Sunday 26 June 2011

University World News 0177 - 26th June 2011

This week's highlights

In Features, ANDREJS RAUVARGERS tells ARD JONGSMA that the big absentee in all international rankings is teaching quality, and predicts more trip-advisor style student peer-to-peer reviews will fill the gap in future. In Commentary, FRANCIS ERNOUF argues that foreign universities sending exchange students to China are lending credence to a regime that spies on and represses its own students. In our Talloires Network 2011 coverage, ARD JONGSMA reports on how Pakistan's students help the response to earthquakes and floods in their study time. DAVID WATSON, ELIZABETH BABCOCK, ROBERT HOLLISTER and SUSAN STROUD call on governments to make civic engagement compulsory for students. REBECCA WARDEN reports on a remarkable secular women's university in Islamist Sudan that is funded by and geared to serving the community.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

GLOBAL: Launch of coalition to protect education
Brendan O'Malley
On the same day that three students were killed by raids by security forces on university dormitories in Damascus a global coalition of UN, education and human rights agencies was launched to defend schools and universities against the growing threat of violent political and military attacks.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Universities 'must halt land grab investments'
Alison Moodie
At least two of America's most prestigious universities are involved in dubious land acquisitions in African countries that could force small farmers off their ancestral land and turn valuable soil into industrial-scale farmland, according to a recent report by a California think-tank. Its director has called on universities to take a stand against such exploitation.
Full report on the University World News site:

PAKISTAN: Universities budget slashed again
Ameen Amjad Khan
The federal government has slashed the higher education budget for the third year running, prompting claims that it is trying to roll back the ambitious plans of the Musharraf years which drew international praise.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Only students who score 100% need apply
Alya Mishra
The requirement of a perfect score - 100 % - to get admission into one of India's leading colleges for commerce has highlighted the severe shortage of good quality higher education institutions in the country.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Scientists face more death threats
Geoff Maslen
More than 200 scientists converged on Parliament House on Monday to issue a 'Respect for Science' call as new death threats were made against some of their leaders involved in climate change research.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH KOREA: Tuition fees cut after protests
Han-Suk Kim
In an unprecedented climb down the ruling Grand National party announced on Thursday it would cut tuition fees by 30% by 2014 in an attempt to stave off growing protests.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Mystery of untapped funds
Alan Osborn
Unlike America, Europe has no clear and firm tradition of using philanthropic funds to finance higher education, least of all in the research area, which could suggest significant untapped potential, says a new report. Giving in Evidence - Fundraising from philanthropy in European universities finds that philanthropic fundraising is not, on the whole, taken seriously in European universities and asks, why is this and can it be changed?
Full report on the University World News site.:

CANADA: Forging ties with Indian universities
Sarah King Head
A meeting last week of more than 40 university presidents and vice-chancellors from Canada and India is expected to stimulate further research and innovation opportunities between the two countries.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Skills shortage 'could stall boom'
Michael Gardner
Industry has again warned that shortages in technology-oriented subjects threaten Germany's economic boom. The lack of spec ialists in maths, informatics, natural sciences and engineering appears to have reached a 10-year high in May.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWSBRIEFS

EUROPE: New name for EU 'FP8'
Ard Jongsma
After seven Framework Programmes with a purpose that is hard to understand without the usually omitted additional phrase "for research, technological development", the European Commission has sought to clarify the name of its support programme for European research and technology.
Full report on the University World News site:

Talloires Network 2011 conference

Some 200 university leaders from around the world met in Madrid for the
second conference of the Talloires Network, a global association of institutions committed to strengthening the civil roles and social responsibilities of higher education. "Building the Engaged University, Moving beyond the ivory tower", was held from 14-16 June at the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain. University World News was the official media partner to the conference. We published initial reports from the conference in last week's edition and this week have further coverage.

GLOBAL: Universities for justice and unity

Ard Jongsma Universities' neutrality and their aspired role as the conscience of society can be compromised when they become drivers of political change. At its Leaders Conference in Madrid, the Talloires Network explored whether universities can and should be an active partner in political transition and democratisation.
Full report on the University World News site:

PAKISTAN: A different twist to learning by doing
Ard Jongsma
Scientists and engineers from universities around the world play a major role in disaster prevention in many different ways. But when disaster strikes not all universities may feel obliged to extend a helping hand, have their students and academics roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty assisting the needy.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Chile taps talent among the poor
Rebecca Warden
After 30 years' studying the eternal question of how to broaden access and participation in higher education without dropping standards, Chilean academic Francisco Gil has come to what seems a disarmingly simple conclusion: "Academic talent is equally distributed across all of the social strata."
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: How to measure citizenship outcomes
Rebecca Warden
A full house of curious academics gathered to hear Carlos Mijares describe how Tecnológico de Monterrey (TM) in Mexico is going about measuring the outcomes of citizenship education among students.
Full report on the University World News site:

SUDAN: University channels female power to community
Rebecca Warden
Imagine a university whose students are all women, which is secular and which has placed working with the community at the very heart of its mission - and is located in an Islamist North African country. Ahfad University for Women (AUW) would seem unusual in any country, but its location in Omdurman near Khartoum in Sudan, a country better known for long, drawn-out civil war and a controversial Islamist regime than for playing home to progressive institutions of higher education, makes it extraordinary.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: If you want to be loved, get a dog - McKenna
Rebecca Warden
Margaret McKenna is the living embodiment of the idea that if you want to get things done, this will probably involve stepping outside your professional comfort zone.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: How governments can support civic universities
Government agencies should look at promoting initiatives which encourage deeper civic engagement by universities, such as requiring students to complete a set amount of voluntary service and providing incentives for faculty to get involved, say DAVID WATSON, ELIZABETH BABCOCK, ROBERT HOLLISTER and SUSAN STROUD.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Leadership challenges for the civic university
The Civic University can break down barriers between universities and cities, but it creates new leadership challenges for universities, argue JOHN GODDARD and PAUL VALLANCE. They outline what these are and some ways around them.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

GLOBAL: Ranking the rankings
Ard Jongsma
Are rankings useless, as the media were quick to conclude from the European University Association's first study on them, released last week? Its author, Adrejs Ruahvargers, warns against seeking a quick answer to a complicated question.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH KOREA: Student stress fuels suicides as standards rise
Karryn Miller
A spate of suicides among South Korean students has fuelled fears that the country's higher education system is too tough, with pressures increasing as universities seek to compete with institutions overseas.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Where low technology solutions have value
Obi Emekekwue
Rather than focusing exclusively on high-level technologies, Free State-based Central University of Technology in South Africa also uses low-level technologies to deliver appropriate solutions to meet regional challenges, Thandwa Mthembu, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the university, said on Monday in New York.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

