By Philip G Altbach. The liberal arts are seeing a modest revival globally. In the struggle between specialisation on the one hand and general or liberal education on the other, specialisation has mostly won. In much of the world, higher education study is organised to prepare people for the workforce and most often for specific professions. Read more...

By Grace Karram Stephenson. When a summer heat wave moves across Canada you will likely see small roadside tables set up in residential communities, attended by local children selling lemonade. In a country with few street vendors these childhood enterprises are a historic symbol of entrepreneurship and community: the winter is over, people have emerged from their homes and the community needs refreshment. Read more...

By Nic Mitchell. Obstacles to exchanges between universities in the European Union and their southern and eastern neighbours “should be eliminated” by simplifying and harmonising visa procedures in order to support and encourage academic exchange and cooperation. Read more...

By Peta Lee. Although the traditional lecture hall is unlikely to ever disappear completely, it is increasingly being supplemented – and in some cases replaced – by technology. And while a combination of both online and onsite learning as a teaching means is proving successful, more work is needed for this combination to truly internationalise the global learning experience. Read more...

By Eugene Vorotnikov. Up to 150 large, multi-profile universities will be established in Russia over the next several years, according to Alexander Klimov, deputy minister of education and science. Read more...

By Jan Petter Myklebust and Michelle Paterson. A shift away from traditional student mobility destinations is among the developments noted in a report by the international strategy office of Oxford University, which offers a summary of key trends in higher education to illustrate the global context of its international engagement. Read more...

By Barbara Barkhausen. Regional Australian universities are turning out to be top performers, according to the Good Universities Guide 2016, an independent five-star performance rating of Australian undergraduate courses released by education solutions provider Hobsons this month. Read more...

By Yojana Sharma. Sharply depreciating currencies in Asian and other emerging markets including Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Chile, accompanied by extreme volatility in China’s stock market which is affecting the economic confidence of that country’s middle-class, could have a knock-on effect on overseas student recruitment by universities in the United States and United Kingdom. Read more...

The predicament of Madagascan students studying in China is worsening because of their government’s continuing failure to pay grants. The students fear that they will be unable to renew visas and re-enrol if their debts remain unsettled. Students in Morocco are also having problems because of unpaid state grants. Read more...

By Damtew Teferra. The Times Higher Education or THE, one of the publishers of the global rankings of higher education institutions, with the University of Johannesburg recently hosted an Africa Universities Summit titled “Moving Africa’s Universities Forward: Building a shared global legacy” to provide insights into “best practice in the development of world-class teaching and research and shaping institutional strategic missions in an African and international context”. Read more...