For a decade, Germany’s government has tried to explode the myth that all the country’s universities are equal. In 2006, it launched an 11-year, €4.6 billion (US$5.2 billion) programme that aimed to make the best German universities more competitive with the likes of Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard. The campaign, called the Excellence Initiative, led to 14 institutions gaining the common – although unofficial – label of ‘elite’, write Quirin Schiermeier and Richard van Noorden for Nature.com. Read more...
A 32% increase in Indian students at US universities
United States universities and colleges have experienced a 32% increase in numbers of students from India since last year as compared to 9% internationally, reports the Press Trust of India. Read more...
Think tank told to devise rules for foreign universities
Ivy League universities like Harvard and Yale could set up campuses in India soon with the government asking its policy think tank, NITI Aayog, to prepare a framework for opening doors to foreign universities, writes Chetan Chauhan for the Hindustan Times. Read more...
University in crowdfunding bid to help refugees study
An online university has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help refugees get back into further education after being displaced from their home country, writes Aftab Ali for The Independent. Read more...
Universities told to investigate sexist ‘lad culture’
The government has ordered an inquiry into the sexist ‘lad culture’ at the country's universities, amid fears it is endangering female students, writes Flora Drury for Mail Online. Read more...
Welcome to China, now go home
South African students in China on government scholarships report what they consider luxurious conditions, excellent teaching and a warm welcome. But despite South African students loving the country, China is not entirely happy with the African influx, writes Phillip de Wet for the Mail & Guardian. Read more...
China's nouveau riche land on US campuses
Earlier generations of Chinese overseas students were perceived as frugal, diligent and idealistic, but this is no longer the case, writes Yi-Ling Liu for The Straits Times. Read more...
Why global higher education must be democratised
By Patrick Blessinger. In the broadest sense of the word, democratisation is the application of democratic principles and the process of transitioning to a system based on such principles. Thus, the principles of democracy can be applied to any structure or system, not strictly governmental or political systems. The core universal principles of democracy include freedom, responsibility and the equality and protection of universal human rights. Read more...
Corruption monitors and armed patrols – It must be exam time
By Matt Blomberg. A year ago, with a mandate to reform a severely flawed education system that produced university graduates who had paid for – rather than studied for – their grades, Cambodia’s Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron went straight to its heart: the university entrance exam. Read more...
New code of conduct to attract international students
By Jan Petter Myklebust. New guidelines for higher education institutions aimed at making Denmark a more attractive destination for international students have been announced. Read more...