28 July 2019  Issue No: 562

In this time of increasing polarisation and nationalism, universities need to embrace new ways of ‘being’ international, that put human values and the global common good at the heart of internationalisation, and focus on supporting all students to connect to the world in complicated, rich and subtle ways.

Boris Johnson rose to the premiership of the United Kingdom on the back of his promise to hardliners to deliver Brexit by 31 October, with or without a deal with the European Union. But the combination of a no-deal Brexit and work visa regime changes carries great risk for UK universities.

Between 2009 and 2016 the number of private firms specialising in ghost-writing doctoral dissertations tripled in Ukraine. The country faced a drastic need to reform, but so far the changes have been slow and patchy. University autonomy could offer a way forward.

The surge in nativist political populism across much of the world has brought all forms of cross-border engagement and mobility into question. It is not enough simply to say that higher education contributes to the common good. We need detailed evidence to show how.

In the final part of our series on a programme teaching undergraduates leadership skills for tackling socio-economic problems, the students present their solutions to real problems of unhealthy eating and food waste, the stigma attached to HIV testing and unequal access to school due to low parental involvement.

To celebrate 25 years of publication, International Higher Education is inviting contributions from masters and doctoral students and postdocs to an essay contest on “Unprecedented Challenges, Significant Possibilities”, key challenges and opportunities for international higher education in the coming decade and beyond.

Swedish universities are performing well on efficient use of resources and productivity compared with their peers in the Nordic countries, but some could improve their performance, an investigation by the Swedish National Audit Office and national audit offices in other Nordic countries has concluded.