Internationalisation has a role to play in promoting equity and social justice

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. Today University World News has reached a new milestone, publishing its 400th issue. In Commentary, Sheila Trahar looks at ways that the internationalisation of higher education institutions might help foster social justice within and across borders, and avoid the risk of perpetuating inequity. Camille B Kandiko Howson outlines recent research findings on the barriers to career progression that women in academia encounter in mid-career. Brenda Gourley offers some pragmatic solutions to higher education stakeholders in their efforts to address the challenge of the ‘youth bulge’, particularly in emerging markets.
Ararat Osipian proposes that the reality on the ground and the motivation in imposing English as a second language at universities in countries like Indonesia and Ukraine be more closely examined. And Adam Habib encourages a thoughtful activism in the South African student movement, as the current populism, if unconstrained, could result in a higher education system that enables access, but destroys quality.
In our Academic Freedom section, Celal Cahit Agar and Steffen Böhm say that the stand taken by Turkish academics against their government’s brutal clampdown in Kurdish regions, for which they have been punished and even imprisoned, has sent a wake-up call to the international public. Neil Pyper says that the murder and torture in Egypt of his friend and fellow scholar, Giulio Regeni, a doctoral student from Cambridge University, is an attack on academic freedom which demands a strong response. And, in News, Brendan O’Malley reports on the growing international demands for a thorough investigation into his death.
In World Blog this week, Patrick Blessinger articulates his views that the right to lifelong learning and education is one of the main human rights issues of our generation, and that higher education is a powerful catalyst for change. Read more...