Universities fail to solve problems of society

VIENNA (presse) -- The American economist and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, Jeffrey Sachs, said universities should engage more in solving problems of society, “especially in regard of the new aims of sustainable development. They could support governments in technical and political questions. As of today,” he said, “they are not playing this role sufficiently” ... read more 25.8.15

Increase of competitive funding in Austria

VIENNA (standard) -- The share of external funding at Austrian universities is steadily growing, reaching 600 million euro or one sixth of their overall annual budget. Only 25 percent of this income are non-public investments of private companies ... read more 27.08.2015

Dismantling Portuguese humanities — on the sly

MINHO (público) -- During the summer holidays, in August, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) published the results of the national competition for the funding of scientific projects. To avoid public attention, critcs say, since a growing number of project proposals of humanities and social science institutes have been rejected ... read more 30.08.2015

Catalan universities are the most expensive in Spain

BARCELONA (ibercampus) -- Tuition fees in Spain are highest in Catalonia, ranging from 1,500 to 2,400 euro p.a. Madrid which recently lowered fees by ten percent, is second in this ranking. Only one in five Spanish students get any public support, the OECD average is twice as high ... read more 30.8.15

Russia plans numerous university mergers

MOSCOW (uwn) -- Russian education minister, Dmitry Livanov, announced plans of the government to close the majority of inefficient universities that provide poor education. Parts of these institutions will be merged into the large, multi-profile universities. It is expected that most of the universities that will close will be private higher education institutions ... read more 28.08.2015

The contagious madness of the new PC

LONDON (spectator) -- It’s becoming pretty clear, as the academic year rolls on, that some of our brightest youngsters have caught a virus, a mental one. It might be called political correctness, but it is weirder and more damaging than that ... read more 28.08.2015

Israeli university debaters winEuropean championship

VIENNA (jerusalem post) -- Stav Singer and Iddan Golomb, a pair of debaters from Tel Aviv University, brought home a gold trophy from the European Universities Debating Championship that took place in Vienna over the past week. More than 700 students from all over Europe participated ... read more 09.08.2015

European Universities Badminton Championship coming up

BRØNDBY (bec) -- Warsaw will host the 10th European Universities Badminton Championship between August 31 and September 6. Partners in over 45 countries throughout Europe will organise it ... read more 26.08.2015

8 student-friendly cities in Europe

NOTTINGHAM (independent) -- From the World Heritage sites of Coimbra and Bamberg, to the medieval streets of Padua, there are lesser-known university cities in Europe for students to visit before term begins ... read more 14.8.15

The oldest universities are Arabian

MILAN (avvenire) -- Neither Greek, nor Roman models inspired the first European universities in the 11th and 12th century. Just like the first Enlightenment in thought and science, our academic roots are Arabian. Institutions like Al-Azhar in Cairo or Bayt al-Hykma in Baghdad were famous and flourishing throughout the Orient from where great scholars imported advanced concepts of knowledge production ... read more 27.08.2015

Corruption at Ukrainian universities persists

KIEV (kyiv post) -- According to a recent poll, one third of students in Ukraine said they had faced corruption at the university. The real numbers might be even higher, said Yegor Stadny, director of a think tank on educational issues. Low-quality education fuels the problem, he said, and in most cases corruption is initiated by underperforming students, not by teachers. At the same time, cases of “rotten rectors” are not rare ... read more 27.08.2015

Finnish higher ed in the stranglehold of “austerity”

HELSINKI (counterpunch) -- Last Saturday the 22nd, around 10.000 citizens went down to the streets of Helsinki to protest against the governmental austerity measures. Overall, approximately 500 million euro will be cut from higher education institutions. The government intends to freeze the university index, cut research funding and ... read more | and here 26.08.2015

Paper mills threatening academic integrity

JOHANNESBURG (enca) -- At a conference about plagiarism held in the Czech Republic in June 2015, one speaker revealed that one in five Australian undergraduate students had admitted to buying or intending to buy assignments on the Internet. The business is booming. One site claims to receive two million hits each month for its 5,000 free downloadable papers. Another claims to employ university professors to guarantee the quality of work ... read more 21.08.2015

Scottish universities fear loss of autonomy and funding

EDINBURGH (extra) -- Scottish universities could lose hundreds of millions of pounds worth of funding under plans to give the government greater control over their management, according to university principals ... read more 24.8.

