As international educators, we should consider how we can ‘walk the talk’ and reduce our own carbon footprints. A good starting point is to consult a free carbon footprint calculator on the web. Once we have determined the major sources of our carbon emissions, we can start acting to reduce them. For example, to reduce the impact of transportation, we can use digital communication tools, low-carbon transportation (eg trains instead of planes) and car-sharing platforms. More...
Core values can serve as a compass in your daily work in higher education. They can help guide you in the right direction when the landscape is complex or foggy, and being proactive about implementing policies that support core higher education values may even help your institution avoid some of this difficult terrain altogether. More...
International student recruitment is no rocket science, but just like baking, it has to be done properly. We can’t just throw things we like into the batter and hope something delicious comes out: a couple of burgers, strawberry jam and sushi rolls mixed together will not likely add up to a tasty meal. However, this is how we often approach recruitment. Often the planning only goes so far as to decide which channels to use: let’s go to a few fairs, do some advertising and open up a Snapchat account, let’s GO. More...
International rankings have become an important element in the marketing strategies of English-speaking universities such as the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. A recent research report indicates that this is especially true of Australia. According to an article in PIE (Professionals in International Education) News the Australian consulting firm Studymove has found that there is a correlation between the fees charged by Australian universities and their position in the QS world university rankings. More...
In the latest edition of the US News Best Global Universities there are few significant changes this year. This is a research university ranking that does not attempt to assess teaching or learning. There are 13 indicators: Global research reputation (12.5% weighting), Regional research reputation (12.5%), Publications (10%), Books (2.5%), Conferences (2.5%), Normalized citation impact (10%). More...
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) have released the latest in their series of regional rankings. The Arab Region rankings are generally quite stable but the first place this year goes to King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals of Saudi Arabia which has pushed the American University of Beirut into second place. The top five are completed with King Abdulaziz University and King Saud University in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates University. More...
The Cybermetrics Lab, a research group of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CISC) in Spain, has been producing global rankings of universities since 2004. Their latest contribution is derived from the Google Scholar database, which is now larger than those maintained by Clarivate Analytics and Scopus, and uses the Google Scholar Citations public profiles to rank those researchers whose h-index is higher than 100. More...
I deeply regret the execution of Mr Roberto Ramos Moreno, which took place yesterday in Texas (USA), despite the call from international organisations, including the Council of Europe, and numerous NGOs, to suspend the application of the death penalty and to properly review his case. I reiterate the call of the Committee of Ministers on the authorities of the USA, as an observer State to the Council of Europe, to promote an open and democratic debate towards the abolition of the death penalty. The Council of Europe is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and is resolutely committed to securing its abolition worldwide. More...
This workshop is an opportunity for us to learn from international experiences and use these to improve our penitentiary system, leading to a more secure society. More...
Today, the Grand Chamber delivered a judgment on the case of Navalnyy v. Russia (application no. 29580/12 and four others) which concerned the applicant’s complaint that his arrest, detention and administrative conviction on seven occasions in 2012 and 2014 had breached his rights and had been politically motivated. More...
