By Neil Pyper. The body of Giulio Regeni was discovered in a ditch in Cairo on 2 February, showing evidence of torture and a slow and horrific death. Giulio was studying for a PhD at the University of Cambridge, and was carrying out research on the formation of independent trade unions in post-Mubarak Egypt. Read more...17 février 2016
The murder of Giulio is an attack on academic freedom
By Neil Pyper. The body of Giulio Regeni was discovered in a ditch in Cairo on 2 February, showing evidence of torture and a slow and horrific death. Giulio was studying for a PhD at the University of Cambridge, and was carrying out research on the formation of independent trade unions in post-Mubarak Egypt. Read more...Necessity could be the mother of innovation
By Brenda Gourley. Never before in history has there been such a dramatic demographic shift. It is estimated that there are over a billion people in the 15-24 age group. Emerging markets have by far the largest percentages. Read more...Goals and means – Reimagining the South African university
By Adam Habib. 2015 was a tumultuous year for the higher education sector in South Africa. Transformation moved to the heart of the national discourse through two sets of events: the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall movements. Collectively, these became the largest student social movements since the dawn of South Africa’s democracy in 1994. Read more...Urgent need for new curricula, academics and innovation
By Wachira Kigotho. There has been extraordinary expansion of higher education in Ethiopia, with the number of public universities increasing from two in 2000 to 35 today. But the burgeoning sector might not deliver quick economic growth because universities do not have the capacity to drive the development agenda or innovation, says a World Bank report. Read more...Second group of 29 young climate researchers selected
By Munyaradzi Makoni. Twenty-nine early career scientists from 24 African universities and research institutes have been awarded fellowships to study the impacts of climate change on the continent, under the CIRCLE – Climate Impacts Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement – initiative. Read more...Cairo University takes aim at unlawful ‘teaching centres’
By Ashraf Khaled. Cairo University, Egypt’s biggest state-run academic institution, has initiated an action plan against thriving but unlawful ‘teaching centres’ in its vicinity, accusing them of “undermining the educational process”. Read more...Four African countries rated in innovation studies
By Wagdy Sawahel. A new study has ranked South Africa and Kenya at 30 and 51 out of 56 countries for worldwide innovation influence, while in Bloomberg’s index the North African countries of Tunisia and Morocco are in the top 50 for innovation, ranked at 46 and 48. Read more...Cambridge PhD student murdered in Cairo ‘was tortured’
By Brendan O'Malley. Thousands of academics from universities across the world have signed an open letter to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi concerning the death of an Italian student from Cambridge University who disappeared in Cairo on 25 January while conducting research into how independent trade unions were organised in the post-Mubarak era. Read more...How education can help harvest the potential of ‘generation jobless’
By Karen MacGregor – Africa Editor. In Africa Analysis, Adam Habib encourages a thoughtful activism in the South African student movement, as unconstrained populism could lead to higher education that enables access but destroys quality.Brenda Gourley offers pragmatic solutions to higher education, which has a key role in tackling the challenges of the ‘youth bulge’, particularly in emerging markets. And Neil Pyper says the murder and torture in Egypt of his Italian friend Giulio Regeni, a doctoral student from Cambridge University, is an attack on academic freedom which demands a strong response.
In Africa Features, Wachira Kigotho looks at problems kicked up by the rapid expansion of higher education in Ethiopia, and the need for curriculum reform, more students and academics, new infrastructure and innovation.
In Commentary, Sheila Trahar identifies ways that the internationalisation of universities might help foster social justice within and across borders. Camille B Kandiko Howson outlines research findings on the barriers to career progression that women in academia encounter in mid-career. Ararat Osipian proposes that imposing English as a second language at universities in countries like Indonesia and Ukraine be more closely examined.
And in World Blog, Patrick Blessinger argues that access to lifelong learning and education is a major human rights issue and that higher education is a powerful catalyst for change. Read more...
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...
