NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
PHILIPPINES
Senate passes bill for free public university tuition
Brennan Weiss
The Philippines Senate has approved a landmark bill to provide free tuition for students in all state universities and colleges. Proponents say it is a collective victory for supporters of equitable access. Critics say making only tuition free is problematic because only the richer households have the resources to finance the other costs of higher education, including living expenses.
UNITED STATES
New ban halted, but foreign student applications fall
Brendan O'Malley and Michael Gardner
Two federal judges last week blocked President Donald Trump’s new executive order temporarily banning entry into the United States from six Muslim countries, while a new survey suggests international student applications are falling as a result of the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant stance and fear of further restrictions being imposed.
JAPAN
Push for foreign students to stay on to work in Japan
Suvendrini Kakuchi
Japan is hiring foreign talent and it is now a top priority that international students attending Japanese universities stay on in the country, with the government offering new incentives such as subsidised company internships, help with finding jobs on graduation, stepped-up Japanese language courses and more streamlined processes for work visas after graduation.
CHINA
World-class universities policy fuels talent poaching
Yojana Sharma
China’s headlong foray into creating world-class universities has caused an internal brain drain of talented academics from China’s poorer central and western regions towards the top-tier universities in the country’s major cities and regions.
GLOBAL
Universities must address local and global challenges
Brendan O'Malley
Universities face a dual and potentially conflicting responsibility to address both the local demands of society based on the race for global competitiveness and local and global demands to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable society, according to new report by the Global University Network for Innovation.
KENYA
As strike ends, universities commit to making up lost time
Gilbert Nakweya
After 54 days of strike action, teaching and learning finally resumed in public universities in Kenya last week Tuesday with university councils being tasked with re-working the semester timetable to make up for lost time.
SWEDEN
Appeal heard against international student fee ruling
Jan Petter Myklebust
The university that was successfully sued by an international student over the quality of its provision in a course for which she paid tuition fees, has been to the court of appeal to try to have the verdict of the district court annulled.
NORWAY
Fees for international students put on election agenda
Jan Petter Myklebust
Minister of Education and Research Torbjørn Røe Isaksen said the Conservative Party will include a proposal to introduce “moderate tuition fees” for students from outside the European Economic Area, in its party manifesto for the general election this autumn.
UNITED STATES
Trump plans deep cuts to higher education spending
The Chronicle of Higher Education reporters
President Donald Trump’s spending priorities include a 13% cut for the United States Department of Education and decreases for agencies that provide academic research, prompting claims that this would signal the end of the US’s role as a global innovation leader and would not be supported by Congress.
AFRICA
Power of e-learning for renewable energy sector – Study
Munyaradzi Makoni
At a time when distance education and e-learning are becoming increasingly popular and accessible, there remains insufficient awareness around the use of educational technologies in the field of renewable energy and its benefits in African higher education, according to a recent study.
COMMENTARY
GLOBAL
University rankings and the battle for talent
Anand Kulkarni
The Global Talent Competitiveness Index shows that there is more than university rankings involved in attracting and retaining the best talent and that cohesive economic and social systems and tolerance for minorities and immigrants play a key role.
CHINA
Are Chinese PhDs becoming more like US doctorates?
Futao Huang
Although there is still evidence of the impact of Soviet ideas, there has been a considerable shift towards United States influence that has led to dramatic changes in China’s doctoral education. Yet while there has been growth and improvement in many areas, challenges still remain.
THE NETHERLANDS
A step towards greater internationalisation in HE
Robert Coelen
Proposed changes to Dutch legislation will allow students at offshore campuses to do their whole degree there and this could bring benefits to both students and staff. Other changes will enhance the ability of universities to attract talented young international scholars.
SAUDI ARABIA
Is halving of student admissions the right strategy?
Ruwayshid Ali
Dramatic cuts to student admissions and scholarships amid falling oil prices are part of a government strategy to tailor education to the needs of the economy by switching investment into technical and vocational education – but not all the numbers add up.
GLOBAL
A perfect storm for international student mobility?
Rahul Choudaha
Political and economic changes are affecting both leading destination and source countries for international higher education. Universities that want to steer a course through the uncertainty and hyper-competition of the next few years will need to be innovative.
WORLD BLOG
GLOBAL
Unfair teacher feedback means demotivated students
Nita Temmerman
Student feedback should be about helping students progress in their learning, not penalising them for originality. Feedback that is unfair and not linked to stated assessment criteria works against students achieving their potential.
WEBINAR
GLOBAL
Seeking globally mobile students in a world in turmoil
The United Kingdom and United States are set on a path to creating more barriers to attracting and retaining international students. The two largest source countries of international students – China and India – have experienced economic changes that have decelerated the ambitions and ability of students to go abroad. What strategic options are higher education institutions considering in response to this turbulence?
Q&A
SOMALIA
Rebuilding a national university after decades of war
Ramadhan Rajab
Professor Mohamed Ahmed Jimale, rector of Somali National University, speaks about the state of higher education in Somalia and the challenge of running a university in what is still an unstable and often hostile environment, and about his hopes of helping poorer Somalis to attain the kind of education that launched his own career. He left Somalia at the height of the civil war to work in universities in Italy and Canada, and returned to the ravaged Somalian capital of Mogadishu in 2012.
FEATURES
CHINA
Talent drive looks to bring in international students
Yojana Sharma
China has stepped up its drive to lure overseas talent in its bid to become an innovation economy, less dependent on trade in manufactured goods. New measures include allowing foreign students to stay on in China after their degrees to take up jobs or internships and reducing red tape around residence permits.
NIGERIA
Students emerge as prime targets for Ponzi fraud
Tunde Fatunde
The government is facing calls for stronger action to prevent students being targeted by Ponzi scheme fraud, after at least 4,000 students from one university were threatened with expulsion for diverting their tuition fees, worth a total of US$6.5 million, into a Ponzi online scheme which has since suspended its operations without explanation.
SCIENCE SCENE
GLOBAL
Dental plaque DNA shows Neanderthals used ‘aspirin’
Ancient DNA found in the dental plaque of Neanderthals – our nearest extinct relatives – has provided remarkable new insights into their behaviour, diet and evolutionary history, including their use of plant-based medicines to treat pain and illness, researchers from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom and the University of Adelaide in Australia have discovered.
