Wednesday 21 March 2012

University World News Issue 0212

News
GLOBAL
Reputation of UK universities slips as East catches up
David Jobbins
The United Kingdom’s reputation as a centre of excellence for university education second only to the United States is beginning to slip and could be falling victim to the impact of government policies, the results of Times Higher Education’s 2012 World Reputation Rankings suggest. Meanwhile Asian universities are on the rise.

INDIA
Marginal higher education budget rise thwarts ambitions
Alya Mishra
India has allocated only marginal increases to higher education in its 2012-13 budget announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee last week, despite a stated aim to dramatically increase the higher education participation rate from 17% now to 30% by 2025.

GREECE
Academic becomes education minister in reshuffle
Makki Marseilles
Greece has a new education minister as Prime Minister Lucas Papademos prepares for an expected general election by reshuffling his cabinet.

MEXICO
Quality concerns over burgeoning private universities
Jonathan P Dyson
A rapidly growing number of students in Mexico are attending private universities, but there are increasing concerns about the quality of many of the new institutions. The government is introducing a quality assurance system and expanding access to student loans and grants – but critics say this will not stop the demand for inexpensive courses, which are often of low quality.

GLOBAL
Africa may win Square Kilometre Array
Geoff Maslen

A final decision on whether South Africa or Australia will host the world’s biggest radio telescope may be made as early as 4 April. An expert scientific panel has narrowly recommended a consortium of eight African nations over a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand to build the massive telescope, the US$2 billion Square Kilometre Array or SKA.

NIGERIA
Government slams vice-chancellors and councils
Tunde Fatunde
The findings of visitation panels to federal universities in Nigeria have been released, along with a white paper responding to them. The reports have accused leaders and councils in most of the 26 universities of abusing autonomy, and some vice-chancellors may lose their jobs for deliberately flouting university statutes.

UNITED STATES
University initiatives melt borders with Brazil
Eileen Travers
Prodding for an exact definition of the elusive term ‘internationalisation’ triggered hearty chuckles from a range of educators gathered to provide a report card on recent United States-Brazil higher education initiatives, at the Institute of International Education in New York.
British Council – Going Global
The British Council held its annual “Going Global” international education conference in London from 13-15 March, attended by more than 1,000 delegates from around the world. University World News was there.


GLOBAL
Fast pace of enrolment growth predicted to slow
Yojana Sharma
A combination of demographic and economic changes will resize the global higher education landscape by 2020, according to a new report by the British Council. The largest higher education systems are likely to be China with some 37 million students, India with 28 million, the US with 20 million and Brazil with nine million.

GLOBAL
IAU sets out global agenda on internationalisation
David Jobbins
For almost a decade, the International Association of Universities has been conducting global surveys on internationalisation to monitor trends. IAU Secretary-general Eva Egron-Polak, who led a series of discussions at the "Going Global" conference, told University World News about the latest state of play and the costs and benefits of internationalisation.

GLOBAL
Europe to open up mobility scheme globally
David Jobbins
Officials in Europe are pressing on with plans to expand its flagship student mobility programme beyond the borders of existing eligible countries despite the economic crisis, the British Council's "Going Global" conference heard on Thursday.

AFRICA
Should Africa de-internationalise to internationalise?
James Otieno Jowi
Africa might need to cast off the impact of external forces on it higher education system in order to properly internationalise, the “Going Global” conference heard last week. And universities need to participate more in international forums on higher education to highlight what they are doing.

CHINA
Not all foreign partnerships are good quality – Official
Yojana Sharma
China wants to welcome in foreign universities and branch campuses as part of its drive to grow enrolment in the next decade and in line with plans for increased internationalisation. But it is tightening up the rules on what kinds of universities and programmes it will allow in, the official in charge of auditing overseas university partnerships has said.
IFC – Making Global ConnectionsThe International Finance Corporation held its fifth private higher education conference in Dubai from 6-7 March, titled “Making Global Connections”. University World News produced a special report on the conference last week, and this week we wrap up the reporting.