CHINA: Foreign students face 'indoctrination camp'
International students are being kept apart from Chinese students and under strict surveillance, but the foreign universities that arrange the exchanges ignore the issue, argues FRANCIS ERNOUF.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
An Iranian student activist and prisoner of conscience remains in solitary confinement after 37 days in prison with interrogation completed. Charges against a Colombian academic arrested two yeas ago, accused of links with left-wing guerrillas, have been dropped, and he has been released. A student pilot in Iran has been jailed for a year over Facebook activities, including interviews with international media and publicising political activity. A constitutional law scholar in China has gone missing, believed detained in relation to high numbers of independent candidates running in local elections.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

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WORLD ROUND-UP

UK: Fee hikes could bring back polytechnics
Colleges charging less than £6,000 (US$9,600) a year in tuition fees will be free to recruit more students under government proposals that could lead to a new generation of polytechnic-style institutions teaching vocational skills writes Jeevan Vasagar for The Guardian.
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AUSTRALIA: Teaching quality under pressure
Spiralling class sizes, overcrowding, tutorials replaced by seminars, few avenues for feedback and interaction, a shift to online and peer-assessment as a cost saving measure - the dire state of teaching in Australian universities emerges from just a cursory glance at submissions to the base funding review, writes Julie Hare for The Australian.
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TURKEY: Fears for academic freedom
University professors have accused the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan of blocking academic freedom at the nation's institutions of higher education. They said Erdogan, re-elected on 12 June, has ordered the Interior Ministry and security forces to raid universities suspected of un-Islamic behaviour, reports The World Tribune.
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CANADA: Plagiarist steps down as dean
The dean of the University of Alberta's medical school has resigned after weathering a week-long firestorm for plagiarising parts of a speech to graduates. But some students aren't happy Dr Philip Baker is being allowed to stay on campus as a professor pending further review by the school, writes Chris Purdy for The Canadian Press.
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MALAYSIA: Scholarships offered to African students
The RM12 million (US$3.95 million) scholarships offered by the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology to all African countries have been hailed as a potential catalyst for more students from the continent to gain access to education abroad, write Massita Ahmad and Nurulhuda Che Das for Bernama.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Students keen to learn African language
Multilingualism advocates say there is considerable evidence that university students and academics are keen to learn an African language as part of their courses, writes Dianne Hawker for the Independent Online.
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KENYA: Lecturers block double intake plans
Plans by public universities to conduct a double intake are likely to suffer a blow after lecturers vowed to block the move, writes Oliver Musembi for The Nation.
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US: Yale launches new anti-Semitism programme
After summarily closing the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism (YIISA) earlier this month, Yale University has announced the creation of the Yale Programme for the Study of Anti-Semitism, a programme devoted to "serious scholarly discourse and research" on anti-Semitism and its manifestations, writes Jordana Horn for The Jerusalem Post.
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SCOTLAND: Academic says graduate tax must follow
A leading education thinker has proposed Scotland follows England's example and introduce a graduate tax, writes Fiona Macleod for The Scotsman. Frances Cairncross, rector of Exeter College, Cambridge and former economics journalist, says it would provide an answer to Scotland's funding gap.
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MALAYSIA: Call for clarity on blacklisted institutions
The higher education ministry is seeking more information from the home ministry on the more than 20 private institutions of higher learning blacklisted for misuse of foreign student passes, reports Bernama.
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AUSTRALIA: Universities turn to philanthropists
Philanthropy is becoming big business for Australian universities as they seek to prop up income from government and student fees, writes Yuko Narushima for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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KENYA: Colleges to be elevated to universities
The Vision 2030 directorate has called for a well-planned elevation of tertiary colleges to universities, even as orders for elevation of Narok, Kisii and Dedan Kimathi colleges to fully fledged universities by Commission for Higher Education (CHE) seemed certain, writes Benjamin Muindi for The Nation.
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EGYPT: Professors to hold sit-in
A coalition of faculty members at Egyptian public universities decided last week to hold a nation-wide on-campus open sit-in starting 3 July, to push for the resignation of interim Minister of Higher Education, Amr Salama, for ignoring the coalitions' demands, writes Heba Fahmy for Daily News Egypt.
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AUSTRALIA: Concern over reliance on foreign fees
The reliance on international students to keep universities afloat has been given an emphatic thumbs down in a survey of the general public about attitudes towards higher education, writes Jill Rowbotham for The Australian.
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WALES: University of Wales 'let Wales down'
Education Minister Leighton Andrews says the University of Wales has let down higher education in Wales and brought the nation "into disrepute", writes Ciaran Jenkins for The BBC.
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PAKISTAN-IRAQ: Call for joint education ventures
Iraq and Pakistan will have joint ventures for promoting higher education and research activities, to further strengthen the cordial ties between both the countries, reports the Associated Press of Pakistan.
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CHINA: Southeast Asian universities flock to expo
Southeast Asian universities have been showing unique enthusiasm in this year's Beijing International Education Expo, reports Xinhuanet.
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PERU: University protests leave three dead
Three people died and at least 20 others were wounded in clashes in the southwestern Peruvian region of Huancavelica during a general strike against the creation of a new university using the facilities of an existing institution, reports the Latin American Herald Tribune.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Students removed from credit bureaus
All students who were blacklisted for owing money to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme have been taken off the credit bureaus' records, writes Marianne Merten for Business Report.
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CANADA: Academia rallies over Bangladeshi attack
A savage attack in Bangladesh that blinded a University of British Columbia graduate student has bolstered support for efforts to open the doors to Canadian higher education wider in South Asia, write James Bradshaw, Jill Mahoney and Stephanie Nolen for The Globe and Mail.
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US: Hunt is on for overseas college students
The bang of a ceremonial gong opens festivities in a cavernous downtown office building in Jakarta, where representatives from 56 US colleges stand ready to peddle their wares, writes Mary Beth Marklein for USA Today.
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Sunday 19 June 2011

University World News 0176 - 19th June 2011

Talloires Network 2011 conference

Some 200 university leaders from around the world met in Madrid last week for the second conference of the Talloires Network, a global association of institutions committed to strengthening the civil roles and social responsibilities of higher education. "Building the Engaged University, Moving beyond the ivory tower", was held from 14-16 June at the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain. University World News was the official media partner to the conference. We publish initial reports from the conference in this edition and next week will have further coverage.

