9 October 2022  Issue No: 711

Leaders from around the world, including the United States, Germany, Canada and France, have expressed alarm over the violent crackdown on students protesting at a leading university in Iran’s capital city of Tehran, with some calling for an immediate end to the repression.

Applications from mainland China students to universities in Hong Kong have reached record highs as unemployment pressures and strict COVID lockdown measures within China, as well as geopolitical tensions with the West, have combined to present Hong Kong as an attractive study destination.

The International USR Summit 2022 sets out to advance the global university social responsibility movement. Here University World News interviews Robert Hollister, senior adviser to the University Social Responsibility Network, on what can drive institutional change and how best to measure universities’ contribution to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.

India’s achievements in science and technology are impressive, but they could have been even better if greater attention had been paid to improving the quality of the country’s research and if more public and private sector investment in research and development had been forthcoming.

With no one candidate winning outright in last Sunday’s presidential election, Brazil and its higher education system – debilitated by threats to academic freedom, disregard for university autonomy, ideological persecution, denial of scientific evidence and serious budget cuts – are standing at a complicated crossroads.

Commercial satellite imagery and open-source data are helping Yale University scientists to identify evidence of alleged war crimes in Ukraine by Russia or its proxies that can later be used in courts, either in Ukraine or the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

A major new commitment to joint action on climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable land use aims to strengthen the flow of vital evidence and technical expertise to where it’s needed most, and support the co-creation of research between universities, government and industry.

Universities can play a leading role in transforming society, but this requires a merit system and research and education funding conditions that recognise the value of engagement with society as well as impact on society, International Association of Universities President Pam Fredman tells University World News.