GLOBAL
Defusing a ticking time bomb by getting graduates jobs
Yojana Sharma
With graduate unemployment recognised as a ticking time bomb in many countries, innovative ways to get graduates into jobs were presented at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) conference held in Dubai this month.

GLOBAL
Indian university expands overseas branch campuses
Yojana Sharma
Two years ago it was just a patch of desert around Dubai, but now a new, state-of-the-art Manipal University campus has arisen out of the sands with its own laboratories, lecture theatres and classrooms in purpose-built facilities.

COLOMBIA
Public, private or public-private higher education?
Yojana Sharma
Colombia is experimenting with more public-private partnerships in higher education in an effort to increase student enrolments through private sector expansion. But allowing for-profit universities is still highly controversial and opposed by students and university rectors alike, according to the country’s former education minister Cecilia María Vélez.

CHILE
Employability in a time of change
Yojana Sharma
Duoc UC, whose name derives from the Spanish acronym for ‘university department for workers and peasants’ – Departamento Universitario Obrero y Campesino – provides affordable professional and technical education to more than 70,000 low- and middle-income students on more than 40 campuses around Chile.
Features
Bianka Siwinska
While the growing worldwide shortage of engineers has become a threat to global development, students have been flocking to technical universities in Poland to such an extent that they are now more popular than traditional universities.

SOUTH AFRICA
Many students living in ‘appalling’ conditions – Report
Sharon Dell
A significant portion of South African students are living in “appalling” conditions which are jeopardising their academic endeavours and creating health and safety risks. Some are also starving, according to a report on student housing released recently by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

World Blog
Rahul Choudaha
Commission-based agents can increase international student numbers fast, but not without risks and challenges. Should universities use them or consider alternatives such as social media or regional consortia, which might not deliver such high numbers in the short term but won’t run the risk of damaging an institution's reputation?
Vangelis Tsiligiris
The economic crisis has resulted in neo-neoliberal economic policies guiding higher education strategies. This means less focus on government funding of higher education and more focus on monetary objectives. Higher education planning has in effect been given over to economists.

RUSSIA
Private higher education in Russia: The way forward?
Vladimir Geroimenko, Grigori Kliucharev and John Morgan
The growing number of private higher education institutions in Russia fulfil an economic need in a growing economy for more student places and more courses that are closely linked to industry. They will help create an innovative educational environment and drive up quality.

Monday 12 March 2012

University World News issue number 0211

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report


IRAN
Lecturer faces death penalty, UN reports rights abuses
Brendan O’Malley
Campaigners have issued an urgent appeal to stay the execution of a university lecturer at the same time that a UN investigation has reported widespread human rights abuses in Iran including arbitrary arrest, torture and imprisonment of students and academics.

GLOBAL
US tops list of international patent-filing universities

Wagdy Sawahel
US universities remain the most prolific international patent filers among higher education institutions worldwide, accounting for 30 of the top 50 institutions. The US is followed by Japan and South Korea with seven institutions each, the UN World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO, reported on Monday.

INDIA
Moratorium on new engineering, business colleges mooted

Alya Mishra
India’s regulatory authority for technical and engineering institutions has said it may stop accepting proposals for new technical colleges in states with surplus capacity. Scores of engineering and business management institutions have announced closures.

RUSSIA
Undergraduates face common compulsory examination

Eugene Vorotnikov
Russia’s Ministry of Education wants to introduce a compulsory unified state examination for undergraduates. Students will have to pass before they can be awarded a bachelor degree.

PAKISTAN
Academics slam controversial new university ranking

Ameen Amjad Khan
A new university ranking by Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission, announced on 23 February, has stirred controversy in academic circles. Many critics have rejected the criteria, declaring the ranking system faulty and contradictory to international standards and practices.

GERMANY
Ban on joint federal-state university funding to be axed

Michael Gardner
The coalition committee of Germany’s centre-right government has announced a plan to widen the scope for higher education cooperation with the country’s state governments.

