By François Therin. Several recent higher education initiatives in Africa suggest that the rest of the world is beginning to view Africa as the next frontier for internationalisation. Will it follow the same pathway – from twinning programmes to partnership programmes and branch campuses – as occurred in Asia? And will France take advantage of language issues to increase its numbers of international students?
In the past six months, several important new developments have occurred concerning higher education in Africa. More...

By Hans de Wit. Higher education in The Netherlands looks good according to all the statistics. For a small country it appears to be punching well above its weight with regard to attracting international students. But recent budget cuts and an increasingly insular attitude could threaten its leading position.
The statistics seem to point to a blossoming, impressive performance.
In international university rankings Dutch research universities are at the top, in terms of position and comparative numbers alike. More...

By Paul Rigg. An international conference in Spain, “The role of English in Higher Education: Issues, policy and practice”, drew an international audience to debate the growth of English as a language of instruction.
The event took place last week in Segovia and was organised by the British Council, with the collaboration of IE University, a private non-profit business owned by the Instituto de Empresa SL. A wide range of universities from Austria, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Finland, France, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the UK were represented, as well as language experts from the British Council and the European Commission, and experts in the field of linguistics. The universities included those already delivering English as a medium of instruction, called EMI, courses and those considering EMI options. More...

By Bianka Siwinska. For the fifth time, at the invitation of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 160 experts from almost 40 countries met in Shanghai earlier this month to talk about the ‘world-class university’, a phenomenon that was hardly recognisable 10 years ago but which has become one of the most popular topics in higher education debates around the globe.
The Fifth International Conference on World-Class Universities, WCU-5, took place from 3-6 November under the general theme of “Global Outreach of World-Class Universities: How it is affecting higher education”. More...

By Ahmet Ýçduygu. In 2011, the United Nations projected that nearly two-thirds of the world’s population would be living in cities by 2050. Yet the physical and social infrastructure of most cities is ill-prepared to absorb the expected influx of new residents. An international conference titled "Global Urban Challenges: The role of research universities" was held last week in Chicago. 
Hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois, the event brought together academics and researchers from 30 research universities from around the world to discuss the role university-based research plays in addressing the challenges of urban growth. More...

By Kalinga Seneviratne. Singapore is offering big money and five years of guaranteed research funding to woo back top Singaporean scientists and engineers from overseas and help the city state become a global research and development powerhouse. 
The Returning Singaporean Scientists Scheme launched last month by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, aims to encourage leading researchers in their field globally to take up leadership positions in Singapore. More...

By Liz Heron. Scotland’s newest university has launched an international head-hunt for a principal to spearhead the provision of higher education across the country’s most remote region. 
The University of the Highlands and Islands, or UHI, is offering a “competitive” salary for an “outstanding candidate” to replace founding principal and vice-chancellor James Fraser, who is due to retire at the end of the year. More...