The costs of the craze to enter top universities

Associated Press 17 October 2015

A documentary film about the social and personal costs of South Koreans' craze for being admitted to the nation's top three universities depicts a system that is a far cry from President Barack Obama's praise of the Asian country as a model for United States educational reforms, writes Youkyung Lee for Associated Press.

"Reach for the SKY" follows three students and a teacher working for a test-prep company before and after South Korea's college entrance exam. The once-a-year exam is the final and the crucial checkpoint to enter "SKY", a shorthand reference to the country's three most prestigious universities.

Gaining admission to a SKY university is the ultimate goal of one's 12-year education and is akin to being admitted to a better class of people who later lead a company or the country. Only the top few test-takers reach the SKY. The rest spend another year or two working to improve scores and retake the test – the "repeaters" in the movie – or they are doomed to live out their lives as losers.
Full report on the Star Tribune site

Receive email updates from UWN

Global newsletters    Africa newsletters    Other
    (other includes related events and webinars)

Data will be processed according to our standard terms & conditions.

Research focuses on production of jet fuel from halophytes

UAE University staff

With an eye to developing a clean, alternative aviation fuel to reduce carbon emissions, researchers at the United Arab Emirates University have been focusing on the production of jet fuel from sustainable resources such as halophytes, which are salt-tolerant plants that could be cultivated on a wider scale in the region’s coastal areas.

The value of being human: How teachers can work alongside AI

Michael Milligan

Artificial intelligence is now a part of our evolution in technology and teachers need to be encouraged to find ways to bring AI into the classroom and have students use it in a way that is beneficial to them in the long term.

Ground-breaking research on seawater biodesalination

UAE University staff

As water scarcity reaches critical levels globally, a research team at the United Arab Emirates University seeks to revolutionise seawater desalination practices, offering a path to mitigate water scarcity while championing environmental preservation.