Shorter titles get more citations

LONDON (science) -- Articles with shorter titles tend to get cited more often than those with longer headers, concludes a study published today in the journal Royal Society Open Science ... read more 25.08.2015

Russia limits US influence at Kazhak universities

ASTANA (eurasianet) -- Marcel de Haas, a NATO-trained, retired Dutch army official and until recently professor at Nazarbayev University in the Kazhak capital, complains about being fired. According to him, a lecture on the Russian-Ukraninian conflict has been cancelled following a complaint by Ruslan Kuznetsov, the defense attaché at the Russian Embassy. De Haas’ lecture would have misled the students, Kuznetsov wrote in a letter to the university, explaining “what is operating in Ukraine is a U.S.-controlled ultranationalist regime that aims to destabilise the situation in southeast Europe, broaden the market for American goods and services, and gain control over the energy infrastructure of Ukraine”. De Haas has been dismissed from the university shortly after ... read more 24.08.2015

Charles University opens doors to asylum seekers

PRAGUE (radio prague) -- Charles University has decided to open up to migrants who are seeking asylum in the Czech Republic. Four faculties have offered to provide free tuition and accommodation to refugees who have been granted asylum and residence permits and who have passed the entrance exam ... read more 25.08.2015

Belgian students in dire straits

BRUSSELS (rtbf) -- More and more young Belgians need social welfare support to survive. Since 2005, their number has risen from 35,000 to 50,000. The number of students in need increased as well: by 158 percent in Brussels, and by over 60 percent in Wallonia and Flanders ... read more 31.07.2015

Serbian students’ petition against Montenegrins

BELGRADE (balkan insight) -- A petition calling for the abolition of free tuition privileges for Montenegrin citizens in Serbia has caused a stir. But student parliaments in Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Mitrovica (Kosovo) condemned the petition, calling it malicious and untrue ... read more 13.8.15

German universities take care of the super rich

LONDON (pr newswire) -- The University of Cologne takes the top spot in a ranking of tertiary institutions in Germany and Austria in terms of the size of their ultra high net worth (UHNW) alumni populations. Germany is home to more than 19,000 of these individuals with a combined net worth of 2.5 trillion euro, making it the country with the second largest UHNW population in the world after the US ... read more 25.08.2015

Croatia invests in retaining scientists

ZAGREB (dnevnik) -- New measures allow Croatian universities to hire young scientists. An investment of up to 2 billion kuna (260 million euro) in the next decade shall retain 1,500 research assistants in the country and stop the brain drain, as science minister Vedran Mornar said. There will be non automatic employment but a mechanism of tenders to assure excellence, he added ... read more | in English 31.07.2015

More trust in Open Access

LONDON (biomed central) -- Results of a new survey by Nature show that confidence in open access publishing is growing ... read more 18.08.2015

Fake peer review

INTERNATIONAL (washington post) -- Academic publisher Springer has retracted 64 articles from ten of its journals after discovering that their reviews were linked to fake e-mail addresses. The announcement comes nine months after 43 studies were retracted by BioMed Central (one of Springer’s imprints) for the same reason. Springer and Holtzbrinck (owner of MacMillan/Nature) have recently merged, forming the company Springer Nature ... read more 18.8.15

Swedish universities hit hard by cutbacks

STOCKHOLM (uwn) -- In the government’s budget proposal for 2016, presented by finance minister Alexander Stubb, spending will be reduced by around 900 million euro. The savings to be made in schools and higher education amount to approximately 210 million euro ... read more 20.08.2015

French state secretary for higher ed in line with austerity

PARIS (metro) -- Thierry Mandon, the new French state secretary for higher education and research, gave a foretaste of his political stance on austerity (that soon might concern his department as well). He criticised his party colleague Arnaud Montebourg for inviting former Greek finance minister and EU critic Yanis Varoufakis to the traditional political gathering of the Socialist Party “Fête de la Rose” ... read more | and here 19.08.2015

Controversial new higher education law in Albania

TIRANA (balkan insight) -- After nine hours of debate, with 78 out of 140 votes, a new law on higher education was approved by the Albanian parliament, despite protests by professors and civil right activists outside the building. The law equals private universities to public ones, granting them access to state funds. Artan Fuga, the leading professor criticizing the law, said “the law is against the constitution and will bankrupt the university”. Further protests have been announced for September ... read more | president’s speech 22.07.2015

Austrian quarrel over university autonomy

Easing capital controls over Greek students abroad

ATHENS (kathimerini) -- Greeks can now transfer up to 500 euros abroad and pay more towards tuition fees under a new incremental easing of capital controls imposed in June to prevent an implosion of the country’s banking system. Bank accounts can be opened for debt repayments, while up to 8,000 euros for student tuition and living expenses paid abroad are allowed per academic quarter ... read more 18.8.15

Quo vadis, UK?

