Top Stories
The hope is for an end to fees for both authors and readers
Publicly funded research outputs should be immediately and openly available to all without barriers such as subscription fees or paywalls, say European scientific community leaders who welcomed a recent 20-point plan agreed by the Council of the European Union to encourage open science.
PHOTO
News
Women and older international students will feel the brunt of a new clampdown on foreign students bringing dependants when they come to the United Kingdom to study on one-year taught masters degree courses, say higher education experts. Students from India and Nigeria will be disproportionately affected.
PHOTO
With the latest figures pointing to an almost 40% decline in student numbers by 2040, there is increased urgency to restructure South Korea’s university sector, with experts examining ways to shutter institutions that are not viable, including paying foundations to close their loss-making private institutions.
Students and pro-democracy supporters continue to be arrested in Hong Kong years after pro-democracy unrest which gripped the city and its universities in 2019-20. In particular, violence erupted after police besieged Hong Kong Polytechnic University in November 2019 in scenes likened by many to a ‘war zone’.
While the road to post-pandemic recovery remains bumpy for international student recruitment in the United States, two interesting trends are emerging – a sector-wide jump in use of educational agencies and a general shift away from reliance on rankings towards focusing on how institutions equip students to be successful.
Commentary
Despite the fact that many students from South Asia in the United Kingdom and Australia plan to stay and work in their host countries after graduation, there are barriers to employability which operate at the individual, institutional and at national policy level.
PHOTO
PHOTO Latin America needs to learn from countries that have successfully reformed their vocational education and training systems and embrace more practical types of learning that allow graduating students to join the labour market and lead the transformation that their national economies require.
PHOTO Teaching about gender violence and injustice with and for intersectional gender justice is a process of constant learning and becoming and it requires a curriculum, pedagogy and teaching practice that go beyond the development of students’ theoretical knowledge and critical analysis skills.
World Blog
Given the growth in doctoral graduate numbers, not all graduates can be accommodated in traditional academic or research careers. Doctoral education needs to prepare future graduates for diverse options, not only in higher education but in business, government, the non-profit sector and self-employment.
PHOTO
SDGs
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.
PHOTO
PHOTO Alongside sustainable development, higher education digitalisation is a shared priority across Asia, Europe and globally and is increasingly recognised for its immense potential to create pivotal opportunities for all higher education systems and to enhance accessibility, inclusivity and overall quality and standards.
PHOTO 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.
Top Stories from Last Week
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.
PHOTO
PHOTO 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.
PHOTO 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.
PHOTO A university in Mexico has developed and deployed an educational technology ecosystem that incorporates artificial intelligence with a view to improving teaching methodologies, enhancing efficiency and integrity in student assessment, and monitoring and supporting the development of transversal and disciplinary student competencies.
PHOTO Being a ‘public good academic’ – someone who has an understanding of and commitment to their civic responsibility to advance the public good agenda – comes at a price, including relational, psychological, career-related and personal resource costs.
Sponsored Article
PHOTO 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.
Sponsored Article
PHOTO 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.
Sponsored Article
PHOTO 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.
Sponsored Article
PHOTO 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.
Sponsored Article
PHOTO 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.