By Yojana Sharma. While focused on their own citizens and areas, the growth in regional and national groups means the global network of community-engaged universities is also growing, including the network of networks, known as the Talloires Network which is holding its 2014 Talloires Network Leaders Conference in South Africa from 2-4 December. Read more...

The education ministry has said it will help finance the globalization and personnel training programs of 37 universities in the country, including the University of Tokyo, to strengthen their international competitiveness.
The selection of the 37 schools as top global universities comes after the Education Rebuilding Implementation Council set last year the goal of having at least 10 Japanese universities on the list of the world’s top 100. Applications were submitted by 104 universities. More...

By Yojana Sharma. Chancellor of JF Oberlin University in Tokyo Dr Toyoshi Satow took over the three-year presidency of the International Association of University Presidents at its 2014 conference held in Yokohama in Japan. He outlined his vision for the IAUP, known as the ‘global voice of higher education’. More...

By Takehiko Kariya. Before we start on any discussion of Japanese universities in the context of international competitiveness, we first need to address the question of why international competitiveness is an important issue.
Particularly if we are to compare universities in Japan with those in Britain, it is essential to understand the substantial differences of context that exist between the two countries and the different kinds of international competition they face. Unless we are clear on this point, it will be extremely difficult to make any meaningful comparisons between the two systems. More...

By Jason Scorza. Put most simply, the ‘American Dream’ is the belief that everyone has a reasonable chance – although not a guarantee – of achieving success through means under their own control. It is the assurance that personal qualities such as hard work, frugality, honesty and self-discipline can make for a good life, however you (or I) may define thats. Read more...