6 February 2022  Issue No: 678

Universities need to look beyond the traditional source countries when deciding how best to target international student recruitment. But diversification strategies also need to create more inclusive campuses, say experts behind a new study into the next frontiers for diversifying student recruitment.

The Taliban have announced that they have reopened public universities for women in six provinces with a warmer climate. But with an exodus of hundreds of professors, the prospects for some top public universities reopening and classes returning to normal are grim.

While the European Students’ Union welcomes some of the recent proposals on European higher education strategy, it wants to see stakeholders, including students, represented within the High-Level Group on Education and Training, and to see students involved at the national level, shaping governments’ positions on European Education Area issues.

Data storage is complex and COVID has increased the amount of data available and brought new challenges. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but universities need to ensure their data storage plans demonstrate value, scale easily and fit with their future priorities and plans.

Many universities in the United States have started the semester online due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID. They need to think sensitively about the support they offer to international students, many of whom are fearing for their health and their finances.

A lack of funding is the primary reason for a slump in research activities in Nigeria, a recent study has found. According to experts, this explains why, after almost a century of academic knowledge generation in higher education institutions in Nigeria, any scientific breakthrough remains rare.

Students are seeking a paradigm shift from mobility to engagement, more co-creation of learning and learning pathways and a greater focus on climate change, employability and the impact of artificial intelligence, according to new UNESCO research on students’ vision for higher education in 2050.