8 November 2020  Issue No: 619

Using the brands of universities which generate income from student fees, edtech and online programme management providers in partnership with universities have already opened a new page in the de-professionalisation and fragmentation of academic labour, casualising higher education work and creating more low-paid insecure jobs.

It seems obvious to say that higher education or universities have been deeply disrupted by COVID-19. This effect is not surprising – we have been and are, after all, living in an age of disruptions and crises that have not spared universities. COVID-19 has simply exacerbated those ongoing disruptions and crises.

Despite progress, refugees still face obstacles when it comes to having their qualifications recognised and gaining access to further studies. COVID-19 has brought greater urgency to ensure refugees are not left behind and 2020 has seen some important progress and significant collaborative projects.

On 25 November University World News, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, will be bringing together experts and practitioners from the International Association of Universities, the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program in an online webinar on how universities can improve their social impact.

Top public and private research institutions in India are building alliances with universities and higher education organisations in Europe to pave the way for future consortiums to bid for projects under Horizon Europe, the European Union’s successor to its Horizon 2020 research programme.

These are difficult times, but University World News’ readership is expanding rapidly due to our extensive coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on higher education globally. If you value what we do, you can help us build our audience further simply by sharing any of our articles on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Or you can help us secure our future by making a donation – just click on the yellow advertisement below.

Strategic planning is a key management technique in African universities, but to be wholly effective the process must be based on grassroots involvement in every aspect and it should have the university’s mission statement, the articulation of its purpose, at its heart.

Issues of race and racism continue to permeate the experiences of United States students of colour who study abroad. So is it time for study abroad to move beyond the broad rhetoric of diversity and inclusion and begin to embody and lead an antiracist agenda in international education?

To withstand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Refugee Agency has been calling on governments, the private sector, civil society and other key stakeholders to improve the access of refugees to university education. Higher education experts have echoed the call, highlighting the vulnerability of African students in refugee camps in particular.