7 May 2023  Issue No: 738

Top research institutions such as Canada’s University of Waterloo are implementing multilevel research security plans that seek to safeguard both the sensitive research undertaken at the university and its researchers, while at the same time honouring the cherished principle of academic freedom.

India’s higher education regulator, the University Grants Commission, last month released draft guidelines for the incorporation of Indian Knowledge Systems, or IKS, into undergraduate and postgraduate higher education courses in a move seen as epistemic decolonisation by some and nationalistic propaganda by others.

The Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, which entered into force in March, represents a true milestone in the international legal framework for qualifications recognition and an important step in boosting international student mobility and helping refugees access education.

Building cyber resilience in higher education institutions is a process that starts with a review of existing systems, requires investment in the areas that need it most, and can be maintained only through continued review and an ongoing commitment to cybersecurity from everybody.

An interdisciplinary research network of French institutes and African universities has been launched to provide a mobilisation framework for the sustainable management of land and territories in the area of the Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel. It aims to reverse the degradation of vital ecosystems and address climate crises.

South Korea is ramping up its research, training and international collaborations as part of its push into space, which includes setting up the Korea Aerospace Administration – its own version of United States space agency NASA – and big increases in the country’s space-related budget.

The higher education community in Sudan, including several universities, their academics and students, has taken a stand as part of a pro-democracy movement to call for an end to the war in the country and for humanitarian support for citizens affected by the military clashes between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.