Concerns are recently growing over the future of higher education, academic freedom and liberal academics in China. At the end of the last month, during a gathering of university chiefs - including the country’s top institutions, Peking and Tsinghua universities - Education Minister Yuan Guiren urged a tightening of control over textbooks, accused of spreading ‘Western values’.
Chinese politicians believe that universities have a key role in ‘indoctrinating’ students. Recent announcements and official documents are aimed at tightening ideological control over higher education institutions and at encouraging the promotion of Marxism. Although no anti-western references can be found in the ‘ideological’ guidelines published by The Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE), there is a strong emphasis on the need to reintroduce/reinvent Marxism and to build self-confidence in the ‘Chinese Dream’. The MOE’s annual work plan for 2015 refers to such guidelines and it also contains other proposals for internationalisation, not only for sending Chinese students abroad, but for attracting international students into China. 
The situation is sensitive in Hong Kong where, following the protests from September to December of the last year, pro-Beijing local officials are attempting to further squeeze independent media, courts and police. University professors and students are also affected by the tightened controls and they are trying to react urging for the need of formal investigations over government interference in academic affairs. 1000 scholars signed a petition asking the authorities to restrain themselves from compromising academic freedom in the city. 
 
2015 Annual Work Plan (in Chinese): Chinese Ministry of Education South China Morning Post. More...

A new ‘readymade’ ranking comparing internationalisation performance was released this month in U-Multirank. The formula of the ‘readymade rankings’ has been introduced for users’ convenience by providing a ‘finished’ rating operated by the U-Multirank Team without requiring the user to manually select indicators to define which university performs best. The ‘readymade’ rankings are an answer to the criticisms of complexity and ambiguity that the U-Multirank system inherently contains since its launch in May 2014 because of its user-driven approach that is open to infinite possibilities depending on the choices and the abilities of the user (see ACA Newsletter ‘Education Europe’, Edition May 2014). For the time being, three other readymade rankings have been produced: two for higher education institutions as a whole (Research & Research Linkages and on Economic Involvement), and one for a specific academic field (Business Studies programmes).
 
European CommissionRanking: U-MultirankDicussion Paper: U-Multirank. More...

As already announced, the British Council annual forum ‘Going Global’ will take place on 1 and 2 June 2015. As from 9 February registrations are open to participate to the event. Early bird registration closes on Friday 13 March, after which prices increase and final registration closes on Friday 15 May.
The theme of the year is ‘connecting cultures, forging futures’, and it will be explored through this three perspectives: Academic discipline and subject cultures; Organisational cultures; and National, regional and local cultures. The full programme of the conference and post-conference sessions, as well as of side events can be found on the dedicated website.
More information and registration: British Council. More...

The first annual IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad, taking place October 1-2 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC, will bring together commitment partners to facilitate the sharing of best practices and the development of new partnerships and ideas that will advance the goal of doubling the number of U.S. students who study abroad by the end of the decade. Early bird registration will open the 1st March 1 and will close the 1st May 2015.
The first annual IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad will be an exciting, multi-sectoral platform to engage all commitment partners, including U.S. and non-U.S. higher education institutions, the K-12 community, foreign language community, study abroad organizations, education associations, private sector corporations and foundations, and U.S. and foreign government partners. The summit will facilitate the sharing of best practices and the development of new partnerships and ideas that will advance the goal of doubling the number of U.S. students who study abroad by the end of the decade.
Read more and register: IIE. More...

To strengthen their internationalization, German universities enhance their international profile by building strategic partnerships and thematic networks with universities abroad. Within the framework of the programme ‘Strategic Partnerships and thematic networks’, financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and launched in 2012, the DAAD supports long-term cooperation of German higher education institutions with international partners. Out of the 89 applications received, 28 projects were selected for funding in a competitive review process, including ten strategic partnerships and 18 thematic networks. Each of them will receive up to EUR 1 000 000 in the coming four years. German universities will cooperate with partner institutions from 39 countries in total. The regional focus of the partnerships lies on cooperation with institutions based in the United States and China.
Press release (in German): DAAD. More...

A robust and extensive alumni network that commits to support the institution’s development is the dream of many universities today. This is why the upcoming ACA European Policy Seminar on 19 March will take a close look into the role of alumni, particularly international alumni, in supporting the development of higher education institutions and the host countries. The seminar will discuss questions as:
How exactly can alumni support the development of your institution (marketing, fundraising, student recruitment, career counselling, knowledge transfer, etc.)? What are the innovative online tools proven to be effective in engaging alumni? What are the existing national or European resources that that you can tap into when building up your alumni network? What are other universities doing in alumni relations?
The debate will be spurred by a variety of speakers, coming from the European Commission and the various pan-European alumni associations (ESN, EMA, OCEANS Network, GaragEramus), national agencies (DAAD, Campus France), CASE Europe (Council for Advancement and Support of Education), St. Gallen University, and Funderful - a start-up company specialised in online community crowdfunding. 
Registration is now open and special rates apply for ACA members and newsletter subscribers.      
More information and registration:  ACA. More...

The theme of the 2015 UNESCO Mobile Learning Week is Leveraging Technology to Empower Women and Girls. It is co-organised with UN Women and runs from 23 to 27 February 2015 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) contribute to literacy and numeracy by enhancing access and outreach, motivating learners to engage or re-engage in learning, improving the quality of teaching and learning, and boosting the possibilities for lifelong learning.
Downloads
English: Harnessing the Potential of ICTs for Literacy Teaching and Learning (PDF, English, 4MB)Français : Exploiter le potentiel des TIC dans l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des compétences de base (PDF, Français, 6 MB)Español: Aprovechar el Potencial de las TIC para la Alfabetización (PDF, Español, 6 MB)More examples of innovative literacy programmes can be found on UNESCO’s Effective Literacy and Numeracy Practices Database (LitBase). More...

Around 100 specialists, researchers and senior professionals from the formal and non-formal basic education sector met at an international symposium on 11 February in Mexico City. The symposium, entitled “Lifelong Literacy”, was co-organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), the Mexican Ministry of Education (SEP) and the Mexican National Institute for Adult Education (INEA) to discuss Mexican literacy challenges from a lifelong learning perspective. More...