Africa Top Stories
AFRICA
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Leadership and governance are of critical importance
Wachira Kigotho
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.
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AFRICA
Maina Waruru
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SUDAN
Wagdy Sawahel
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NIGERIA
Afeez Bolaji
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Africa News
RWANDA
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Jean d’Amour Mbonyinshuti
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.
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SOUTH AFRICA
Alicia James
South Africa has not placed the same emphasis on private higher education as a driver of training and development nationally as it has done with public higher education. The sector has also not been considered a worthy stakeholder to support the national agenda and drive national development and transformation targets.
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TUNISIA
Wagdy Sawahel
While students in Tunisia are calling for protests against the arrest of two students for publishing a song on social media criticising oppression and abuse, academics and public figures signed an open letter expressing solidarity with political prisoners and the opposition leader, Rached Ghannouchi, who was jailed earlier this month.
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SENEGAL
The University Cheikh Ahmadoul Khadim in Touba, Senegal, organised a workshop to explain the ‘LMD’ higher education system to teaching and research staff, and improve their proficiency in operating it. This will enhance the mobility of students and teachers nationally and internationally.
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Africa Commentary
AFRICA
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Wondwosen Tamrat
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.
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Africa Blog
SOUTH AFRICA
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Victor J Pitsoe
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.
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Research
EUROPE-AFRICA
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Maina Waruru
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.
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Africa Features
NIGERIA
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Abdulwaheed Sofiullahi
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.
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Top Africa Stories from Last Week
AFRICA
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Wachira Kigotho
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.
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AFRICA
Wachira Kigotho
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GLOBAL
Samia Chasi and Savo Heleta
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GLOBAL
Ruksana Osman
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SOUTH AFRICA
Mthobisi Ndaba
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Global Commentary
GLOBAL
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Waldemar Siwinski
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.
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NETHERLANDS
Hans de Wit
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SINGAPORE
Furong Li
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MEXICO
Bertha Alicia Saldívar Barboza, Sadie Guerrero, Irving Hidrogo and Enrique Cortés
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World Blog
AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND
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Jack Goodman
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.
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Global Features
GLOBAL
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Wagdy Sawahel
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.
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JAPAN-GLOBAL
Suvendrini Kakuchi
A meeting of science ministers of the G7 advanced economies held in Sendai, Japan, last week called for appropriate rules to protect against “outside interference” in international education and research to improve research security and integrity.
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UKRAINE
Nathan M Greenfield
The sense of a national mission among students and academics living outside Ukraine – to use their intellectual skills to rebuild their country – appears to be strong, but there are many factors that could affect the decision to return, and many ways to rebuild.
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UNITED KINGDOM
Nic Mitchell
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HONG KONG-CHINA
Yojana Sharma
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Sponsored Article
University of Victoria staff
Accelerating Community Energy Transformation is a University of Victoria-led collaborative initiative that brings together over 40 partners, including Indigenous knowledge keepers and community leaders, to create innovative place-based solutions for energy system transformation.
Promoted by the University of Victoria.
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Sponsored Article
Stellenbosch University staff
Africa needs to stop paying the price for the rest of the world’s recalcitrance to act fast enough in response to the irrefutable conclusions that climate change is real and that the impact of global warming could be devasting, says Professor Guy Midgley, interim director of the School for Climate Studies at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Promoted by Stellenbosch University.
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Sponsored Article
UAE University staff
Researchers from the United Arab Emirates University have shown that the potential benefits of building energy savings and a cooler indoor environment, as well as improved cooling effect on air temperature at pedestrian level, strongly indicate that a cool roof with high solar reflectance and albedo is a promising strategy for buildings in regions with hot, arid climates.
Promoted by United Arab Emirates University.
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Sponsored Article
Aftab Dean
A new university ranking system aims to serve as a catalyst for positive transformation in higher education, ensuring that universities create an environment grounded in integrity and sustainability that inspires and supports students and staff in the development of novel solutions to global challenges.
Promoted by Globethics.net.
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Sponsored Article
University of Pretoria staff
In the publication of its first progress report on its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, the University of Pretoria is navigating new territory at the same time as it is acknowledging its clear stewardship role in protecting the environment and biodiversity.
Promoted by the University of Pretoria.
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