GLOBAL: New project tackles youth employment
Rebecca Warden High youth unemployment is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today and the Talloires Network and Mastercard Foundation are launching a major new initiative to promote greater job opportunities for young people in developing countries, especially in Africa. This was announced in Madrid last Thursday, the final day of the conference.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Civic engagement is not an add-on
Rebecca Warden
More and more universities around the world are actively engaging with their communities and this is generating big benefits, not least for the universities involved.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Creating supportive policy
Ard Jongsma
How can policy affect the social role of universities? A panel of high-level experts explored this question at the Talloires Network conference last week. All but one of the panellists could combine their expertise of having been in power with the freedom of no longer being in that position, which offered refreshingly interesting results.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Charting the growth of civic engagement
Rebecca Warden
Civic engagement is a growing movement in higher education but to date there has been little serious study of exactly how universities around the world are going about it, according to Elizabeth Babcock, coordinator of the Talloires Network. Publication of The Engaged University: International perspectives on civic engagement should go some way to plugging this gap.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Raising community outreach's profile
Rebecca Warden
A university project serving people living in situations of high risk in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, has won the 2011 MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship, awarded at the Talloires Network conference.
Full report on the University World News site:

EGYPT: Universities incubators for the revolution
Rebecca Warden
Like many people in Egypt, Barbara Ibrahim is still reeling from the events of the last few months. The Director of the John D Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo told the Talloires Network conference that campus life has changed beyond recognition since the people's uprising swept away the Mubarak regime in February, after 30 years in power. With the end of the old regime has come a flowering of freedom of academic expression and a flurry of activity.
Full report on the University World News site:

COSTA RICA: Strategic management for social action
Ard Jongsma
One country that has taken civic engagement of its academic community to extremes is Costa Rica. If there's any ivory left at the University of Costa Rica, it would have to be on the keys of an old piano used in music lessons for the kids of San Jose
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Opening ivory tower's doors
Ard Jongsma
The Talloires Network conference in Madrid closed last Thursday with slowly settling amazement among delegates at how topical civic engagement of higher education had become. With Tufts University in the lead, the Talloires founders were genuinely baffled to see how much their baby had grown in just six years. Many of the hundreds of other network members were surprised to find just how wide the doors of the ivory towers have been flung open in a great range of countries.
Full report on the University World News site:

Worldviews: Media and Higher Education

University World News teamed up with the US paper Inside Higher Ed,
Canada's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations to host an international conference in Toronto from 16-18 June. The first international Worldviews Conference on Media and Higher Education explored, among many other topics, how the media influences public perceptions of higher education and how the sector engages with the media to shape public perceptions of its role and importance. Our journalists report . CANADA: Bill Ayers attends Worldviews - on screen

Philip Fine Just before the Worldviews Conference on Media and Higher Education held in Toronto last week, outspoken US academic Bill Ayers decided he would not enter Canada. He had been barred from the country in 2009 and was given little reason to think he would not be turned away again. But he delivered his views on democracy and the responsibility of academics to contribute to public debate anyway, via a filmed interview screened to the conference.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Building bridges between academia and media
Karen MacGregor
Universities and the media should be natural allies, given similarities in their social mandates, and there are many examples of how fruitful partnerships between them have enriched public discourse, Adam Habib, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, said in Toronto last week. But for both sectors to be globally responsive they need to be aware of global inequalities and voice the concerns and interests of the marginalised.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Higher education and the English question
Karen MacGregor
The globally dominant English media is exporting the British-American worldview of higher education everywhere, Columbia University's Jorge Balan said in Toronto last week. And the growing use of English as the lingua franca of higher education is placing huge pressures on non-English academics while those who succeed in the mainstream may "perish locally".
Full report on the University World News site:

ARAB WORLD: A platform to analyse the Arab Spring
Yojana Sharma
The Qatar-based global public television broadcaster Al Jazeera has charted what is known as the Arab Spring - the uprisings that began in Tunisia and spread to Egypt and other parts of the Arab world. But the channel, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, also gave local academics an unparalleled platform to explain and analyse events in their own region. "A lot of local voices, including academics, have been given prominence on Al Jazeera," said Tony Burman, who was Managing Director of Al Jazeera English until last year and is now head of strategy for the Americas.
Full report on the University World News site:

CANADA: Whose brain is it anyway?
Philip Fine
Brain drain is a problem that will never be solved, Professor Philip Altbach told delegates at the Worldviews Conference in Toronto. While many people feel bad for developing countries that lose top intellectuals, he said that as long as there is a global marketplace for academic talent, there is little that can be done to keep people at home and few to blame for the difficulties this creates. "Morality plays almost no role in this."
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Reputation in an era of rankings
Yojana Sharma
Universities are keeping a close eye on rankings not simply to see how far up or down the list they appear but also because changes in rankings, often only because of tweaks in methodology by those who compile them, can have an impact on the general reputation of an institution.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Globalisation of the higher education media
Karen MacGregor
There are interesting similarities between higher education and the media. Both deal in information and ideas, and both are cutting-edge - universities in research and analysis, the media in reporting on unfolding events. And both resist changing themselves. This, along with the imperatives of business, could be why the higher education media found itself in the contradictory position of being at the forefront of globalisation through vast communication networks while being slow to respond to the globalisation of higher education itself.
Full report on the University World News site:

International Association of University Presidents

The International Association of University Presidents held its triennial
conference in New York from 17-20 June. It is believed to be the world's largest gathering of university leaders and this year the theme was "Building Bridges through Education". University World News was at this conference too.

