27 July 2023  Issue No: 413

The visa applications of more than half of African students who applied to study at universities and colleges in the United States failed during 2015 to 2022 – and the rate is climbing, says a new study, which also revealed that the US is becoming less welcoming to foreign students in general.

National and international academics have warned Guinea-Bissau that the expansion of its higher education must not sacrifice quality and relevance, so that academics and students are better able to meet the needs of one of the world’s poorest and most fragile countries. Its new government has food for thought.

University World News reports on the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative or HESI Global Forum – which highlights the critical role higher education plays in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs – last week and the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which is reviewing progress towards the SDGs half-way to 2030.

The death of Dr Anshu Padayachee, the CEO of the Technological Higher Education Network South Africa, has deprived the tertiary education landscape of an outspoken teacher, researcher and administrator, someone who would not hesitate to phone any government minister in South Africa to put things right.

The establishment of the Mandela Institute for Sustainable Futures by Nelson Mandela University in South Africa is set to contribute towards building a strong pipeline of early-career researchers, critical in providing transformative interventions to the wave of planetary health challenges in South Africa and across the African region.

South Africa’s Nelson Mandela University or NMU launched a Giving Campaign on 3 July to commemorate the birth of the late president Nelson Mandela on 18 July. It is an integral part of NMU’s commitment to be an engaged university that pursues a sustainable, just society, writes Deputy Vice-Chancellor André Keet.

Despite Africa’s contribution to the global Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, research output, which has increased over the past 35 years, only a modest improvement in scholarly work compared to the continent’s burden of infection has been seen, a new study has found.

Increasing investment in open-access publishing and seeking more opportunities for research collaboration are some of the things that could help academics who are working at institutions in Africa to get published more often, ultimately getting noticed and enabling career progression.

Professor Olusola Oyewole, secretary-general of the Association of African Universities, has called for impactful research that can tackle societal challenges and, looking ahead to the 22nd Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities from 4-7 July, said the Africa Charter for transformative research collaboration will be launched.

A national survey in the United Kingdom aimed at identifying reasons why university staff members are choosing to leave their jobs points, among other issues, to a work-based culture which permits and fails to address or sanction a prevalence of bullying, harassment, intimidation and discrimination.

It is hard to find any winners in the United States Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action at universities, which, in addition to changing the face of higher education, is likely to herald significant repercussions for industry and society as a whole.

A prestigious German university has decided to suspend collaboration with students funded by the China Scholarship Council “to reduce the risk of industrial espionage”. It is the first university in Germany to openly break with the Chinese government scholarship scheme.