La Red de Macrouniversidades de América Latina y el Caribe fue creada en 2002. Su objetivo es poner en marcha programas cooperativos y solidarios relacionados con la movilidad de estudiantes y académicos, de investigación en las fronteras del conocimiento relacionadas con la solución de los más importantes problemas de las mayorías del continente, con el posgrado, con el financiamiento público y con la preservación y el desarrollo del patrimonio histórico de estas importantes instituciones, siempre y cuando las macrouniversidades cuentan con el mayor potencial regional para realizarlos. The link address is: http://www.redmacro.unam.mx/
Should the ‘veil’ be banned in higher education?
By Rosemary Salomone. It seems that the French never tire of debating the role of religion in public life. Or perhaps the concept of laïcité, a uniquely French model of secularism, just keeps tangling them up in political knots. The most recent dispute over the wearing of the Islamic veil by French university students has once again laid bare the problems and paradoxes of a nation struggling to apply a revered historical principle to a rapidly changing social environment. It also reveals how the discourse and practice of laïcité have become caught in a time warp. In early August, the French daily newspaper Le Monde made public “an alarmist report and polemic proposition” prepared by the Secular Mission of France’s High Council for Integration, or HCI. More...Unión de Universidades de América Latina (UDUAL)
La Unión de Universidades de América Latina (UDUAL) se creó en 1949.UDUAL promueve programas encaminados a fortalecer a sus miembros afiliados, a fin de que éstos alcancen la calidad y eficiencia que requiere la universidad contemporánea en respuesta a las exigencias presentes y los retos del futuro, y para hacer de ellos una herramienta eficaz para el desarrollo social, cultural y económico de los países latinoamericanos en pro de una comunidad libre, armónica y genuinamente humanitaria. The link address is: http://www.udual.org/
South Africa - Salary hike demands close large rural university
By Ishmael Tongai. Despite being put under administration and rescued from bankruptcy by the government, Walter Sisulu University, or WSU, is still in a terrible mess. Last week the institution was closed indefinitely over an unresolved salary dispute with workers that had been simmering for more than six weeks.The dispute between workers and the university authorities risks overturning short-term financial stability achieved by the rural institution after years of financial turbulence. More...
Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE)
The Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) is a membership-based forum. IMHE focuses on a wide range of cross-cutting issues. Activities include reviews of higher education in regional and city development, the assessment of higher education learning outcomes, as well as studies on quality teaching. in higher education and the management of internationalisation. The link address is: http://www.oecd.org/edu/imhe
Election outcome – More gloom for universities
By Geoff Maslen. Academics and professional staff inhabiting Australia’s 39 public universities could hardly be more pessimistic about the future as the nation head to the polls next Saturday to elect a new federal government. It now seems certain the conservative parties, headed by controversial Opposition leader Tony Abbott, will replace the Labor Party administration that has held office since 2007. The only other certainty for higher education is that no matter who wins, the prospects are grim. More...Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning/distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. COL is helping developing nations improve access to quality education and training. The link address is: http://www.col.org/
Academic union rejects higher education reforms
By Jane Marshall. A week after Senegal’s Presidential Council on Higher Education Reforms took place, the university lecturers’ union SAES reacted against the changes approved, saying there could be “no peace in the university sector” because the government had violated an agreement signed in March 2011. The reforms, approved by the council presided over by President Macky Sall on 14 August, followed a national consultation on the sector earlier this year initiated by Higher Education Minister Mary Teuw Niane. The council passed 11 decisions, each governed by a number of directives. More...International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU)
The International Federation of Catholic Universities is made up of some 200 Catholic universities and institutions of higher education. They have at their disposal a permanent secretariat tasked with implementing the orientations and policies as set forth by the General Assembly and the administrative bodies. In addition to administrative tasks and managing the Federation’s activities, the general secretariat also serves as a facilitator, enhances coordination and fosters an unimpeded flow of information between the members and organizations as well as with partner institutions of the IFCU. The link address is: http://www.fiuc.org/
Looking beyond the Shanghai university rankings
By Karen MacGregor. Interviews with leaders of institutions featured in the Academic Ranking of World Universities culminated recently in The Shanghai Jiao Tong Top 200 Research Universities Encyclopedia – an effort “to go beyond the numbers associated with rankings to better understand some of the most important institutions in our collective future”. The interviews identified shared visions and trends, including the need for more involvement with the private sector in research, the importance of student mobility and developing entrepreneurial skills, mission shifts towards economic development, and the role of universities in tackling global challenges. More...