22 janvier 2018

By Brendan O'Malley – Managing Editor. University World News was the media partner for a conference on New Nationalism and Universities held at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States in November. In a Special Report on the conference, we cover a presentation by John Douglass in which he asks whether universities are challenging or reinforcing the existing political order as nationalism rises across the globe. In her presentation, UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ shared her view that the ‘alt-right’ was testing US universities on free speech as part of a narrative to discredit them. A presentation on Brexit looked at the stakes for UK universities in the upcoming Brexit negotiations but also how they could respond to the drivers of the vote for Brexit. Marcelo Knobel and Renato HL Pedrosa write about the rising violence and threats associated with recent student protests in Brazil, a topic covered at the conference.
   In a second Special Report on digitalised credentials, Herman de Leeuw and Stig Arne Skjerven hail the technological advances that could be a game changer in educational qualification verification and moving towards digital student portability, while Saha Al-Nahi explains how new blockchain technology, which allows academic records to be secured and accessed from any location, could help refugees in particular.
   In Commentary, Emiliano Bosio shares the benefits of transformative global citizenship education, which assists young people in acquiring social, civic and global-intercultural aptitudes. Chau-Duong Quang says Vietnam’s private higher education institutions are increasingly likely to be in the hands of corporations not educators. And Teboho Moja discusses the role of science granting councils in Africa, which she argues sit at the intersection between governments, the higher education sector and society, and have a crucial role to play in the transformation of society.
   In World Blog this week, Patrick Blessinger, Jaimie Hoffman and Mandla Makhanya discuss the need for change and the tensions of change in ensuring a culture of inclusion in higher education.
   In Features, Geoff Maslen unpacks an OECD report on science and technology, which states that new digital technologies are enabling a future of ‘smart everything’ that will require changes in science and innovation policy. And Christabel Ligami considers the impact on female students of the lack of sexual harassment policies at Kenyan universities – a situation which is slowly being addressed.
   In a Special Report from the Inyathelo Ninth Leadership Retreat held in South Africa, Mark Paterson looks at how the practice of advancement – the practice of raising funds as part of efforts to effect institutional transformation – is improving governance and leadership. And Karen MacGregor reports on the analysis of Dr Bhekinkosi Moyo, CEO of the Southern Africa Trust, of the extraordinary growth in philanthropy in African universities. More...

By Brendan O'Malley – Managing Editor. In Features, Yojana Sharma says universities in China and elsewhere in Asia are belatedly joining global alliances to promote ethical practices in artificial intelligence or AI, as these countries invest heavily in research and development in the race for AI.
   Also in Features, Jan Petter Myklebust reports on a heated debate ignited when a Swedish lecturer blogged that the policy requirement that 40% of recommended literature should be women authors made it difficult to run a university course on fascism and totalitarianism. And Wagdy Sawahel looks at the growing incidence of violent physical assaults by university students on academic staff in Algeria and its impact on universities.
   In Commentary, Simon Marginson argues the case for liberal arts and science university education to be scaled up and says the ideal structure is for liberal arts and science first degrees to operate as foundational to professional programmes. Deren Temel says Japanese universities are not adequately preparing international students for success in Japanese society despite high demand for international hires, focusing in particular on Vietnamese students. And Ross VeLure Roholt, Jennifer Catalano, Robert Hollister and Alexander Fink urge universities and funders to explore the concept of ‘transformative entrepreneurship’ as this disruptive approach has much to teach higher education.
   In our World Blog, Budd L Hall and Rajesh Tandon explain why more community-based participatory researchers are needed to help achieve the ambitious United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
   In Student View, Makomborero Haruzivishe says students in Zimbabwe should not celebrate prematurely because of the resignation of President Robert Mugabe as much change is needed in higher education. And Helge Schwitters of the European Students’ Union warns that students need to be included in the current EU discussions on deeper cooperation and mobility in higher education.
   We ask readers to consider the new University World News partnership programme for universities and higher education organisations wishing to raise their profile internationally and connect with a key audience of university leaders, academics, administrators and policy-makers. More...