US: Challenges facing university presidents
At least three challenges face the world's university leaders, the International Association of University Presidents' incoming head Dr Michael Adams told YOJANA SHARMA in an interview: One is access; a second is how to make young people feel connected to each other; and the third is the impact of technology on the learning environment.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Women's progress: Radical action needed
More women may be breaking through the glass ceiling but there is still a long way to go and radical action is needed for change. That means everything from looking at how girls are brought up to showing women they can succeed in academia - even with childcare responsibilities. Senior female academics have more responsibility than their male counterparts to raise awareness and push for change, argues KRISTA VARANTOLA, one of the women rectors speaking at the International Association of University Presidents triennial conference in New York this weekend.
Full report on the University World News site:

ARAB WORLD: Quality assurance: a simple definition?
Obi Emekekwue
A simple definition of quality assurance that everyone could work with was needed to build an effective system in the Arab region, Professor Khalid Jaafar Naciri, President of Hassan II University in Morocco, said in New York on Saturday.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

EUROPE: EUA's first review of rankings
A report published last week by the European University Association argues that the main international university rankings provide an oversimplified picture of institutional missions, quality and performance because they focus mainly on indicators related to the universities' research function.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Institutional profiles database
Thomson Reuters, the American company that provides information for business and industry, has released Institutional Profiles, a web-based resource that provides what it says is a comprehensive view of nearly 500 of the world's leading academic research institutions.
Full report on the University World News site:

FINLAND: Call to apply tuition fees
Ian R Dobson
An economist has reopened the debate on whether to introduce tuition fees in Finland's universities by calling for a system similar to that in England.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCANDINAVIA: Danish scientists lead Nordic peers
Jan Petter Myklebust
Danish universities and university hospitals lead their Nordic counterparts in international ranking, publishing patterns, research profiles and citation impact in natural sciences, medical and technological research, according to a new report.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Boost to Africa partnerships
Wagdy Sawahel
India has announced initiatives to enhance its higher education and research partnerships with Africa - including thousands of scholarships for African students, US$700 million to establish new institutions and training programmes in consultation with the African Union, and the offer of US$5 billion in credit over three years towards achieving development goals.
Full report on the University World News site:

TANZANIA: Universities tackle ICT challenges
Tunde Fatunde
High-level decision-makers along with academics and researchers from African universities descended on Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, last month to attend the sixth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies. The conference recognised the strategic role of Africa's tertiary institutions in helping fast-track the continent's entry into the 21st century knowledge economy.
Full report on the University World News site:

MALAWI: Academic calls commission a 'gimmick'
Munyaradzi Makoni
The University of Malawi council, academics and students hope to resolve their months-long academic freedom dispute after President Bingu wa Mutharika set up a commission to investigate the issue last month. But academics say the commission's mandate is unclear, its constitution problematic - and it could be a "political gimmick".
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

MIDDLE EAST: Rallying cry of reform
Higher education reform has been one of the rallying cries in many Middle Eastern countries that have seen recent uprisings. But the kind of reform needed to improve the quality of higher education requires difficult choices such as the introduction of higher tuition fees, says PHILIP ALTBACH.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Strategic plan for skills gap
India's last five-year plan for higher education focused on expansion and widening access. The 12th five-year plan needs to be more strategic about filling the country's skills gaps and making higher education more flexible and adaptable to 21st century needs, argues PAWAN AGARWAL.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

UK: Reindeer vision keeps wolf away
Arctic reindeer avoid the damaging effects of ultra violet light that causes snow blindness in humans by allowing UV light to pass into the eye. The unexpected finding was made by an international team and contrasts with most other mammals such as humans where UV light is prevented from entering the eye by the cornea and lens.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Tracking a single atom
Geoff Maslen
In a world first, researchers at the University of Melbourne have tracked a single atom of nitrogen inserted in a human cell using techniques that could boost the testing and development of new drugs.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Subtropical rainfall and the Antarctic ozone hole
For more than 100 years, researchers have understood that ozone in the stratosphere, the atmospheric layer between 10 and 50 kilometres above the Earth's surface, plays an important role in absorbing ultraviolet radiation and protecting life on Earth.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRIA: Quantum computer is growing up
A team of physicists at the University of Innsbruck has become the first to demonstrate a crucial element for a future functioning quantum computer: repetitive error correction. This allows scientists to correct errors occurring in a quantum computer efficiently.
Full report on the University World News site:

UNI-LATERAL:

SPAIN: Binge drinking impacts on memory
New research has found a connection between binge drinking and a form of long-term memory. "Our main finding was a clear association between binge drinking and a lower ability to learn new verbal information in healthy college students," says Dr María Parada of the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, lead author of the study.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

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WORLD ROUND-UP

AUSTRALIA: Bid to stop 'professional students'
The federal Opposition will fight to retain a Howard government rule designed to discourage ''professional students'' by limiting access to publicly subsidised university study, writes Dan Harrison for The Age.
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US: Debt fears lead to community college boom
Bargain education at two-year community colleges is the new financial norm for an army of cash-strapped students who can't afford the savage costs of the typical four years of higher education, writes John Aidan Byrne for New York Post.
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WALES: Universities' fee plans rejected
Welsh universities have had their initial plans for higher tuition fees in 2012-13 rejected by the Welsh funding council in a move that will be closely watched in England, writes Simon Baker for Times Higher Education.
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WALES: Top students choose English universities
The cream of Welsh undergraduates is choosing to study in England, writes Gareth Evans for the Western Mail. Figures obtained by the newspaper provide clear evidence the best young brains in Wales are being lost to institutions across the border. They also highlight the apparent gulf in stature that exists between Welsh universities and their English counterparts.
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CANADA: Students upset at 'plagiarised' speech
Medical students at the University of Alberta say they are embarrassed after the faculty of medicine dean allegedly plagiarised his speech to the graduating class at the convocation banquet, writes Codi Wilson for the Edmonton Journal.
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SOUTH AFRICA: University to honour Oprah Winfrey
A South African university is set to award talk show queen Oprah Winfrey with an honorary doctorate, reports East Coast Radio Newswatch.
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AUSTRALIA: Slower growth for higher education exports
Growth in overseas student numbers for higher education, the last sector of Australia's education export industry still on the rise, has slowed to just 1.9%, reports Bernard Lane for The Australian.
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US: Students push for financial disclosure
A group of Harvard students and employees in addition to a state senator and representative testified before a State House committee in support of a bill that would require the university to reveal a slew of financial information, including increased information about investments and administrator salaries, writes Mercer R Cook for The Crimson.
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KOREA: Professors' salaries push up tuition costs
Rapidly rising salaries for professors are one of the main contributors to high college tuition. This has turned into a major political issue and sparked daily protests in Seoul, reports JoongAng Daily.
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PHILIPPINES: Push for student patent awareness
Senator Edgardo Angara said he is throwing his support behind a legislative measure that would compel elementary pupils, high school and tertiary students all over the country to be taught and eventually promote intellectual property rights of original works and crafts, writes Hannah L Torregoza for Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation.
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INDIA: Environmental science mandatory
Beginning this academic year, environmental science will be a mandatory subject at graduation level, under a government resolution issued on 7 June, writes Samarpita Banerjee for Indian Express.
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US: Colleges offer graduates help repaying loans
Law schools have done it for years. Now, some private liberal arts colleges are experimenting with the idea: offering upfront to help students pay off their loans after they graduate, writes Mary Beth Marklein for USA Today.
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UK: Students turn to US Ivy League universities
Harvard University - ranked the best in the world - has seen the number of applications from Britain rise by more than a third in just 12 months, figures show. Other elite Ivy League institutions, including Yale, Columbia and Cornell, have also reported an increase in demand, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph.
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UK: Student complaints reach record levels
Student complaints against universities in England and Wales have reached record levels with the higher education ombudman's annual report showing that complaints rose by 33%, reports Sean Coughlan for the BBC.
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UK: University films students suspected of extremism
Confidential documents relating to a "major Islamist plot" have revealed that security staff from a leading university have been filming students on campus as a method of monitoring potential extremists, writes Mark Townsend for The Guardian.
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Sunday 12 June 2011

