23 February 2023  Issue No: 394

A consortium of nine American and European universities led by the United Kingdom’s University of Cambridge has won a US$35 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for research work in Africa – an initiative that is raising eyebrows over the level of participation of local collaborators.

Just like their peers across the world, researchers in Nigerian universities have joined the conversation about the use of AI chatbots in higher education institutions. Researchers believe there is no cause for alarm, encouraging people to look more on the bright side of the emergence of AI chatbots.

Universities as co-creators of knowledge have a fundamental role to play in the transition to net-zero and circular economies. One of the critical aspects of this transition involves the process of decarbonisation, which refers to measures taken by an institution to reduce its carbon footprint, primarily its greenhouse gas emissions, to reduce its impact on the climate.

Universities are based around a typical student model that fails to acknowledge the caring responsibilities that many carry. These students deserve the same respect and support as others. The strengths and skills they bring through their roles as carers should be valued and given space in academia.

“It seems that misinformation, disinformation and malinformation on scientific advances is freely available online to all – while credible and authoritative scientific information and data lie behind paywalls, in spite of the open science momentum.” – The United Nations calling for action at its third Open Science Conference.

South Africa lags behind the world in turning its scientific discoveries and research findings into commercial products. Official estimates suggest only 7% of the intellectual property-generated research is commercialised, a paltry figure compared with the international benchmark of 40%.

Africa’s scholarly journals compete on an unequal playing field because of a lack of funding and the struggle to sustain academic credibility. These inequalities are exacerbated by the growing influence of the major citation indexes, say the authors of a new book.

Universities need to resist the urge to recruit hundreds of thousands of students for purely financial gain while host countries deprive the source country of their most capable brains. We need a new system that requires universities to recirculate some of the income to schemes that encourage and reward students for returning home.

To boost Chinese students’ employability, universities in Australia and Chinese students need to do more to address cultural misunderstanding and encourage the creation of effective social networks. Students could do with support in applying for visas, and should improve their English and career management skills.

A project of a Ukrainian media NGO, founded in 2014 by Ukrainian university professors and students, is working to refute Russia’s propaganda and fake news about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Part academic research, part journalistic mission, StopFake’s aim is simple: truth.