2 September 2021  Issue No: 326

University education partnerships encouraging internationalisation of higher education in Africa have been urged to do much more to deal with prejudice, discrimination, xenophobia and diversity, among other challenges, that international students encounter when they study away from home.

Six scholars, including three from Ethiopia, will be funded at Princeton University to catalogue Miracles of Mary illuminated manuscripts, opening access to rich African cultural and literary treasures to a wider scholarly audience and seeking to correct the way Ethiopic studies have failed Ethiopia.

The establishment of the public university in Uganda’s Bunyoro Kingdom reflects a trend of regional constituency-demanded institutions but, at the same time, the appetite for ‘own universities’ raises questions about quality assurance and whether these additions are weakening or strengthening the higher education system.

A fifth-year medical student from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and the dean of the faculty of health sciences have joined forces to develop a novel science communication strategy to promote COVID-19 vaccinations and dispel myths about the jab.

Women who have succeeded in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, are in agreement that the individual, her family, her community and her country have to join forces to create a supportive environment with mentors in which girls and women can pursue STEM careers.

International rankings fail to fairly value the contribution of those in the Global South to their societies. To be more equitable, they need to find better ways to recognise and reward what we most need from research and what we ought to value more.

Despite the change of administration, the United States is still facing a number of prevailing winds which will affect its ability to attract international students to its universities. Revenue generation cannot therefore be the priority of national policy for internationalisation of US higher education.

The race to get hundreds of scholars out of Afghanistan and secure their safety continues but has turned from a sprint into a marathon, following the closing of the Kabul military flight evacuations in advance of the 31 August deadline agreed with the Taliban.