University World News 0175 - 10th June 2011

This week's highlights

In Features, LINDA YEUNG profiles the Hong Kong-based Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, a group of mostly postgraduate students whose mission is to uncover exploitative practices in the China-based factories of well-known global brands. In Commentary, BOB BRECHER argues that the launch in Britain of the private New College of the Humanities undermines public education, but could galvanise a fight-back against privatisation of the public sector. JANE DUNCAN writes that a proposed Protection of Information Bill poses a major threat to academic freedom in South Africa but universities are largely 'missing in action' against it, and JOHN AKEC warns of an impending higher education crisis in Africa's newest state, South Sudan.

University World News next week

Next week, University World News journalists are attending three
international conferences - the Talloires Network meeting of university leaders in Madrid, our own first Worldviews Conference on Media and Higher Education in Toronto, and the triennial of the International Association of University Presidents in New York. Most of next Sunday's newspaper will be dedicated to reporting on these important global conferences, and there will be no Africa Edition - although there will be plenty of coverage of African higher education in the Global Edition, which will be sent to all of our 31,000 readers in 150 countries.

GLOBAL: Community engagement emerging as a key issue

Karen MacGregor The Cinderella mission of the modern university - community engagement - is at last emerging as a global issue for higher education. Next week in Madrid, some 200 university leaders from around the world will gather for the second Talloires Network conference to debate developments and issues around university engagement, and to share best practice.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Building bridges through education - IAUP
Yojana Sharma
"Building Bridges through Education" is the theme of this year's International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) conference, which takes place in New York from 17-20 June. Held every three years, it is said to be the world's largest gathering of university presidents, vice-chancellors and rectors.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

AUSTRALIA: Death threats for climate researchers
Geoff Maslen
Climate scientists at Australia's top universities have received death threats and other menacing warnings to stop their research or suffer the consequences. In an unprecedented action, the Australian National University said last weekend that several of the scientists had been relocated to a more secure location while security in the buildings where other climate researchers worked had been tightened.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Europe's new ranking system unveiled
Karen MacGregor
The Europe-driven global benchmarking system U-Multirank, which allows universities to create personalised rankings using an array of indicators, was unveiled in Brussels last week. It is "a new user-driven, multi-dimensional and multi-level ranking tool in higher education and research," said its creators.
Full report on the University World News site:

CHINA: Guidelines to ease graduate unemployment
Yojana Sharma
China's highest administrative authority, the State Council chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, has said cities should remove residency restrictions on graduates to reduce unemployment. But the improving of graduate mobility will not apply to the most sought-after cities.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Students may delay foreign universities bill
Alya Mishra
Deliberation over India's much-delayed Foreign Universities Bill to allow international universities to set up campuses in the country may be dragged out even further after the student body of the ruling Congress party raised a series of concerns over the proposed legislation.
Full report on the University World News site :

PAKISTAN: Bin Laden home a 'university for peace'?
Ameen Amjad Khan
Discussions are underway in Pakistan on the future use of the late Osama Bin Laden's mansion hideout in Abbottabad, with academics suggesting it should be converted into a university dedicated to teaching tolerance and peace.
Full report on the University World News site:

LATIN AMERICA: Partnerships to boost higher education
Eileen Travers
After a consortium of 24 national and international university associations gathered in Colombia last month to launch a project to boost regional development of higher education, Latin American students entering universities this year will begin to see marked changes before they graduate, project officials say.
Full report on the University World News site:

EGYPT: Jobless academics demand university posts
Ashraf Khaled
On obtaining a doctoral degree in ceramics in 2009, Hassan Mahmoud believed that his dream of becoming a lecturer at one of Egypt's 36 universities would come true. But he has been unable to find a job, and joined dozens of other PhD-holders who recently protested outside the headquarters of the cabinet in Cairo.
Full report on the University World News site:

ARAB STATES: Division over doctorates for despots
Wagdy Sawahel
Universities are divided over whether honorary degrees and titles awarded to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and other Arab rulers or their families should be withdrawn in response to violent resistance to popular uprisings calling for democratic change.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Most junior researchers have studied abroad
Michael Gardner
Most of Germany's junior scientists and scholars have gone abroad at some stage in their education and training, according to a survey by the German higher education statistics agency. Mobility appears to be highest in the natural sciences.
Full report on the University World News site:

KENYA: Budget hike raises hope for 40,000 students
Gilbert Nganga
Kenya has set in motion a clear plan to ease its higher education admission crisis, with the Joint Admissions Board (JAB) announcing this month that institutions would admit one in three rather than one in four qualified school-leavers and the government upping funding for the sector.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWSBRIEFS

ASIA: South Korea backs ASEAN cyber university
The South Korean government last week announced a US$1.8 million grant to Vietnam to establish the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Cyber University for e-learning by July 2012.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

CHINA: Students and academics against sweatshops
Linda Yeung
Every summer for the last six years Parry Leung, a doctoral student at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has visited factories in China on a mission to uncover exploitative practices at the manufacturing plants of well-known global brands.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