EUROPE
ERC defends concentration of grants in top universities

Jan Petter Myklebust
Helga Nowotny, president of the European Research Council, has strongly defended the high percentage of ERC grants that go to Europe’s top universities.

EGYPT
University in turmoil over student sackings

Ashraf Khaled
Dozens of students at the privately-run German University in Cairo have been protesting for more than two weeks after five of their colleagues were dismissed in what the university said was disciplinary action.
IFC – Making Global Connections

The International Finance Corporation held its fifth private higher education conference in Dubai from 6-7 March, titled “Making Global Connections”. Private education providers worldwide discussed issues such as the global skills gap and possible responses, the role of equity in private education, building and maintaining quality and supporting graduate employment. University World News was the media partner to the conference.


GLOBAL
Striking a public-private higher education balance 
Yojana Sharma
With increasing investment in private higher education worldwide it is important to strike the right balance between public and private universities to ensure quality and equity, according to participants at last week's International Finance Corporation conference on private education.

GLOBAL
Making higher education relevant can unleash growth
Yojana Sharma
Higher education has emerged as a major economic issue in many countries because of its importance in preparing young people for the job market. Yet it is often not seen as relevant to the needs of the economy, the International Finance Corporation conference heard in Dubai on Tuesday.

GLOBAL
Is formal education failing Arab youth?
Dahlia Khalifa
One in four Arab youths faces the frustration of not being able to find a job, twice the global average. Education in the region is heavily public sector financed, centralised, outcomes-driven and unresponsive to market needs. There is a major role for the private sector in helping to provide quality education and create jobs.

GLOBAL
What we can do about the Arab youth jobs crisis
Dahlia Khalifa
The numbers are stark. A third of the population in the Arab world is below the age of 15 and a further third is aged 15 to 29. Some 50 to 70 million youths are expected to enter the job market in the next decade. But formal education is not enabling youths to find jobs, and two-thirds feel they do not have the necessary skills.

UAE
Quality the big challenge for private education hubs
Leigh Thomas
Quality is the biggest challenge for United Arab Emirates (UAE) education hubs offering private tertiary education, experts said on Thursday during an International Finance Corporation conference in Dubai.
Universities Australia annual conference

Universities Australia, the peak body representing the nation's universities, held its annual conference in Canberra last week. Geoff Maslen reports.

AUSTRALIA
Europe’s €80 billion plan to boost research, innovation
Geoff Maslen
With a proposed budget of €80 billion (US$105 billion), the European Commission’s new Horizon 2020 plan complemented the approach being taken in most of the EU's member states to increase investment in research and innovation as the routes to future growth, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, EU commissioner for research, innovation and science, said last week.

AUSTRALIA
Demand-driven system boosts student numbers
Geoff Maslen
The federal government’s lifting of restrictions on enrolments that individual universities could accept had boosted student numbers this year by more than 30,000, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, told the Universities Australia conference last week.

AUSTRALIA
Universities face new world of fierce competition
Geoff Maslen
Australia’s new system of higher education, where universities decide how many students they will enrol, means some will thrive with expanding enrolments and quality offerings while others will be bankrupted and fail to attract sufficient students. “No sector introduced to a market rationale is ever the same,” said Professor Glyn Davis, chair of Universities Australia and vice-chancellor of Melbourne University.

AUSTRALIA
University reforms of international significance
Geoff Maslen
The demand-driven university reform introduced by the Australian government this year is significant on the world scale. This is because the reform established one feature of a genuine market: open competition for market share, albeit funded by a government voucher not commercial fees, and operating in some rather than all institutions.
WORLD BLOG
Jehona Serhati
Kosovo needs to seek funds for research, whether or not its universities are teaching students the right skills to help build the country's economy and future. Currently all information is based on word of mouth and unsystematic surveys, rather than on rigorous research.

FEATURES

Goolam Mohamedbhai
South Africa’s National Planning Commission, in its 2011 National Development Plan: Vision for 2030, set out a series of goals for improving education, training and innovation in order to promote economic development by using the information-knowledge system as a driver. Two of those goals relate directly to doctoral education.

