25 May 2023  Issue No: 407

African countries have been urged to develop new universities that are entrepreneurial from the outset to counter challenges posed by unemployment, hunger and the vulnerabilities of health risks and climate change as well as competition for scarce natural resources, according to the Economic Commission for Africa.

Close to 22,000 students sought admission to study at the six colleges of the University of Rwanda, but only 8,000 were admitted. A lack of infrastructure and equipment as well as a cut in the government’s subsidy have been blamed for leaving thousands of school-leavers without places.

The digital gender gap is vast in Africa. Yet, women's inclusive participation in the digital sphere is acknowledged to potentially have a significant contribution to make towards addressing the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which underscore the importance of gender equality and women empowerment.

False qualifications can harm an economy in several ways. For instance, they can lower productivity, raise expenses, tarnish reputations, undermine faith in the educational system, and cut tax income. Governments and businesses need to take measures to counteract this issue, such as enforcing existing restrictions.

A new European Union-funded project meant to enhance the training of graduate students and young researchers in Africa has the potential to help ease the shortage of academic staff and researchers at universities. Eight universities in Africa and four in Europe are part of the project.

Many enthusiastic Nigerian university student entrepreneurs find themselves at a crossroads: the businesses they started to alleviate the financial burden of tertiary education are threatening their academic success. In fact, the pressure to run a business can cause more stress and anxiety.

Academic freedom in universities in Africa has dipped significantly in the recent past as a result of threats by political systems, according to researchers. According to them, violations against academic freedom have become a common phenomenon across public universities in Africa.

Big data platforms that provide an integrated view of research data, ensuring that high-value decisions are based on an inclusive, truthful and unbiased view of a country’s research ecosystem are set to radically change the evaluation of individual countries in world science.

Research shows that helping students, particularly first years, to feel a sense of belonging in the university environment sets them up for learning, persistence, success and well-being over the course of their degree – to the benefit of both the students and the institution.

To boost their global rankings, some Saudi universities are enticing highly cited researchers from around the world to switch their primary academic affiliation to that of the Saudi institution, a practice that scientists are worried will dent the credibility of science and must end.