27 August 2020  Issue No: 280

Reimagining the nature of partnerships is not only relevant in postcolonial contexts or in North-South and South-North contexts more broadly, but in any engagement or relationship that benefits from the dismantling of unequal power relations.

The cutting-edge IT field of quantum computing is developing across Africa, with South Africa considered the hub, in part through an IBM centre in Johannesburg that enables academics throughout the continent to freely access its quantum computer network, based in the United States, through the cloud.

Efforts by the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences to map industry demands and identify STEM skills needed to boost job creation in Africa has produced a talent pool that is not only technically qualified, but also able to propose new and innovative solutions to industry challenges.

The Association of African Universities has announced it is collaborating with the African Academy of Sciences to strengthen the continent’s science granting councils under the Science Granting Councils Initiative.

Hong Kong’s academic success is quite remarkable for its size and its higher education’s USP has been its openness, internationalisation and cosmopolitanism. Could all that be about to change with the imposition of the new security law and what will be the wider impact?

There are three main features of the value chain in academic research and publishing – quality, the editorial process and impact – yet all are problematic, particularly for those in certain regions of the world, when it comes to the service provided to society.

The disruption caused by pandemic lockdowns affected day-to-day university work and research, but COVID-19’s impact on all sectors of society has opened the window to changes in research towards tackling societal challenges that require a longer perspective and an interdisciplinary approach.