20 April 2023  Issue No: 402

Following several days of fighting between Sudan’s national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and a failed ceasefire, dozens of deaths and a growing number of injuries have been reported in the country in a conflict which is also affecting the academic community.

To check the mass exodus of Nigerian medical doctors abroad, lawmakers are proposing a law that will make it compulsory for medical or dental practitioners trained in Nigeria to practise for at least five years before they are granted a full licence.

If universities enact the five ‘I’s of internationalisation – intent, inclusivity, innovation, interactivity and impact – they can place internationalisation at the core of what they do. This has become critical in an interdependent world driven by common challenges and in need of common solutions.

Early-career researchers from African countries which have limited scientific capacity are set to benefit from a US$5 million research initiative fronted by the World Academy of Sciences, a UNESCO programme unit, with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Education, health and financial access are increasingly digital, and not having the skills or access will only increase gender inequity. Access to digital technologies is now a basic human right, says Professor Margee Ensign, the vice-chancellor of the private United States International University-Africa in Kenya.

A group of innovative universities in Sub-Saharan Africa are working on a common problem. How can they bring economic opportunities to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population? Their solutions to upscale training in digital skills could make all the difference to the continent’s future.

Universities and national policies in the world’s leading international student host countries are increasingly focused on the commercial aspects of international activity. Warning lights are flashing about the academic, economic and ethical risks of viewing higher education internationalisation as an industry. But is anyone listening?

China has announced a major drive to reform university disciplines to increase the proportion in the higher education system of programmes on new technologies and priority industries, while culling subjects that do not contribute to the country’s goal to become a global science and technology power.