UK: The fight for the humanities begins in earnest
The launch in Britain of the private New College of the Humanities undermines not only public education but also the idea that the humanities should be open to everyone, argues BOB BRECHER. However, it could offer the perfect tool to galvanise a fight-back against the privatisation of the public higher education sector.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: The prevention of scholarship bill
If the Protection of Information Bill, proposed by South Africa's ruling African National Congress, is enacted in its present form, academics could be jailed for possessing documents and research into key areas could become impossible. JANE DUNCAN writes that the bill represents the single biggest threat to academic freedom since democracy was achieved in 1994, and that universities are largely 'missing in action' against it.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH SUDAN: The role of universities in a new nation
South Sudan, which will gain independence in July, faces an imminent crisis in its higher education provision given that many of the academics in its universities are from the north of Sudan. What can be done? JOHN AKEC argues for a new vision of higher education that is fit for the 21st century.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
Noemi Bouet*
A new rule has made it more difficult for asylum seekers in Britain to enter university, by classifying them as overseas rather than home students. In Egypt, security guards have violently dispersed students protesting outside the Ministry of Higher Education in Cairo, and in Bahrain 20-year-old poet and student Ayat al-Qarmezi is facing prison for reading a poem critical of the regime during a pro-democracy demonstration. Six Italian seismologists and a government official are facing trial over deaths linked to the earthquake that destroyed L'Aquila in April 2009.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

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higher education worldwide. More than 2,700 readers have joined. Sign up to the University World News Facebook group to meet and communicate directly with academics and researchers informed by the world's first truly global higher education publication. Click on the link below to visit and join the group.
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WORLD ROUND-UP

US: Universities in 'scary' African land deals
Some prominent American universities and pension funds, among other wealthy foreign investors, are allegedly purchasing huge tracts of land in Africa - acts that may lead to the eviction of thousands of local farmers, according to a study by the Oakland Institute, a California-based think tank, reports International Business Times.
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RUSSIA: Muslim university rector shot dead
Gunmen last Tuesday killed the rector of a Muslim university in southern Russia who had been leading a government-sponsored effort to counter violence in the region by reviving the local traditions of Sufi Islam, which he said were less likely to inspire suicide bombers, writes Andrew E Kramer for The New York Times.
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CHINA: Student executed for cover-up murder
Yao Jiaxin, a university student who stabbed a young mother to death to cover up a hit-and-run accident, was executed last Tuesday in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, with the approval of the Supreme People's Court, reports Xinhau.
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IRAN: Ministry declares Baha'i university illegal
The Baha'i Institute of Higher Education in Iran has been declared illegal by the Ministry of Science and Technology, reports Radio Ramaneh. The Iran Students' News Agency cited the ministry's announcement that "the online university BIHE has not received any ministry permits for operation, and all its activities are illegal".
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BANGLADESH: Private universities to be regulated
The government of Bangladesh will form a national accreditation council, aimed at improving the standard of education in private universities, reports bdnews24.com. It also remains committed to establishing a public university in every district.
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IRELAND: Colleges prepare for British student influx
Irish universities could face a surge in applications from Britain next year as cash-strapped students flee soaring fees. Annual fees at many English universities will be increased to over -10,000 (US$14,496) a year. The new charges will come into effect for new entrants to college courses in 2012, writes Kim Bielenberg for The Independent.
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UK: New college professor complains of abuse
Professor AC Grayling has spoken of how he has become a figure of vitriol among students and the academic establishment after announcing plans to establish a for-profit private university, writes Shiv Malik for The Guardian.
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UK: Universities accused of breeding terrorists
England's universities have become a breeding ground for extremism and terrorist recruitment, according to a disturbing government report which identifies 40 English universities where "there may be particular risk of radicalisation or recruitment on campus", reports James Slack for The Daily Mail.
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UK: Carbon emissions rise at UK universities
Carbon emissions have risen at most of the UK's universities over the past five years, prompting concern that institutions will fail to meet strict targets for reductions by 2020, writes Rachel Williams for the Guardian.
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KOREA: Students denied quality education - survey
Korean university students are denied quality education services even though they are paying exorbitantly high tuition fees, according to an OECD survey that ranks the nation last among member countries in terms of the college education environment, reports The Chosunilbo.
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TAIWAN: Chinese postgraduate numbers underwhelming
Taiwanese graduate schools admitted only a little more than one third of the quota of enrolees in their first year of being open to mainland Chinese applicants. Only 248, or 38%, of the total 653 spots in masters and doctorate programmes allocated by Taiwanese universities were filled, according to figures released last week, reports The China Post.
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UK-INDIA: Deal to treble Indian places forges ahead
A £5 million-a-year (US$8.15 million) partnership between India and the UK is to help the bid by the world's second most populous country to treble the number of university places to 40 million, writes John Morgan for Times Higher Education.
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CANADA: Universities ramp up ties with India
That 2011 is the Year of India in Canada is a fact not lost on Canadian universities, many of which are ramping up efforts to play a larger part in serving India's skyrocketing demand for higher education, writes James Bradshaw for The Globe and Mail.
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SCOTLAND: Academics lead China trade drive
Scottish academics are leading a drive to sell financial expertise in one of China's growing business centres, reports the BBC. A mission to Tianjin, east of Beijing, last week included senior representatives from six Scottish universities in a bid to win export contracts and to boost academic exchanges, research collaboration and flows of students between Scotland and China.
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PHILIPPINES: Fees to be investigated
Senator Edgardo J Angara has sought an inquiry by the senate into the imposition of redundant and excessive miscellaneous fees by higher education institutions in the Philippines, which he said was a major factor contributing to rising drop-out rates, writes Mark Anthony N Manuel for the Manila Bulletin.
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PAKISTAN: Board proposed for medical education
A consortium of public and private medical universities has proposed a Pakistan National Board for Postgraduate Medical Education to promote uniform postgraduate medical education in the country, writes Amer Malik for The News.
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KENYA: Call to scrap admissions board
Private universities are calling for the scrapping of the Joint Admissions Board, a move likely to attract protests from public universities, reports Kenfrey Kiberenge for The Standard.
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Sunday 5 June 2011

University World News 0174 - 5th June 2011

This week's highlights

University World News covered the Association of African Universities biennial conference in Stellenbosch. In Africa Features, WAGDY SAWAHEL reports on the first mapping of science, technology and innovation across Africa, and in Global Features YOJANA SHARMA and HONEY SINGH VIRDEE describe how a Malaysian university nearly came to grief after a partnership with America's famous MIT. In Commentary, we publish a speech on the role of education by Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner AUNG SAN SUU KYI, delivered via a video link to Hong Kong University on Monday. Also, IAN DOBSON writes about the Excellence in Research for Australia assessment scheme's scrapping of the journal ranking method, MICHAELA MARTIN and CLAUDE SAVAGEOT outline how universities can acquire the technical know-how to construct a viable indicator system, and WENDY PIATT of the UK's Russell Group argues that public funding should concentrate on universities that are best placed to compete globally.

