By Jan Petter Myklebust and Ian R Dobson. The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture is pressing universities to reform their curricula to give up smaller disciplines and give a higher profile to their strengths, specialising in particular subjects. Read more...

By Brendan O'Malley. UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, is calling on universities to support scholarships for refugees and on governments to invest in education for refugees and to ease the provision of visas for refugee students. Read more...

By Brendan O'Malley. The new Prime Minister, Theresa May, has criticised the use of 'safe spaces' for debate in universities, which are intended to ensure discussion does not cause offence to students, saying that they hold back innovation and harm the country. Read more...

By Brendan O'Malley. Higher education can only rise to the challenge of the changes buffeting the world and education itself shifts the culture of its own organisations, according to Richard Gerver, the opening keynote speaker at the annual conference of the European Association for International Education or EAIE held in Liverpool last week. Read more...

By Yojana Sharma. China’s ambitious drive to attract more foreign students is beginning to pay off with some 397,635 students from overseas studying in China last year, according to official figures released earlier this year. This is in line with the government’s target of achieving an overall international student population of 350,000 by 2015. Read more...

By Yojana Sharma. Australian universities have been hyperactive in tying up collaborations and research cooperation deals with universities and other organisations in China, including Chinese state-backed companies. Read more...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In a Special Report covering last week’s annual conference of the European Association for International Education which took place in Liverpool in the UK, Melissa Fleming of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, made a plea to universities and governments to invest in education for refugees and for governments to ease visa restrictions on these students. Brendan O’Malley interviews keynote speaker Richard Gerver on the culture shift needed in higher education to adapt to a world of increasingly rapid change, from Brexit and the refugee crisis to digital disruption, while Patrick Hackett of the University of Liverpool discusses the development and future of transnational education, “probably the fastest growing feature of the international higher education landscape”.
In Commentary, Philip Warwick considers the discouraging message Brexit and heavier UK visa restrictions – a likely response to immigration concerns – will send to young scholars around the world. Jason Tan says Singapore’s well-intentioned ‘global schoolhouse’ vision over a decade ago encountered some unforeseen obstacles with the result that the original 2015 target for international students was not nearly achieved.
In World Blog, Patrick Blessinger expounds the value of international university partnerships and explores best practice in the pursuit of common goals.
In a series on ‘Transformative Leadership’ in which University World News is partnering with The MasterCard Foundation, Brendan O'Malley talks to a first-generation Nigerian graduate with degrees from North America who is attempting to transform the lives of African artisans through a 'Made in Africa' enterprise.
In Features, Sharon Dell explains why South African Vice-chancellor Thandwa Mthembu believes so strongly in entrepreneurship education.
You are invited to register for the second international free webinar to be hosted by University World News in partnership with DrEducation on 4 October, entitled 'Embracing Technology for Global Engagement: A leadership challenge and opportunity'. Read more...