1 December 2019  Issue No: 577

The UNESCO General Conference has adopted the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, geared to improving student mobility and access to higher education across regions and continents. It is the first UN treaty on higher education with a global scope.

Five countries accounted for nearly half of all scientific activity around the world as well as the great majority of patents issued during the three years to 2017. According to the latest World Intellectual Property Report, China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States were the dominant countries.

The growth of alternatives to face-to-face higher education and rising appetite for digitally delivered higher education have resulted in an increasing demand for online programme managers. Some universities are now developing in-house expertise in online learning, opening up new opportunities for higher education institutions willing to chase them.

Newly published guidelines from the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee set an important standard for greater mobility and recognition of academic qualifications beyond borders, which could be useful for other regions and globally, following this week's adoption of the Global Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications.

In a stunning rebuke to the province’s Conservative government, Ontario’s Superior Court has quashed the Tory’s Student Choice Initiative. Under the scheme, instead of students being charged a single student union fee set by their university or college student association, they were presented with the choice of opting in or out of fees for clubs or activities.