By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In our series on Pacific Rim higher education and research, Yojana Sharma reports on the views of academics attending the Association of Pacific Rim Universities conference that universities will have a key role to play in bridging new emerging digital divides within countries and globally in the era of artificial intelligence and other new technologies.
   In Commentary, Peter De Costa suggests that transnational higher education between Asia and the West – which has been criticised as a form of neocolonialism – can take a leadership role in connecting people by fostering genuine cross-institutional cooperation. Stig Arne Skjerven and Einar Meier point to recent developments in the European Union that have brought the recognition of education qualifications and academic credits back to the top of the mobility agenda. Also on the topic of recognition of qualifications, Johanna Rasplus writes about a European Union-funded conference held to share good practice on credit recognition to promote increased student mobility in the ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations – region. And from Africa, Wondwosen Tamrat and Damtew Teferra report on the findings of a study on international students from Ethiopia that employability was their prime motivation for studying abroad.
   In our World Blog this week, Nita Temmerman challenges education institutions to create appropriate processes to encourage young people to follow their imagination, respond creatively to problems, take risks and develop their innovative ability.
   In Features, Wagdy Sawahel reports that African universities are set to become the primary drivers of the Coding for Employment Program, which aims to prepare the continent’s youth for jobs of the future. And Eric Kelderman looks at what the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy from the United States Supreme Court could mean for higher education in America. More...