for Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. UNITED STATES A brochure for the University of Michigan features a vision of multicultural harmony, with a group of students from different racial backgrounds sitting on a verdant lawn, smiling and conversing. The scene at the undergraduate library one night last week was quite different, writes Tanzina Vega for The New York Times. EGYPT The indictment in Egypt of a well-known professor on charges of espionage has sparked new concerns about academic freedom. The government is carrying out a widespread crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that until last year governed the country. Some political scientists say they can no longer speak freely for fear of being accused of supporting the Brotherhood, writes Ursula Lindsey for The Chronicle of Higher Education. CANADA Most people who have attended grade 12 graduation ceremonies or spent time on university campuses in Vancouver or Toronto have seen the signs. But some may still be surprised by a study by Statistics Canada, Garnett Picot and Feng Hou verifying that young Canadians with immigrant backgrounds are almost twice as likely to go to university as students whose parents were born in Canada, writes Douglas Todd for Vancouver Sun. UNITED KINGDOM Controversial plans to create a Stephen Hawking professorship at the University of Cambridge have been passed, despite concerns over the salary that will be paid, writes Jack Grove for Times Higher Education.
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