By Shaheen Motala Timol and Kevin Kinser. In an effort to align itself with global trends in higher education, Mauritius has since the late 1990s identified internationalisation as a key strategy to achieve knowledge hub status and become a regional centre of excellence. In 2000, the government brought forward this vision in its New Economic Agenda. More...

By Damtew Teferra. Flagship universities in Africa are the most important higher learning institutions in their respective countries. In a number of cases these institutions are also prominent in their respective sub-regions. More...

By Zachariah Mushawatu. A proposed Cyber Crime and Cyber Security Bill is likely to have a devastating effect on academic freedom and student activism in Zimbabwe. More...

By Ochieng' O Benny. Nine additional PhD candidates from six African countries have been selected to participate in the three-year in-region and in-country scholarship programme aimed at strengthening the capacity for agricultural teaching and research in African universities. More...

By Christabel Ligami. Tanzania’s flagship University of Dar es Salaam is under investigation by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee for the mismanagement of university funds. More...

By Rodrigue Rwirahira. Further restructuring of the University of Rwanda – the product of a seven-institution merger – may be on the cards. "At what cost to quality?" asks a higher education expert. More...

By Kudzai Mashininga. Zimbabwe’s Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has lost his Constitutional Court bid to overturn his arrest on charges of allegedly misappropriating around US$450,000 from a manpower development fund that finances students, among other activities. More...

By Sharon Dell – Africa Editor. As part of our Special Report on African scholarly publishing, Thierry Luescher and François van Schalkwyk argue that African university presses have an important mission and a unique contribution to make to the African knowledge base and would benefit from a greater will to innovate, relearn and adopt new technologies, while Karen MacGregor reports on the launch in Johannesburg by a small group of African scholarly publishers of a network for collaboration, experience-sharing and advocacy.
   This special report kicks off a new section on African Scholarly Publishing that will carry regular articles on developments in the academic book and journal publishing sector on the continent.
   In Africa Analysis, Zachariah Mushawatu highlights the potential threats to academic freedom and student activism in Zimbabwe posed by a proposed new bill on cyber security, while Damtew Teferra contends that the best way to elevate universities in Africa to world-class, research-oriented institutions would be to strategically consolidate the existing flagship universities.
   In Africa Features, Gilbert Nakweya writes about growing recognition of the need to integrate STEM and humanities subjects at university level in order to produce graduates capable of dealing with the world’s multi-dimensional challenges.
   In News from around the continent, Kudzai Mashininga reports that the Constitutional Court in Zimbabwe has paved the way for the prosecution of the higher education minister on charges relating to the misuse of funds intended for students, while Rodrigue Rwirahira reports on concerns over further restructuring of the University of Rwanda, already the product of a multi-institutional merger. More...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In our World Blog this week, Margaret Andrews concedes that change is difficult but says universities need to adapt to support lifelong learning as the students of the future will want and need to learn throughout their lives.
   In Commentary, Norbert Sabic says the Hungarian government somehow seems able to reconcile its desire for increased student mobility and academic cooperation with nationalistic tunes, but warns that some higher education principles – and even entire institutions – may fall victim to right-wing political agendas. Thomas Jørgensen suggests that the easiest path forward for UK universities after Brexit is an agreement with European Union research and student mobility programmes because trade deals would be subject to individual countries’ agreement and restrictions. And Damtew Teferra contends that the best way to elevate universities in Africa to world-class, research-oriented institutions would be to strategically consolidate the existing flagship universities.
   Also in Commentary, V Santhakumar says using higher education to achieve social inclusion of lower castes in India could do with a different approach – and India could learn some lessons on this from Brazil. And Bruno Morche argues that Latin American universities need to embrace a more international outlook to improve the region’s performance in global rankings and enable it to compete on a global stage.
   In Features, Shuriah Niazi reports that the suicide of a student who achieved top marks in school subjects has highlighted the despair of thousands of students from India’s lower caste who have been denied entry to medical college following changes in medical admissions policy that have been upheld by the Supreme Court. And Jan Petter Myklebust reports that initiatives in Finland towards new educational export projects have been given government support and are mushrooming.
   In a Special Report on African scholarly publishing, Thierry Luescher and François van Schalkwyk look at how African presses are faring under the global publishing industry’s current market conditions, while Veronica Klipp writes with regret that the overwhelming proportion of South African research goes to international publishers, and says university presses in Africa would have to radically improve their capacity to remedy the situation. More...