NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
HUNGARY
International university ‘in danger’, Ignatieff warns
Brendan O'Malley
A leading international university could be forced to shut down or leave the country after the government tabled a proposal to force foreign-funded universities to meet tough new conditions, including having campuses and offering a similar course in their home country. The Central European University is "in danger" of ceasing operations, according to the rector Michael Ignatieff.
INDIA
Uproar over violent mob attack on African students
Yojana Sharma
An attack on African students in India last week has caused an uproar among students in the country and has sparked an investigation by India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who called the attack “deplorable”, while students said if the authorities failed to curb attacks, India’s aim to be an international higher education destination would be affected.
AUSTRALIA-CHINA
Sydney professor barred from leaving China
Yojana Sharma
The barring of China scholar Feng Chongyi from travelling back from China to Australia where he holds a position at the University of Technology Sydney has unsettled academia and could have an impact on China research and collaborations between Australian and Chinese universities generally, academics fear.
GLOBAL
New data creates world’s largest university ranking
Brendan O'Malley
U-Multirank has published a new release of data drawn from 1,500 universities, creating the world’s largest university ranking, and throwing a spotlight on high-performing universities that might not be picked up by traditional international university rankings.
AFGHANISTAN
American University reopens, defying threats of attack
Shadi Khan Saif
Defying threats of another deadly attack, the American University of Afghanistan has reopened in Kabul with upgraded security. Classes restarted on Tuesday, seven months after militants stormed its compound, leaving 13 dead, including seven students and one lecturer, which forced the university to close down.
SOUTH AFRICA
Universities pay tribute to struggle icon Ahmed Kathrada
Munyaradzi Makoni
South African veteran activist Ahmed Kathrada, who died on Tuesday aged 87, has been hailed by universities for selflessly dedicating his life to fighting for freedom, justice, non-racialism and democracy.
GERMANY-KENYA
Stipend delays cause hardship for Kenyan students
Maina Waruru
Kenyan students studying in Germany on government of Kenya scholarships are facing serious difficulties – including losing their accommodation – because of the failure of the Kenyan government to pay its share of their scholarship stipends on time.
TAIWAN
Ministry tackles research integrity after NTU scandal
Mimi Leung and Yojana Sharma
Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology has said it will set up an Office of Research Integrity to hold researchers to ethical academic standards in the wake of a major academic fraud scandal at the country’s top institution, National Taiwan University or NTU, which has severely damaged its research reputation.
UNITED STATES
Universities fear Trump indirect research payment cuts
Paul Basken, The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Trump administration’s plan to cut billions of dollars in research spending by eliminating indirect cost reimbursements – costs reflecting the legitimate expenses of providing scientists with labs and of complying with a host of essential services – would devastate university science, especially at public institutions, experts warned.
AFRICA
UN fellowships realigned to building Africa’s capacity
Christabel Ligami
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa has relaunched its fellowship programme in line with Africa’s transformative agenda to provide a platform for young African graduates to gain professional on-the-job experience in a range of development-related fields.
GERMANY
Controversial German professor ‘hounded by commissars’
Michael Gardner
The University of Bremen's student union has the right to call Berlin Professor of History Jörg Baberowski a ‘right-wing radical’, according to a ruling by Cologne District Court, but not to take his controversial statements about refugees out of context.
COMMENTARY
GLOBAL
The role of universities in the post-truth era
Ranjit Goswami
Universities face a huge challenge in confronting post-truth. It is the challenge of expanding higher education, while providing high-quality teaching at a time when people are required to deal with a tsunami of data and information – verified or unverified – emerging from all quarters.
NIGERIA
Language politics and the denial of cultural identity
Eric Fredua-Kwarteng
A government plan to teach science and mathematics in indigenous languages at primary schools has been opposed by some academics. They need to ensure their views are based on evidence rather than a desire to protect the status quo.
ASIA
Do national qualifications frameworks work?
Wesley Teter
There is limited evidence that national qualifications frameworks do their job, whether improving learning and recognition outcomes or supporting the mobility of students. To build trust in qualifications we need to strengthen the evidence base for quality assurance mechanisms.
AUSTRALIA
Teaching-only roles could end your academic career
Dawn Bennett, Lynne Roberts and Subramaniam Ananthram
Teaching academic roles in Australian universities have tripled over the past decade, making up around 5% of the academic workforce – and further roll outs are expected. But new research suggests that these roles can be a negative career move for academics.
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?
WORLD BLOG
GLOBAL
Anarchy and exploitation in scientific communication
Philip G Altbach
The world of science communication is in turmoil as a result of a perfect storm of complex issues. As fake journals proliferate and academics face pressure to publish, what can be done to bring some order to the chaos?
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
EGYPT
The strangling of a democratic student movement
Ashraf Khaled
There have been more than 2,300 human rights violations against students since the army's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The ensuing state-led crackdown on universities, including measures to silence students and other critical actors in society, signals an imminent crisis for higher education, according to a new report.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Academic jailed for 10 years for human rights tweets
Dr Nasser Bin Ghaith, a prominent economist, academic and human rights defender, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for tweeting criticism of the human rights record of both Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Before the verdict was given, a coalition of 10 human rights organisations had urged the United Arab Emirates authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him.
HUNGARY
Independent thinking under attack from nationalists
Georgiana Mihut and Daniela Craciun
Amendments to higher education law proposed by the Hungarian government target one international university in particular – the Central European University, which played a central role in rebuilding democracy across the region – and are aimed at forcing it to shut down. It is part of an emerging trend of seeing universities as a threat.
NORWAY
Academia needs to be ready to defend its freedom
Marit Egner
Academic freedom is about the right to freely think, question and share ideas. Now more than ever there is a great need to join forces to promote the academic freedom of university staff, students and higher education institutions around the globe.
FEATURES
NORWAY
An action plan to address the crisis facing humanities
Jan Petter Myklebust
The government has drawn up a white paper calling for more researchers in the humanities and for them to be recognised as a main producer of knowledge, not just a 'helper' to other sciences. Some experts think it should go further, arguing that Norway could establish a 'European cultural brain centre'.
WORLDVIEWS LECTURE
GLOBAL
Populism – Is the academy on the wrong side of history?
How universities come to terms with the rising tide of populism highlighted by the election of Donald Trump in the United States and the United Kingdom's Brexit vote is the subject of the 2017 Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education, "Populism and the Academy: On the 'wrong side' of history", for which University World News is a media partner.
