26 June 2022  Issue No: 698

Academics fear that the incoming chief executive for Hong Kong, a former secretary for security who oversaw the authoritarian crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2019 and is known for his loyalty to Beijing, will adopt an even harsher line towards universities.

A large number of international students who have fled the war in Ukraine are being denied residence permits and told to leave Germany. Higher education and refugee organisations are repeating their demand that ministers should do more to support international students seeking refuge.

Sri Lanka has temporarily shut down at least three state universities due to a prevailing fuel crisis and a collapsing economy that has affected all sectors and led to the interruption of academic activities at most universities as lecturers and students are unable to attend classes.

An analysis of the views held by policy actors about the European Universities Initiative provides a useful lens to explore how European higher education is understood, revealing differences in thinking over issues ranging from physical boundaries to relationships between stakeholders, finances and mobility.

The Millennium Fellowship programme, a leadership development programme that teaches concrete leadership skills and core values – empathy, humility and inclusion – for students to address the Sustainable Development Goals through grassroots initiatives with real social impact, has just announced its first US$100,000 two-year fellowships.

Participants at the Global Forum on higher education leadership held in Dublin last week, discussing the issue of how universities and colleges can respond to populist attacks on democracy itself, turned their focus on how universities can bridge the gap between themselves and the people they are meant to serve.

International students in South Africa whose study visa applications are still pending were granted a blanket extension of their current visa status until 30 June 2022. If any of these applicants elect to abandon pending applications, they are allowed to leave South Africa by this date without being declared undesirable. But what is causing visa-processing delays?

Traditional universities have a lot to learn from what has been happening in emerging economies where hybrid models, bundling of learning content, crowdsourcing platforms and other educational shifts are threatening old models. Institutions that don’t start transforming now may become obsolete in future.