University World News 0163 - 20th March 2011

This week's highlights
In Features, ALYA MISHRA writes that India's planned private Vedanta University has sparked a bitter confrontation between a state government and locals - and the people are winning. JANE MARSHALL reports on findings presented in New York at the International Summit on the Teaching Profession. In Commentary, HANS DE WIT argues that universities need to look more broadly at curriculum change and assessment methodologies as the world becomes more interconnected and students and academics become more mobile, and OMAR RODRIGUEZ-ORTIZ contends that divisions over tactics and violence by some have lost protesting students in Puerto Rico public sympathy. QS' DANNY BYRNE questions the recently released THE ranking based on academic reputation, and DIANE HARLEY and SOPHIA KRZYS ACORD of Berkeley write that the current system of peer review and scholarly communication is undermining scholarship.

HONG KONG: The Going Global conference

ASIA: Countries vying to become education hubs
Yojana Sharma
A number of Asian countries have declared that they want to become higher education hubs in order to develop as knowledge economies. They are setting up facilities and initiating policies to attract foreign students, researchers and faculty as well as branch campuses of foreign institutions, in what amounts to a major change in attitude towards higher education from purely local to regional and international.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: What international students want to study
Yojana Sharma
Predicting where future international students will come from and what subjects they go abroad to study has become a mini-industry in receiving countries such as Britain and Australia, where some courses are highly dependent on overseas student fees.
Full report on the University World News site:


NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

CHINA: Innovation and research to boost economy
Yojana Sharma
Innovation and research must be at the forefront of China's national economic plan for the next five years if the country's desire to move away from pursuing rapid economic growth at all costs to a more broad-based economy is to succeed, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said last week.
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JAPAN: Research cannot predict the worst - expert
Suvendrini Kakuchi
World-leading disaster research at Japanese universities and scientific institutes proved to be inadequate in the face of the massive earthquake that shook the northern Tohoku region on 11 March. It was followed by tsunamis that pounded its cities, towns and villages and swept through swathes of coastline that also hosts the Fukushima nuclear power reactors now threatening deadly meltdowns.
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BRAZIL: Oil giant investing millions in universities
Tom Hennigan
Brazil's new oil riches have proven to be a boon for the country's universities. Petrobas, the state-controlled company developing new reserves, has poured US$700 million into university science and technology programmes in the last three years.
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IRELAND: Tuition fees off new government's agenda
John Walshe
The two political parties making up the newly-elected government in Ireland - Fine Gael and Labour - have avoided a major row between them by agreeing to yet another review of the controversial issue of student funding. Irish university students will continue to study without having to pay for their tuition for the foreseeable future.
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ICELAND: Education reforms to tackle drop-out rate
Nick Holdsworth
Iceland is planning to tackle high levels of post-secondary school drop-outs by shifting emphasis away from a narrow focus on preparing students for university entrance. Katrin Jakobsdottir, the North Atlantic island's education minister, hopes that implementation will begin soon of reforms introduced three years ago but delayed by the financial crisis that triggered the collapse of all three of its commercial banks.
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NORWAY: Research policy review nears completion
Jan Petter Myklebust
Norway is reviewing its research system in preparation of possible reforms. A committee led by Oslo University professor Jan Fagerberg is writing up the conclusions, partly based on comparative data from Canada, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Norway.
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EUROPE: EU to launch 'industrial' PhD
Jan Petter Myklebust
The European Commission is to launch a European Industrial Doctorate, or EID, based on a scheme that has operated in Denmark for some 40 years.
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PUERTO RICO: Stop campus abuses - US liberties union
Alison Moodie
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has urged the US government to put a stop to police brutality against and censorship of student protesters at Puerto Rico's most prestigious university. See also the Commentary section
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TECHNOLOGY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

AUSTRALIA: Day of the iPad arrives
Geoff Maslen
A South Australian university became the first in the world last month to give an Apple iPad to all its first-year science students as part of a curriculum shake-up. The University of Adelaide says the iPad will revolutionise the way science is taught. Meantime, other universities are also changing their teaching through the use of new technology.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Technology transforms the lecture
Geoff Maslen
Dr Birgit Loch is helping to reshape the age-old formal lecture with its talking head and passive students. Using new technology to boost student learning, improve their marks and even keep drop-out rates down, Loch has incorporated tablet PCs with touch-sensitive screens, clickers and screencasts.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

INDIA: Private university halted over land scandal
Alya Mishra
Vedanta University, financed by a British-based mining magnate, has sparked a confrontation between a state government in India and local people - and highlighted a wider controversy over allotting land to private higher education institutions at a time when legislation to allow in foreign institutions is making its way through parliament.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Train teachers as education researchers: OECD
Jane Marshall
The most successful countries educationally make teaching an attractive, high status profession, and provide training for teachers to become educational innovators and researchers who have responsibility for reform. These were among findings presented last week in New York at the International Summit on the Teaching Profession, the first of its kind, held to identify best practices for recruiting, training and supporting teachers.
Full report on the University World News site:

HERANA - Universities and development in Africa

AFRICA: Research into higher education busts myths
Karen MacGregor
Major research into African universities has been "myth-busting", says Professor Peter Maassen of the University of Oslo, co-author of a new report on higher education and development on the continent. The study revealed that flagship universities in eight African countries are more similar to institutions elsewhere than is generally perceived, with well-qualified staff, positive student-to-staff ratios, and rising enrolments including in science, engineering and technology.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: Trends and drivers in internationalisation
Internationalisation of higher education has become more mainstream in the past 30 years. But, argues HANS DE WIT, universities will need to look more broadly at curriculum change and assessment methodologies as the world becomes more interconnected and students and academics become more mobile.
Full report on the University World News site:

PUERTO RICO: Student division damages fees stand
Students in Puerto Rico have been campaigning against the imposition of fees since late last year, and police violence against them during protests sparked public outrage. But, writes OMAR RODRIGUEZ-ORTIZ, division over student tactics and violence by some members mean they have lost public sympathy.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: THE reputational rankings - a helpful tool?
Times Higher Education has said that its world rankings are the gold standard. But DANNY BYRNE from QS, which provides alternative rankings, says they are not transparent and questions why, after stating previously that they wished to focus on 'objective' data, THE has now published a survey based on academic reputation.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Academic publishing must promote good scholarship
The current system of peer review and scholarly communication relies too heavily on unrealistic publication requirements, to the detriment of good scholarship, argue DIANE HARLEY and SOPHIA KRZYS ACORD of the University of California, Berkeley.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports from around the world
Noemi Bouet*
After weeks of violence in Burkina Faso, in which at least six students died, the government has shut down all universities until further notice. The Yemini army has injured 98 students while attempting to halt protests on campuses. In Sudan, 100 students and youths have been arrested since January and many have reported severe mistreatment and torture. An Iranian history lecturer has been dismissed after publishing critical articles, and the Iranian Ministry of Education has announced new restrictions on students abroad. In Malawi, lecturers striking against interference in academic freedom have defied a presidential order to go back to work
Full report on the University World News site:

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WORLD ROUND-UP

AUSTRALIA: Foreign students 'allowed to underperform'
Gigi Foster knows her disturbing research findings on international students won't make her many friends. In a university sector grown dependent on international fee revenue, it might not do much to progress her academic career either, writes Andrew Trounson for The Australian.
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UK: British universities ditch Libyan deals
A string of universities said they had pulled out of a deal with Tripoli to train hundreds of health workers, writes Michael Howie for The Telegraph. The disclosure came as official statistics showed virtually every university in Britain is being paid by the Libyan government to educate students.
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INDIA-US: 12 Tri-Valley students freed of radio tag
Twelve of 18 Indian students of the closed Tri-Valley University in California in the United States are now free of radio collars, the Ministry of External Affairs has told the National Human Right Commission, writes Vineeta Pandey for Daily News & Analysis.
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INDIA: Deemed universities face fee, admission curbs
Private 'deemed' universities (institutions with considerable autonomy) will no longer be free to decide their fees or admission policies. The Human Resource Development Ministry has decided to let the University Grants Commission enforce its first-ever regulations on tuition fees and admission at deemed universities, writes Basant Kumar Mohanty for the Telegraph India.
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GERMANY: University funding fears as states scrap fees
The German university fee system is on the brink of collapse after another state confirmed it would abolish charges for students following a change in local government, writes Alexandra Topping for the Guardian.
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IRELAND: New higher education rules 'a debacle'
New rules governing appointments in the higher education sector are a "debacle", a senior civil servant has claimed. In a scathing confidential assessment sent to senior education figures, Martin Shanagher, assistant secretary at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, says the moves will "penalise'' research activity, and were made without considering the full implications, reports Sean Flynn for the Irish Times.
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CANADA: First Nations, universities sign unique pact
A historic agreement has been struck between the leaders of First Nations and universities in Atlantic Canada to enhance educational opportunities for aboriginal people, reports CBC News.
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CANADA: McGill fined $2 million for raising MBA fees
Quebec's government has fined McGill University $2-million for the school's unilateral decision to raise its tuition fees for an MBA from $1,700 to $29,500, writes James Bradshaw for the Globe and Mail.
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UK: Universities may face fines for high fees
The UK's coalition government is considering a Soviet-style central intervention policy to effectively fine individual universities in England if they impose unreasonable tuition fees next year, write Patrick Wintour and Allegra Stratton for the Guardian.
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JORDAN: Ministry to rate universities and courses
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific research is currently drafting a system to rate public and private universities and courses, writes Khetam Malkawi for Zawya. Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Wajih Owais said the measure was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of universities and courses.
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PALESTINE: Hamas police raid Gaza campus
The Al-Azhar University in Gaza City last week accused Hamas police of storming the office of its president and abusing him verbally, reports Khaled Abu Toameh for the Jerusalem Post. The university said that Hamas policemen in civilian clothes raided the office during a meeting between the president and board of trustees.
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US: Probe into anti-semitism on California campus
The US Department of Education is investigating a faculty member's complaint that a series of pro-Palestinian events at a California university crossed the line into anti-semitism and created a hostile environment for Jewish students, reports the Washington Post.
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SOUTH AFRICA: University mulls ties with Ben-Gurion
The University of Johannesburg held a seminar last Wednesday to begin deliberating the future of its academic ties with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, writes Ben Hartman for the Jerusalem Post.
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UK: Oxford set for record state school intake
Oxford University is on course to have the highest ever proportion of state school pupils in its undergraduate intake this autumn. Figures recently published by the institution show that just 41.5% of offers were made to private school candidates, writes Jeevan Vasagar for the Guardian.
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UK: Underperforming vice-chancellors may lose pay
The UK's main lecturers' union has welcomed proposals for vice-chancellors to have a portion of their pay withheld if they fail to perform well in their job, writes Hannah Fearn for Times Higher Education. Individual heads could lose up to 10% of their pay under the plans set out this week by Will Hutton in his final report on fair pay in the public sector.
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MALAYSIA: Universities rapped for politicking
The Malaysian prime minister has called for a reduction in politicking on university campuses, especially in the appointment of vice-chancellors, reports The Star. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that at times the politicking surrounding the appointment of university leaders was so intense that it surpassed that of a political party.
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UGANDA: 70,000 to miss out on university
Over 70,000 students may this year miss admission to university, both private and public, because they did not get the required two principal passes or because the institutions do not have enough vacancies, writes Conan Businge for Sunday Vision.
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