Association of African Universities conference

The leaders of more than 200 universities attended the Association of
African Universities biennial conference held at Stellenbosch University in South Africa from 31 May to 3 June. The conference theme was "Strengthening the Space of Higher Education in Africa", and the sub-themes were creating an African higher education space, the role of ICT, regional centres of excellence and promoting open and distance learning. University World News was there, producing these stories and more in the coming weeks.

AFRICA: University support funds under-used

Munyaradzi Makoni Association of African Universities Acting President, Professor George Magoha, has urged universities to exploit funds and opportunities that the association offers for teaching and development. The AAU has money for staff exchange and ICT training that is being wasted.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Call for a regional research fund
Karen MacGregor
Southern African universities have called for a regional fund to boost public sector research, which is considered critical to the ability of countries to innovate and develop economically. A detailed plan for a $100 million five-year fund was submitted to the continent's biggest higher education event, the biennial conference of the Association of African Universities, held at Stellenbosch University this week.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Higher education space gaining momentum
Karen MacGregor
Efforts to create an African Higher Education Space are gaining momentum, with three key areas - qualifications recognition, harmonisation of systems and quality assurance - actively supported by the African Union, regional economic bodies, university associations and international organisations. But far greater political will on the part of governments is needed.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Slow progress towards harmonisation
Sharon Dell
Adapting some of the lessons from Europe's Bologna process to the African context could help to speed up the sluggish pace of higher education harmonisation on the continent, according to the African Union Commission's Dr Yohannes Woldetensae.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Online laboratories extend higher learning
Munyaradzi Makoni
Universities in West and East Africa are using online science laboratories to conduct research on real hardware in remote locations. The new tools have augmented the teaching of science and engineering, expanding experiments and easing institutions' lack of equipment. The iLabs initiative has extended the space for higher education on the continent.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: News from across the continent

NIGERIA: President resists calls to end youth service
Tunde Fatunde
Ten graduates who were serving compulsory national youth service were murdered during Nigeria's recent elections, allegedly by political thugs. The graduates were among some 100,000 people working as electoral commission agents. The killings sparked strident civil society campaigns for the abolition of the National Youth Service Corps.
Full report on the University World News site:

SENEGAL: Bank funding boosts higher education
Jane Marshall
The World Bank has approved funding of more than US$100 million for a project to improve the management of higher education in Senegal, and to expand the system including the establishment of an ICT network and a feasibility study for a second university in the capital Dakar.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Europeans start recruitment drive
Ard Jongsma
European universities trying to recruit overseas students made a careful reconnaissance entry into South Africa on 20 and 21 May when the European Delegation in Johannesburg set up the first Study in Europe Fair to be held in the country.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Measuring cyclists' brain waves
Researchers at the University of Cape Town have found a way to measure the brain activity of a cyclist pedalling at racing speed by using a specially modified MRI scanner that holds the subject's head still while the legs are rapidly moving.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA FEATURE

AFRICA: Mapping science, technology and innovation
Wagdy Sawahel
To help African countries formulate policies for science development and promote knowledge-based socio-economic development, the first document mapping activities in science, technology and innovation in African countries has been launched.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA BRIEFS

CENTRAL AFRICA: Regional university centre to open
Higher education experts from about 10 Central African countries met last month at the University of Yaoundé-2 Soa, in Cameroon, to make preparations for the Pan¬-African University regional centre that is due to open in September, reported the Cameroon Tribune.
Full report on the University World News site:

TOGO: Lomé campus closed after student violence
The government of Togo closed the University of Lomé after two days of student protests against the introduction of reforms based on the Bologna process and against the presence of security forces on campus, reported Radio France Internationale. Nine students were injured, two seriously, and property was damaged during the demonstrations.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

EUROPE: ERC plea to double budget
Dave Yin
The European Research Council made a public appeal last week for its annual budget to be doubled to around -4 billion (US$5.75 billion) from 2013.
Full report on the University World News site :

GLOBAL: Who goes where and why?
A report published by the US Institute of International Education and the American Institute for Foreign Study examines the intricacies of student mobility. Commenting on the report, International Focus, a publication produced by the UK International Unit, notes that more than 3.3 million students now study outside their home country.
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AUSTRALIA: Protests force research policy change
Geoff Maslen
Widespread complaints about how Australian academic research is assessed has led to the scrapping of the most controversial aspect of the new assessment scheme: ranking academic journals. Federal Minister for Science and Research Senator Kim Carr announced last Monday that "enhancements" recommended by the Australian Research Council would be adopted.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Proposal to raise fees every three years
Alya Mishra
The Indian government is planning to push for a 10% hike in university fees every three years at a meeting of state education ministers next week, in a move that could have a far-reaching impact on the resource-strapped public higher education system.
Full report on the University World News site:

ARAB STATES: Obama and G8 back university links
Wagdy Sawahel
In response to the Arab uprisings, US president Barack Obama and leaders of the G8 nations have renewed their commitment to promoting investment in innovation and higher education and supporting university-industry partnerships across the Middle East and North Africa.
Full report on the University World News site:

VENEZUELA: Medical specialties suffer bloodletting
Ricardo Flores
Postgraduate training in medicine is seeing sharp declines. For the past eight years, there has been a large decrease in the number of doctors applying for special medical training at the few universities that offer postgraduate medical studies.
Full report on the University World News site :

EL SALVADOR: Admissions broaden for poorer students
Chrissie Long
New students at El Salvador's only public university walked into classes this year with the lowest entrance examination scores in 10 years. A report released by the University of El Salvador says the average test score was 3.65 in 2011, a 27% drop from the benchmark in 2001. The decrease has nothing to do with a smaller applicant pool but rather a bigger one, with the number of applications growing by more than 1,000 since last year.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Promoting creativity in doctoral education
Some 200 university leaders, researchers, politicians and other stakeholders are meeting this week in Madrid to discuss how universities can support the development of talented young researchers embarking on a PhD by implementing structures and creating conditions aimed at promoting creativity and innovation in doctoral education.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL FEATURE

MALAYSIA: University close to insolvency
Yojana Sharma and Honey Singh Virdee
A tie up with a globally prestigious institution was no guarantee of success for the Malaysian University of Science and Technology, which almost went to the wall after its partnership with MIT floundered. The university is now picking up the pieces in a cautionary tale for branch campuses and collaborations in Asia.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

