How will ongoing terror attacks affect international student mobility?

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In Commentary, Marguerite Dennis looks at how international student mobility might change in a world shaped by ongoing terrorist attacks. Following the recent terror attack in Pakistan, Rafia Zakaria suggests alternative initiatives to military power to help make campuses in the Muslim world more secure. Rui Yang says that, while the rise of East Asian universities has been impressive, their future success may be undermined by the toxic academic culture in the region. Edward Vickers says the humanities and social sciences in Japan’s national universities certainly need restructuring – but they require more public support, not less – and this applies not least to the field of education. And Elizabeth Balbachevsky contends that Brazil’s University of São Paulo, although academically excellent, lags behind what one would expect from a ‘New Flagship University’ as portrayed in John Douglass’ new book.
In our World Blog this week, Tom Abeles argues that there is not enough money or qualified academics to establish world-class or flagship universities in the developing world.
In Features, Nicola Jenvey and Brendan O’Malley report on the UK Higher Education Commission’s findings that the use of data analytics by universities can ensure students are better taught and supported throughout their courses.
In a Special Report covering last week’s conference of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation in the United States, Mary Beth Marklein reports on the OECD’s contention that there is a need for an international comparative assessment of graduate outcomes.
In the latest article in our “Africa: University Leadership” series, Donald Otoyo Ondieki and Emily Achieng’ Akuno propose that vice-chancellors create enabling environments for creative and cultural industries, which contribute 5% of Kenya’s gross domestic product but remain neglected by government and higher education. Read more...