26 February 2023  Issue No: 728

An international AI-powered study of more than 14,100 articles in top journals has confirmed the poor reproducibility of (especially experimental) research in psychology – a blow to the discipline. Research methods and citation impact can help predict whether research is reliable, but university prestige and citation numbers do not.

International students from around the world admitted to feeling excluded, exploited, discriminated against and ‘looked down upon’, at a recent special session of the International Higher Education Commission held to let them have their say about their experiences of studying in the United Kingdom.

This is the launch edition of a University World News special report on ‘AI and higher education’. The focus is on how universities around the world are responding to ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools. This will be followed by a weekly series of articles exploring developments in AI that have implications for higher education institutions and systems, students and staff, and teaching, learning and research.

Study programmes that expect memorisation of facts and the passing of high-stakes exams are unlikely to set graduates up for success in the future work environment. So why do some lecturers still resist the call for education that encourages critical and creative thinking?

A leadership development programme introduced by the International Association of University Presidents, which draws its participants, speakers and mentors from the broader global higher education community, is helping new university leaders around the world to prepare for the specific challenges they will face.

Work already done towards the development of internationally comparable ‘education for sustainable development’ or ESD indicators – currently missing from all of the existing higher education sustainability rankings – suggests that universities need to select sustainability indicators mindfully, aligned with their own needs rather than latest trends.

The most important lesson about the unintended consequences of internationalisation is not to be oblivious to the opportunities presented by knowing they exist and, thus, to plan accordingly, say the editors of a new book studying the internationalisation of higher education in 18 countries worldwide.

Confusion reigned last Friday over the suspension of Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In a new twist to a long leadership controversy, it was reported that the council offered to drop all claims against her if Phakeng agreed to early retirement – but she refused.