BURMA: Real education will triumph
Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi, released from house arrest in 2010, spoke to students and academics at Hong Kong University via video link from Rangoon last Monday as part of the university's 100th anniversary Distinguished Lectures series. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, Suu Kyi donated her US$1 million award to Prospect Burma, an educational charity supporting Burmese students in universities around the world.
Full report of her speech on the University World News site :

AUSTRALIA: Troubled history of an ERA
Ian Dobson*
In what must be an embarrassing back-down for the Australian Research Council and the Minister for Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, one element of the controversial Excellence in Research for Australia assessment scheme has been scrapped: its method of ranking academic journals, which had been roundly criticised from the moment anyone started to take notice of it.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: A scorecard for higher education
Michaela Martin and Claude Savageot*
Indicator systems were established to ensure universities are accountable and to improve performance. However, many countries lack the ability to provide reliable information and many policy statements remain too vague. In this article we outline how universities can acquire the technical know-how to construct a viable indicator or scorecard system.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK: Challenges facing world-class universities
Wendy Piatt*
In tough economic times and with President Barack Obama pledging to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world, public funding should build on success and be concentrated on institutions with the necessary critical mass, quality of research and excellence in provision, and which are best placed to compete on a global scale.
Full report on the University World News site:

UNI-LATERAL: Offbeat university stories

AUSTRALIA: Robot Ruby breaks Rubik's record
The world's fastest Rubik's Cube-solving robot has been developed by students at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. The robot, named Ruby, can solve the scrambled puzzle in just over 10 seconds, including the time taken to scan the initial status of the cube.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Entrepreneur pays students to skip college
In an apparent hunt for the next Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates (both famous college dropouts), Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, will pay 24 college-aged students US$100,000 not to attend college for two years. Instead, the students will spend their time developing business ideas in areas such as biotechnology, education and energy, writes Kayla Webley for Time.
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FACEBOOK

The Facebook group of University World News is the fastest growing in
higher education worldwide. More than 2,650 readers have joined. Sign up to the University World News Facebook group to meet and communicate directly with academics and researchers informed by the world's first truly global higher education publication. Click on the link below to visit and join the group.
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WORLD ROUND-UP

CHILE: Police clash with student protesters
At least 25,000 university student protesters have marched through the streets of Santiago, Chile's capital, calling for reforms in education, reports Aljazeera. Local news reported that police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators after some students broke through police barricades and others hurled stones at riot police.
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AUSTRALIA: New bill to protect academic freedom
Academic freedom would be ex plicitly protected under legislation introduced by the Gillard government. The proposals honour a commitment made by the Labour Party before last year's election and follows lobbying by the National Tertiary Education Union, writes Dan Harrison for the Sydney Morning Herald.
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AUSTRALIA: Standards for overseas students' safety
Universities will need to provide housing guarantees to international students when the Australian Human Rights Commission releases its minimum standards for student safety later this year, writes Yuko Narushima for the Sydney Morning Herald.
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IRELAND: Students to pay more after fees reversal
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn performed a U-turn on a key election promise last week by admitting he would not reverse a -500 (US$719) hike in college registration fees. And the minister refused to rule out the introduction of higher education fees and further student charges, another pre-election pledge, writes Edel O'Connell for The Independent.
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CHINA: Top university accused of selling out
Corporate sponsorship is part of life for universities in the UK and US, which regularly raise hundreds of millions of pounds from donors. As Chinese universities race to transform themselves into world-class institutions, they are increasingly looking outwards for funding. But Tsinghua University's decision to rename its No 4 Teaching Building, in large gold letters, as the Jeanswest Building seems to have crossed a line, writes Malcolm Moore for The Telegraph.
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AFGHANISTAN: Graduating against the odds
Students chat happily on manicured lawns, proudly donning their black graduation robes and snapping photos of each other with family and friends. It is 26 May, graduation day at the American University of Afghanistan - the first since the university opened in 2006 - and the violence and misery of this country's decades-long war could not seem further away, writes Erin Cunningham for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
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US: Government to monitor fee increases
The US federal government will attempt to restrict the rise of college tuition from 1 July. After that date, colleges with large tuition increases will be required to report to the Department of Education the reason for the increase and the actions that will be taken to minimise costs. The department will publish much of the reports for the public online, writes Meagan Clark for Times Observer.
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ISRAEL: Ministry announces sites for research centres
The sites for the first four research centres of the Israeli Centres for Research Excellence (I-CORE) programme were announced by the Education Ministry last week, part of a multi-year plan to strengthen Israel's position as a global leader in academic research and stem the brain drain of Israeli academics, writes Ben Hartman for the Jerusalem Post.
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INDIA-GERMANY: Higher education summit?
India has proposed to host an Indo-German higher education summit this year to explore issues such as mutual recognition of qualifications and joint research programmes, reports the Daily News and Analysis.
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AUSTRALIA-CHINA: Chinese classes miss point
China's mass circulation newspaper, China Daily, has highlighted the paradox of Chinese who go abroad to study English only to find themselves in a classroom full of their countrymen, writes Bernard Lane for The Australian.
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UK: No-confidence campaign launched
A campaign for a nationwide vote of no confidence in the government's higher education reforms has been launched by a group of academics and students at the University of Oxford. The movement urges student unions and academic bodies across the country to put forward motions expressing no confidence in the policies of David Willetts, the Universities and Science Minister, writes Simon Baker for Times Higher Education.
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UK: Call to action over dearth of black professors
Leading black academics are calling for an urgent culture change at UK universities as figures show there are just 50 black British professors out of more than 14,000. The number has barely changed in eight years, reports Jessica Shepherd for The Guardian.
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UK: Rush for university places wanes
The surge in the number of university applicants has finally waned after a decade of record rises, amid concerns that higher tuition fees are already deterring students, writes Kate Loveys for the Daily Mail.
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CHINA: Mongolian students locked in
Authorities in the Inner Mongolia region of China have closed the gates of major universities and colleges in the wake of protests sparked by the death of a herder at the hands of a mining truck driver, reports Radio Free Asia.
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MALAYSIA: Raffles Education to set up university
Singapore-based Raffles Education, one of the largest private education groups in the region, is setting up a university in Johor, Malaysia, reports Xinhuanet. According to the Straits Times, the new institute, Raffles University Iskandar, will be located in Johor's Iskandar EduCity, an education hub located in the town of Nusajaya just across a link with Singapore.
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