SOUTH AFRICA
Little to show for postgraduate incentive funding
Karen MacGregor
Seven years ago, South Africa introduced incentive funding for postgraduates in an effort to meet an urgent national need for more high-level skills. But new research shows that only some universities have been able to respond and that the annual increase in doctoral graduates is limping along at only 3.6% a year.

COMMENTARY
Nico Cloete
South Africa’s Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande, in an article following his attendance at a universities conference in Havana, raised some very important issues for this country’s higher education debate – which, as he suggests, is completely moribund, from bottom to top.

GLOBAL
Flying faculty teaching – who benefits?
Karen Smith
Some transnational higher education teaching models include ‘flying faculty’, where home country academics are flown in to teach for a short period in another country and culture. It's a challenging job, but with many benefits.

GLOBAL
Improving what we offer (international) students
Robert Coelen
Improving international students' experience will attract more and will also benefit local students. That includes changing the way we teach to ensure international students have a voice.

GLOBAL
Exploring identity through education abroad
Andrea O’Leary
Can a short immersion study-abroad course really make a difference to students and universities? The director of one award-winning international programme says it can and the answer is through students forging strong friendships and reflecting on their identities.

Saturday 3 March 2012

University World News Issue Number 0210

News

GLOBAL
Fees coupled with aid schemes maintain access
David Jobbins
OECD analysts have found the combination of tuition fees and financial support that seems to lead to the best outcomes for universities, students and society. They suggest systems that charge moderate fees supported by means-tested grants and income-contingent repayments successfully promote access, equity and completion for students.


SYRIA
Students in front line of anti-Assad protests
Wagdy Sawahel
Up to a quarter of the fatalities in protests in Syria since they began in March 2011 have been students, according to the Union of Syrian Free Students, USFS. It has launched a campaign of civil disobedience in universities, calling on the country’s 800,000 students to support the anti-government uprising.

EUROPE
Social science and humanities key to Horizon 2020
Jan Petter Myklebust

Europe’s research ministers have voiced concern that social sciences and humanities should be given a more prominent role in Horizon 2020, the next European Union framework programme for 2014-20. The fears already expressed by academics were reflected in discussions between research ministers from European Union member states in Brussels last week.

UNITED KINGDOM
One in four university courses axed in England
Brendan O’Malley

The number of full-time undergraduate courses on offer at UK universities has fallen by more than a quarter (27%) since 2006, according to a new report published by the University and College Union. Of the four UK countries, England has suffered the greatest reduction in choice at a time when tuition fees are about to rise to as much as £9,000 (US$14,000) a year.

HONG KONG
Students ‘flee’ change to four-year degrees
Yojana Sharma
As Hong Kong shifts from a three-year to four-year degree structure and school-leavers enter university a year earlier, students are applying to study abroad in large numbers to escape a squeeze on university places and amid fears over recognition abroad of the new untried school exam.

AUSTRALIA
Painting sold for A$21 million but 100 academics lose jobs
Geoff Maslen
When the University of Sydney, Australia’s oldest and one of the wealthiest, sold a Picasso painting last June for nearly A$21 million (US22 million), few staff would have believed that six months later their jobs would be on the line.

EUROPE

One in five graduates ‘overqualified’ for their job
Jan Petter Myklebust
Europe’s graduates are finding jobs twice as quickly as non-graduates, according to a EURYDICE report presented to EU education ministers this month. But its claim that one in five are "overqualified” for the jobs they take has been challenged by analysts.

THE NETHERLANDS
Rule changes after diploma scandal
Robert Visscher

Independent investigations into journalism diplomas awarded at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands have found that one in four students should not actually have been awarded one.

KENYA
No more university diplomas and certificates
Gilbert Nganga
Kenya plans to bar its universities from offering diplomas and certificates, starving them of a key income stream as it seeks to streamline higher education to boost quality. Universities must now concentrate on their core business – degrees – leaving colleges to handle lower qualifications, in a move that should help government regulate the college subsector.

