30 July 2023  Issue No: 750

The visa applications of more than half of African students who applied to study at universities and colleges in the United States failed during 2015 to 2022 – and the rate is climbing, says a new study, which also revealed that the US is becoming less welcoming to foreign students in general.

Higher education authorities in Cameroon have suspended PhD admissions in all 11 state universities for the 2023-24 academic year. Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, the minister of higher education, urged the rectors and vice-chancellors of these institutions to halt PhD admissions until new conditions laid down by the government have been met.

The recent missile attack on Odesa’s ‘House of the Scientists’ has galvanised efforts of Ukrainian scientists determined to lend their expertise to defend their country against current Russian aggression as well as centuries-old attempts to obliterate the Ukrainian language, culture and scholarship.

In the wake of a series of significant de-Europeanisation measures in operation across higher education and research, uncertainty still persists as to whether the United Kingdom will sign up to the Horizon Europe research programme, which represents the sector’s last rampart against total de-Europeanisation.

Future higher education systems around the world will need to proactively prepare for changes in demand as a result of variable demographic trends. This calls for a fresh approach that prioritises quality, relevance, equity and inclusion, supported of course by technological advancement.

Realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals depends upon the integrated work of a community of bureaucrats, scholars, experts, activists and citizens from different backgrounds. Not only part of that community, the humanities also play a role in preparing people for participating constructively within it.

The profile of who gets into the most selective universities is changing, with over a quarter of overseas entrants to English Russell Group first degree courses now paying higher fees, according to claims by one of Britain’s top higher education data experts.

Increasing investment in open-access publishing and seeking more opportunities for research collaboration are some of the things that could help academics who are working at institutions in Africa to get published more often, ultimately getting noticed and enabling career progression.

A prestigious German university has decided to suspend collaboration with students funded by the China Scholarship Council “to reduce the risk of industrial espionage”. It is the first university in Germany to openly break with the Chinese government scholarship scheme.