16 April 2023  Issue No: 735

China has announced a major drive to reform university disciplines to increase the proportion in the higher education system of programmes on new technologies and priority industries, while culling subjects that do not contribute to the country’s goal to become a global science and technology power.

The Japanese government’s latest plan to increase foreign students and expand the number of Japanese students studying abroad, as a landmark initiative to foster internationalisation in higher education, is seen by experts as a bounce back from the last two years of pandemic-related restrictions.

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.

A European Parliament report on academic freedom shows that the issue is taken seriously not just for universities but for society as a whole. The report has some suggestions for ways to tackle differing levels of freedom in a variety of political contexts.

In Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Climate Crisis, Bryan Alexander’s examination of campus architecture underscores how difficult it will be for universities and colleges to find ways to contribute meaningfully to halting, let alone reversing, climate change.

Unable to discern either the financial or pedagogical advantages of Danish government reforms aimed at shortening by one year as many as 50% of the country’s two-year humanities masters degrees, academics and commentators are pointing to the likelihood of a political motive.

A group of innovative universities in Sub-Saharan Africa are working on a common problem. How can they bring economic opportunities to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population? Their solutions to upscale training in digital skills could make all the difference to the continent’s future.