One year on, is Australia’s cybersecurity strategy on track? Experts respond
Education and public awareness will continue to play a vital role in ensuring people are better prepared for cyber threats. The Stay Smart Online website is a good initiative and can be enhanced by encouraging more people to sign up to its Alert Service. Communication should continue to be a key focus. More...
Australia’s digital strategy needs major readjustment
Australia ranks 15 out of 63 nations when it comes to digital competitiveness, according to a new report from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). While we’re in the top 20, the result highlights serious structural flaws in our economy that will impact our future performance and living standards. More...
Laboratory schools: a new educational phenomenon
What is a “laboratory school”? Simply put, it’s a school backed by a university department or an institution that trains teachers. Three complementary activities are associated with it: education, training and research (Wilcox-Herzog & McLaren, 2012). As a result of this structure, an organic link is naturally formed between education and research, which makes it possible to “develop and test new approaches, modeling best practices” (Cucchiara, 2010). More...
South Africa has failed its young people. What can be done about it
It is more than 40 years since young people, first in Soweto, and then around the country, rose up against the apartheid regime. Initially their protest was against the introduction of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in schools. But it quickly spread into a general uprising against apartheid. More...
University rankings: good intentions, image polishing and more bureaucracy
Some UK universities will be cheering, some groaning, after the release of rankings under the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). My own university received a silver, so we’re shrugging. Despite all these reactions, we don’t know if we can expect any impact on the quality of teaching. What we do know, however, is that it will lead to a large-scale image polishing, the mushrooming of rankings-related bureaucracy, judicious gaming of the new rules, and cynicism amongst professors and lecturers. More...
Disconnected: Can universities surpass brand image to make their social media relevant?
Social media are a staple of Canadian universities. Twitter — where one can quickly and easily share information, pictures and videos — is particularly used by nearly all Canadian universities. Researchers have generally found that universities use Twitter to broadcast information about themselves, both to potential students and to the wider public. More...
Engaging Colombia’s students may be key to long-term peace
In June, Colombian officials announced that members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia had officially disarmed and become civilians after turning over the last of their weapons. This comes after the militant group signed a peace accord with the government in 2016. More...
The US and Mexico: Education and understanding
Last week, officials from the U.S. and Mexico revitalized their commitment to fight cross-border smuggling of drugs, arms and money. U.S. officials recognized America’s demand for drugs as “the magnet” that feeds drug smuggling, and Mexico committed to tackle jointly the elements of the cartels’ business model. More...
How Trump’s harsh education cuts undermine his economic growth goals
The Trump administration has some ambitious goals that include trillions in tax cuts, a significant military buildup and a fresh investment in infrastructure. More...
The decline in foreign students hurts America’s future
The Trump administration’s nationalism (as most recently witnessed in his pro-travel ban Twitter reaction to the London attacks) has had an unfortunate effect on universities in the United States. Namely, some international students, surmising that they’re unwelcome or unsafe studying in the U.S., are not applying. More...
