By Savo Heleta. Research and creative thinking can change the world. This means that academics have enormous power. But, as academics Asit Biswas and Julian Kirchherr have warned, the overwhelming majority are not shaping today’s public debates. Read more...

By Wachira Kigotho. Despite the rapid expansion of Kenyan higher education in the last two decades, universities have failed to produce employable graduates and there is a shrinking supply of skilled labour. In a key report on the country’s economic status, the World Bank faults universities for a focus on revenue generation and weak quality assurance mechanisms. Read more...

By Michael Gardner. Efforts to support refugee students are being stepped up by various higher education institutions and organisations as well as state governments in Germany. World University Service, or WUS, is now providing a constantly updated list of Internet links to guide students and academics and coordinate activities. Read more...

By Eugene Vorotnikov. The Russian government will significantly reduce the number of technical specialties in universities, due to financial issues and as part of the ongoing reform of the national system of higher education. Read more...

By Munyaradzi Makoni. African heads of state attending the Next Einstein Forum’s Global Gathering 2016 in Senegal pledged to improve science funding and promote the enrolment and retention of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields. Read more...

By Munyaradzi Makoni. Many developing countries have appointed science ministers and drawn up science policies. But using funding for research that meets immediate and pressing needs is a difficult task, since it is often a bottom-up approach that produces science excellence, according to Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, president of the European Research Council. Read more...

By Yojana Sharma. The University of Hong Kong's student magazine has said the city should become a sovereign state recognised by the United Nations, in an article that has sparked a wider political debate – an indication of the influence of university students in Hong Kong politics. Read more...

By Yojana Sharma. It is easy enough to see the European Union as a monster that devours taxpayers’ money, but even hardened Eurosceptics cannot fudge the figures showing the United Kingdom gets more out than it pays in for science and research. The UK is a global science power, thanks in part to the EU. Read more...

By Jan Petter Myklebust. The Swedish Research Council – Vetenskapsradet or VR – has published a report showing that just over half of academics at universities and university colleges are recruited from the same higher education institution from which they got their doctoral degree. Read more...

By Brendan O’Malley. In Kakuma refugee camp north-west Kenya, around a dozen students are sitting in a white pre-fab learning hub the size of a lorry container, with their backs to their computers, having a discussion. Read more...