26 March 2023  Issue No: 732

The importance of strengthening the role of universities in fostering peace and security through engagement with governments was raised at a global meeting of more than 75 university leaders in Tokyo last week and will be conveyed to political leaders at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima.

Worsening employment conditions, deteriorating salaries and threats to job security are making the academic profession less attractive, especially to young scholars in Italy, according to a new study comparing salaries, recruitment and retention in public higher education institutions across Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

A study on the use of student informants in universities indicates that the practice has become more systematic and institutionalised since Xi Jinping became China’s president and, over and above its taming effect on course content, it is creating distrust among professors towards their students.

This is part of a weekly University World News special report series on ‘AI and higher education’. The focus is on how universities are engaging with ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools. The articles from academics and our journalists around the world are exploring developments and university work in AI that have implications for higher education institutions and systems, students and staff, and teaching, learning and research.

There are many measures that can be implemented by policy-makers, universities, recognition centres and professional bodies to remove barriers to the integration of those refugees from Ukraine who are seeking employment opportunities or access to education and training in their host countries.

Academic research as a source of information is still trusted by a large proportion of people, which makes it vital that academic publishers around the world look at how to champion open research and empower experts to share their knowledge and perspectives.

Universities in Africa must train a pipeline of interdisciplinary ocean scientists with the knowledge, skills and expertise to meet the growing needs of the Blue Economy and to tackle challenges emerging from global warming as well as overfishing.

Affordability, visa red tape, language barriers and mindfulness on climate change were among the barriers to overseas study discussed at the recent Reinventing Higher Education Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. ‘Global Classrooms’ and immersion in the international culture at home were among the solutions discussed.

Over the past decade, academic freedom has declined in more than 22 countries, including India, China, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to the Academic Freedom Index: Update 2023, which claims to be the ‘first comprehensive overview of academic freedom worldwide’.