In this special report, University World News gathers together its coverage of news and its published commentaries relating to universities’ concerns in the UK’s EU referendum debate.

The 68th annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, with 9,500 participants, was held on 29 May to 3 June in Denver, Colorado, USA. Mary Beth Marklein reports for University World News.

In this month’s special supplement in our transformative leadership series, published in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, University World News looks at the challenges to social equity and how higher education can overcome these obstacles and prepare young people to achieve social justice.

A global rise in student activism and the centrality of student concerns to national politics and to higher education prompted University World News to collate this series of Special Reports looking into student movements and issues raised by them. The aim is to deepen understanding and debate on what is transpiring across the student world. We urge readers to disseminate the Special Reports to students. – Karen MacGregor, series editor.

Some 800 people from around the world gathered for the British Council’s Going Global 2016 conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 3-5 May. This is the second of two weeks of reports on the conference by University World News.

African government and private sector leaders, and top scientists and civil society advocates from across the continent and world have been in Senegal for the first Next Einstein Forum Global Gathering, held from 8-10 March under the theme “Connecting Science to Humanity”. With a focus on women and young scientists, the conference was aimed at advancing African science and innovation. University World News was a media partner.

The Syrian conflict has fuelled population shifts that in Europe are the greatest since World War II and in countries next door to the war zone are swamping the local population – Lebanon, for instance, now has a greater number of refugees than its own citizens. University World News looks at the challenges of making access to higher education a key part of the response.

Universities UK, the vice-chancellors' body, held its fourth International Higher Education Forum in London on 1 March, attended by more than 400 delegates, to discuss some of the key trends, challenges and opportunities facing global higher education.

On 3-5 May education world leaders will descend on Cape Town, South Africa, for Going Global 2016, an open forum to debate international higher and further education issues and challenges, and to discuss collaborative solutions, for which University World News is a media partner. The focus will be on 'Building nations and connecting cultures: education policy, economic development and engagement'. This week and last week, our reporters have been previewing some of the key topics that will be discussed.

Comparative assessment of learning outcomes, shared principles of quality assurance, tackling corruption, and adapting accreditation to non-traditional providers were among the key topics at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or CHEA, 2016 and the CHEA International Quality Group, or CIQG, 2016 conferences held in Washington, DC last week, for which University World News is a media partner. Mary Beth Marklein reports for University World News.