By Eugene Vorotnikov. The Russian government plans a package of measures to attract more students from Western countries to study at domestic universities, according to recent statements of some senior officials and heads of some leading Russian universities. More...

By Kudzai Mashininga. The UNCTAD report, Economic Development in Africa Report 2018: Migration for structural transformation, says that contrary to some perceptions, most migration in Africa today is taking place within the continent. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. In the wake of the European Commission’s release of its outline for the Ninth Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, 14 European associations of universities released a joint statement on Friday calling upon the European Union institutions to double the budget for Horizon Europe, improve its content and reconsider the budget distribution over the different pillars of the programme. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. Minority-serving tertiary institutions or MSIs propel students up the economic ladder to the top of income distribution at two to three times the rates of non-MSIs, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis from the American Council on Education (ACE), which uses newly released federal data to examine upward income mobility rates. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. Analysis of the winners and losers by region in the latest QS World University Rankings provides some insight into which higher education systems are improving or losing ground on six indicators – Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Citations per Faculty, Faculty/Student Ratio, International Student Ratio, and International Faculty Ratio. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. United States and United Kingdom universities have improved their overall positions, Malaysia and Russia have made noteworthy gains and China has entered the top 20 for the first time in the 15th edition of the QS World University Rankings, released last Wednesday by global higher education analysts QS or Quacquarelli Symonds. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. The European Commission’s €100 billion (US$118 billion) proposal for Horizon Europe, the successor research and innovation programme to Horizon 2020, adopted last Thursday, includes a crucial addition that could pave the way for the United Kingdom to be allowed to participate in the programme after leaving the European Union. More...

By Brendan O’Malley. The European Commission has announced the details of its €100 billion (US$118 billion) proposal for the next long-term budget for its research and innovation programme for 2021-27, which it calls the “most ambitious research and innovation programme ever”. More...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In Commentary, Ariane de Gayardon says introducing free-tuition policies, as New Zealand has most recently done, relies on the unrealistic expectation that governments will be able not only to fund higher education budgets but also consistently increase those budgets. Andrej Arsovski draws attention to an array of measures that can be used for screening applicants to professional schools such as medical schools to ensure selection of the best candidates and to promote diversity. And Christine Dranzoa writes that bold institutional leadership is required to deal decisively with cases of sexual harassment and gender-based violence in African higher education.
   In our World Blog, Grace Karram Stephenson wonders if Doug Ford’s victory in Ontario’s elections and the voting in of the Progressive Conservatives in the Canadian province will spell funding cuts for higher education or rises in the cost of tuition, or both.
   In our section on Academic Freedom, Elif Ceylan Ozsoy suggests ways to show solidarity with the ‘Academics for Peace’ in Turkey, hundreds of whom have lost their jobs and-or been charged with terrorist offences, all for signing a peace petition.
   In a new series on Pacific Rim higher education and research issues, Yojana Sharma highlights the pertinent issues that will be discussed when university leaders from Pacific Rim countries meet in Taiwan next weekend for the Association of Pacific Rim Universities conference entitled “Our digital future in a divided world”.
   In Features, Nic Mitchell reports that Gerry McGovern, one of the top visionaries of web developments, speaking at a recent conference, urged universities to wake up to how marketing to young people has shifted in the digital age. And Sharon Dell reports that the South African medical deans have offered to make available expertise in the university sector to help the country deal with a crisis in the national health system and the “systemic failures” in the provincial health departments that are affecting patient care and the training of medical professionals. More...