By Brendan O’Malley. The short-term effects of the large-scale purge carried out by the Turkish government since the failed coup attempt a year ago include a 28% drop in research output of academics based in Turkey in 2017, according to a new study. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. American universities dominate this year’s ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, and appear on the published lists 3,857 times, taking 32 top positions in 52 subjects. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. The United Kingdom ranks first for international students' overall satisfaction compared with other leading destination nations, according to a new report by Universities UK International, published last week. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. Top research-intensive universities are among those achieving the lowest rating in the first results of the Teaching Excellence Framework – which rates teaching quality and student outcomes at universities and is believed to be the first scheme of its kind globally. More...

By Sharon Dell – Africa Editor. In Africa News, Munyaradzi Makoni interviews World Bank lead economist Andreas Blom about the positive outcomes of the first phase of the Africa Centres of Excellence project based in West and Central Africa – outcomes which may result in further funding for the project; Tonderayi Mukeredzi and Kudzai Mashininga report on a week of drama at the University of Zimbabwe where nearly 600 medical students returned to their residences after a high court order overturned their eviction by university authorities following a strike over fees; and Maina Waruru writes about the involvement of Kenyan academics in August’s general elections.
   In Africa Analysis, Sanna Ojanperä and Mark Graham discuss their recent research which suggests that increasing internet connectivity on the African continent, while important, is not enough to boost Africa’s position in the knowledge economy; and Mukwanason A Hyuha writes about the need to modernise Uganda’s once highly admired higher education sector.
   In Africa Features, Wagdy Sawahel reports on the new Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences, which aims to strengthen teaching, research and investment in the field of planetary and space sciences on the continent. More...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In our World Blog this week, Caroline Chipperfield discusses the development of an ASEAN student mobility scheme, with the first ASEAN Student Mobility Forum using the European Erasmus programme as a case study.
   In Commentary, Sven Engel writes about a conference held to discuss the development of a European student card, which would allow students to move more seamlessly across borders and institutional frameworks. David Atkinson highlights a new kind of university that has developed in Canada in response to changing demands for higher education and a re-examination of the current rigid structures, while Creso Sá says Canada may well stand out as a beacon of liberalism in today’s world, but its rise in international student numbers are more likely linked to longer-term trends. Saeid Golkar writes that policies to control and Islamise universities during two Cultural Revolutions in Iran’s past have undermined the quality of education and the state has not been successful in creating an Islamic university. And Sanna Ojanperä and Mark Graham discuss their recent research which suggests that increasing internet connectivity on the African continent, while important, is not enough to boost Africa’s position in the knowledge economy.
   Our Academic Freedom section focuses on Turkey, with Brendan O'Malley reporting on a Freedom for Academia study that shows a sharp drop in Turkish research output since the government’s purge of academics following the failed coup attempt a year ago.
   In Features, Nic Mitchell reports on a Horizon 2020 research project that offers a new approach to understanding violent extremism, which instead of starting with the perpetrators of terror and their motives, looks at the majority of people who hear the same messages of extremism but don’t act on them. María Elena Hurtado writes that the recent launch of the first Chilean-built satellite, developed by Universidad de Chile, exemplifies an opening of high-tech research possibilities for Latin American students and academics. And Wagdy Sawahel reports on the new Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences, which aims to strengthen teaching, research and investment in the field of planetary and space sciences on the continent. More...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In Commentary, Marijk van der Wende asks what steering mechanisms would allow the two seemingly conflicting aims of global excellence and national relevance within an open higher education system to combine? Simon Marginson says a hard Brexit would constitute serious threats to the viability and global competitiveness of UK universities and much will depend on whether the government can maintain the UK and its universities as internationally engaged and open. Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić and Sir John Daniel hail the DeTao Masters Academy in China as a pioneer in the development of innovation in higher education, but question its scalability. David Santandreu Calonge says massive open online courses or MOOCs have been hailed for increasing access to higher education, but they may in fact be amplifying educational divides, as many would-be students in developing countries remain excluded. And Ayenachew A Woldegiyorgis highlights the serious challenge Ethiopia faces in simultaneously expanding access to higher education and improving the quality of the education delivered.
   In our World Blog, Patrick Blessinger, Barbara Cozza and Milton Cox examine some of the principles of effective faculty learning communities, a peer-led self-organising form of continual professional development which seeks to transform teaching and learning practices.
   In Features this week, Jalal Bounouar reports that a rise in the number of foreign African students seeking to study in Morocco is largely the result of proactive government policy.
   Finally, in the second part of a Special Report covering the 14th Association of African Universities General Conference and Golden Jubilee Celebrations, Sharon Dell and Ard Jongsma report on a significant milestone in the harmonisation of higher education in Africa, while Damtew Teferra writes about a new higher education cluster created to realise the implementation of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa. More...