By Sharon Dell – Africa Editor.  In a Special Report, global higher education expert Jamil Salmi reviews a new book, Castells in Africa: Universities and Development, which showcases the contribution of Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells to higher education research and thinking in Africa. In an afterword to the book Manuel Castells reflects on the complex economic, political and social terrain occupied by universities in Africa and beyond, and some concluding remarks on the significance of Castells’ work in Africa are offered by the book’s editors Johan Muller, Nico Cloete and François van Schalkwyk.
   Salmi himself has authored a new book, The Tertiary Education Imperative: Knowledge, Skills and Values for Development, which is reviewed here by Mark Paterson and Nico Cloete who describe it as an “immensely readable and practical volume that is informed by a deep understanding of both the theoretical and real-world challenges faced by policy agents seeking to transform their higher education systems”.
   In Africa Analysis, Damtew Teferra considers the progress being made towards a harmonised credit transfer system in Africa.
   In Africa Features, Tunde Fatunde canvasses the comments of West African academics and intellectuals on the recent detention of a Cameroonian academic, while Wagdy Sawahel reports that many students at universities throughout the African continent are going without food on a daily basis, which is affecting their academic performance.
   In our Academic Corruption column, Brendan O'Malley examines the drive to address academic corruption in Nigeria and other developing countries.
   As usual, we offer a selection of news stories from around the continent, including a report from Zimbabwe by Tonderayi Mukeredzi on a recent meeting between the new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and university vice-chancellors during which universities were implored to help find solutions to the country’s considerable economic challenges.
   You are invited to register for an upcoming international webinar looking at how higher education megatrends will shape the future of global higher education and international student mobility. University World News is the media partner for the webinar which is hosted by StudyPortals and will take place on Wednesday 24 January. More...

By Sharon Dell – Africa Editor. In Africa Features, Sharon Dell interviews Dr Tahiru Azaaviele Liedong, assistant professor of strategy in the School of Management at the University of Bath in the UK, about his recent research which proposes that business schools in Africa should be nurturing institutional entrepreneurs rather than ethical business leaders in order to fight systemic corruption.
   Also in Africa Features, Gilbert Nakweya asks why so many law graduates are failing the Kenyan national bar examination upon their first sitting, and Esther Nakkazi writes about the introduction of an e-learning platform to a community-based education research programme for students in health-related disciplines in Uganda.
   In Africa Analysis, Simon Ngalomba discusses the benefits for agenda-setting of greater equality and reciprocity in China-Africa higher education collaborations.
   Among our News items from around the continent, Kudzai Mashininga reports on the growing popularity among Zimbabwean students of the ruling ZANU-PF party; Ashraf Khaled reports on the recent student elections held in universities in Egypt; and Francis Kokutse writes about some of the highlights of the African University Day celebrations initiated by the Association of African Universities in Ghana.
   Given the scale of the global refugee problem, Patrick Blessinger and Enakshi Sengupta in our World Blog encourage colleges and universities to continue the good work of helping more refugees access higher education. More...

By Sharon Dell – Africa Editor. In our Special Report from the Inyathelo Ninth Leadership Retreat held in South Africa, Mark Paterson provides an overview of some key features under discussion, focusing on the practice of advancement and the benefits that integrated fundraising can bring, not just as a source of funding, but as a means of improving institutional governance and leadership. Also in our Special Report, Karen MacGregor highlights the points made by Dr Bhekinkosi Moyo, CEO of the Southern Africa Trust, on the evolution of philanthropy in Africa.
   In Africa Analysis, Teboho Moja discusses the role of science granting councils which she argues sit at the intersection between governments, the higher education sector and society, and have a crucial role to play in the transformation of society.
   In Africa Features, Christabel Ligami considers the impact on female students of the lack of sexual harassment policies and reporting systems at Kenyan universities – a situation which is slowly being addressed.
   In news from around the continent, Tonderayi Mukeredzi reports on calls by Zimbabwean students based in the United Kingdom for the new government to prioritise higher education, while Gilbert Nganga reports on a major fees hike in store for state-funded students at public universities in Kenya.
   In World Blog this week, Patrick Blessinger, Jaimie Hoffman and Mandla Makhanya discuss the need for change and the tensions of change in ensuring a culture of inclusion in higher education. More...