27 September 2020  Issue No: 613

India has the talent necessary to develop world-class research universities and there are some promising initiatives from the government. The challenge is not a lack of ideas, it is the absence of sustained support and effective implementation, and in India these are formidable obstacles.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented spurt in global research collaboration in the quest to find a vaccine. Over three weeks, University World News examines the phenomenon that has so far allowed for more than 200 clinical trials to be launched within months of the virus spreading across borders.

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Rectors’ conferences from seven higher education systems in Europe predict a fall in core national funding as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, according to a survey of university leaders conducted during the summer, but in three countries they expect funding to rise.

Criticisms of the University of Ghana and its MBA course by a leading businessman and alumnus offer a good opportunity to challenge the status quo and ask important questions about what a university degree should deliver and the importance of listening to student feedback.

Student leaders say they are living in fear after the Zimbabwe government recently arrested a number of students, including a prominent student union leader, and was accused of being behind the abduction and torture of another.

African countries would benefit from following the implementation of India’s recently announced National Education Policy 2020 which contains several proposals of potential relevance for African higher education.

Education needs to end the “corrosive culture” of vast student debt and stop servicing league tables and competitive metrics which force universities and staff to compete rather than collaborate, according to Professor Jo Littler of City, University of London in the Worldviews 2020 lecture.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a wake-up call and an opportunity to put technology at the heart of policies and plans for improving higher education in Africa, according to the findings of a continent-wide survey conducted by the eLearning Africa and EdTech Hub networks.