NIGERIA
Academics rally as extremist attacks escalate
Tunde Fatunde
Nigerian academics at home and in the diaspora have strongly condemned recent bombings and destruction by Muslim extremists in the north of the country, with some calling the attacks a “declaration of war”. Scholars have put forward solutions to religious and inter-ethnic conflicts, including calling for a national conference on the crisis.

GERMANY
Backlog of bodies causes problems for university
Michael Gardner
The University of Cologne has faced accusations of management irregularities at its Institute of Anatomy. Apparently, officials lost track of the identities of bodies for dissection courses for medical undergraduates.

MAKING GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

GLOBAL
IFC – Major investment in private higher education
Karen MacGregor
Reflecting the extraordinary growth of private education worldwide, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has built an investment portfolio of US$400 million involving 69 projects in 33 countries, many of them in higher education.

FEATURES
INDIA

Protests erupt against ‘first’ foreign campus

Shuriah Niazi
Often dubbed the first foreign campus in India, the UK’s Leeds Metropolitan University has been established on the outskirts of the central city of Bhopal since 2009 on 15 hectares of lush, sprawling land. But earlier this month the university was rattled by the cries of enthusiastic protestors: “Leeds-Met University, Quit India!”


CANADA
Debate over promise of three new campuses for Ontario

Grace Karram
Debates about the need for more university charters in Ontario were heard this month at a symposium hosted by the University of Toronto. It followed the latest throne speech in which the provincial government promised to create 60,000 new spaces for students by building three new undergraduate campuses.

UNITED STATES
Students fight to block NYU’s bold plans

Eileen Travers
Just when the world thought the Occupy Wall Street movement would fade into the shadows of the New York Stock Exchange, a robust rally organised by its Occupy Student Debt Campaign herded groups of students and non-students alike to protest on Tuesday against a $6 billion New York University expansion project.

WORLD BLOG

CHINA

Developing critical thinking skills through English


Geoff Hall
Chinese students are stereotypically thought to be reluctant to question authority, but this is not the case for English students studying at theUniversity of Nottingham Ningbo. They are taught to question and challenge existing ideas. These critical skills will be vital in an increasingly interconnected world.


COMMENTARY

GLOBAL

The complexities of 21st century brain ‘exchange’

Philip G Altbach
Despite the rise of the BRICs, large numbers of international students are choosing not to return home after completing their studies. Research suggests that this could be for a number of reasons, among them the fact that salaries and facilities in developed countries continue to outpace those at home, and developed countries are keen to maintain their advantage.

UNITED STATES
Universities to be tested to distraction

Diane Ravitch
US schools policy has been all about accountability and measurement. This has led to demoralisation among teachers and a narrowing of what education means. Now higher education is about to be subjected to the same experience.

UNITED STATES
Students must be critical in more ways than one
Adam Peck
Students today are exposed to more information than ever before, but they appear less able to express their opinions. Universities need to ensure that they teach students the critical thinking skills they need for the future, and demonstrate to students that they are the product they are paying to produce.

SCIENCE SCENE

GLOBAL

Waist size linked to obesity and premature death

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that the effect of obesity on the risk of premature death is seriously underestimated unless a person’s hip circumference is taken into account. An international team of researchers investigated the relationship between waist and hip circumference in a 20-year study of almost 8,000 Mauritians.

GLOBAL

Sunshine may help prevent allergies and eczema
Increased exposure to sunlight may reduce the risk of both food allergies and eczema in children, according to a new scientific study. Children living in areas with lower levels of sunlight were at greater risk of developing food allergies and the skin condition eczema, compared with those in areas with higher UV.

AUSTRALIA

Drinking black tea may lower blood pressure
In a world first, scientists at the University of Western Australia and Unilever, the multi-national consumer goods company, discovered that drinking three cups of black tea a day lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

UNITED KINGDOM
Concrete corrosion sensors to spot danger signs

Scientists at Queen’s University in Belfast have made a major breakthrough in developing sensors that dramatically improve the ability to spot early warning signs of corrosion in concrete. Scientists say they will make monitoring the safety of structures such as bridges and vital coastal defences much more effective.


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