Hungary restructures its university sector

BUDAPEST (hir24) -- The Hungarian government’s efforts to restructure and merge universities is well under way, higher education minister, László Palkovics said. Former education minister, socialist István Hiller criticised the insufficient funding for these reforms. The budget for public higher education, 153 billion forint (485 million euro), is nearly 30 billion lower than last year ... read more 30.07.2015

US student debts enter election campaigns

WASHINGTON (mashable) -- As overall student loan debt in the U.S. has soared, the amount owed by older borrowers has increased as well — and they are voters. By 2014, less than third of the total debt —now $1.15 trillion— was held by borrowers younger than 30, almost a fifth was held by people in their 40s.
As The New York Times put it Friday, a plan rolled out by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton “has put pressure on her opponents as she has made a centerpiece of her agenda an issue that resonates across classes, party lines and generations” ... read more 19.8.15

More internationalisation at home

INTERNATIONAL (pienews) -- A new study requested by the European Parliament warns that “increased national and institutional interests and commercialisation [are] driving the agenda for internationalisation”. Drawing on data from ten European and seven other countries, it highlights a need for more internationalisation at home, with greater focus placed on international learning outcomes in the curriculum ... read more 20.08.2015

‘Uniplaces’ irrupts into student housing market

BRUSSELS (politico) -- Uniplaces, a Lisbon- and London-based startup is bringing student lodging into the Airbnb age. The reach of the online housing agency founded in 2011/12 stretches already to 39 cities across eight countries. In the last year, staff has increased fivefold to 130, speaking 11 languages, with 25,000 rooms on the books ... read more 21.08.2015

Growing EU student numbers in the UK

LONDON (the) -- The number of European Union applicants being accepted by English universities has risen dramatically. In 2014-15, English universities’ EU recruitment was 8 percent higher than the year before. Institutions looking to fill their places or to expand are thought to be drawing on the continental market in the absence of significant growth in the pool of domestic 18-year-old applicants ... read more 20.08.2015

Ljubljana gets a new student campus

LJUBLJANA (sta) -- Ljubljana is to get a new student campus in autumn as the first phase of a 1.8 million euro investment. When finished, the 5,488 square-metre campus will host accomodations, student associations and NGOs, an info point, an academic reading room, a discount shop, sports infrastructure as well as more than 800 sq metres of lecture rooms ... read more | video 16.08.2015

First Horizon 2020 results published

BRUSSELS (esna) -- The European Commission has released the results of Horizon 2020’s first 100 calls for proposals, which closed in late 2014. A total of 36,732 eligible proposals were submitted which requested a total EU financial contribution of €80.3 billion ... read more 17.08.2015

Rise of the citizen scientist

LONDON (nature) -- From the oceans to the soil, technology is changing the part that amateurs can play in research. But this greater involvement raises concerns ... read more 18.08.2015

Austria joins international Open Access avant-garde

VIENNA (fwf) -- Alongside the Netherlands, the UK and the Max-Planck Society, Austria is one of the countries which have concluded the first international agreements for Open Access. The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) supports efforts to switch the scientific publication system towards openly available research papers on the internet ... read more 21.07.2015

Southern Italian universities lose researchers

Shanghai rankings without surprises

SHANGHAI (arwu) -- The Shanghai Jiao Tong University released their 2015 university ranking. Harvard University remains the number one in the world for the 13th year; in Continental Europe, ETH Zurich in Switzerland takes first place, and University of Copenhagen overtakes Pierre & Marie Curie in France as the second best university in this region ... read more 15.08.2015

Number of Polish academics drops

WARSAW (cw) -- The Polish university association KRASP is reporting that the number of academics at the country’s higher education institutions is in decline. The report indicates that Polish universities are unable to secure as much funding from private stakeholders as they once were owing to falling student numbers ... read more 05.08.2015

Top UK universities reserve places for rich foreign students

LONDON (daily mail) -- Around 150,000 applicants are expected to enter the clearing process this year, but various British research universities are offer some places to non-UK students only ... read more 08.08.2015

Norway pushes for company-like university management

OSLO (uwn) -- The Norwegian education ministry is facing opposition from universities in its attempts to rush through changes in governance, including a plan to appoint rectors and ensure that university boards are chaired by external members ... read more 14.08.2015

University mergers are a trend in Europe

ZURICH (nzz) -- More and more universities merge, as a study by the European University Association shows. Swiss institutions prefer alternative solutions ... read more 17.08.2015

Corporate tactics to confuse science

LONDON (conversation) -- The latest dubious tactic of global soft-drink giant Coca-Cola has now been revealed for what it is — a move by an industry with a threatened financial future to confuse science, policy and the public, in order to buy time, and protect profits. A group of scientists wanting to bring more attention to the global and serious challenge of obesity ... read more 10.08.2015

Eurostudent art video released

BERLIN (esna) -- “Documenting Eurostudent V”, a unique five-minute video, featuring the research conference of the Eurostudent consortium, has now been released to the public. The creative cross-sector production of the Berlin-based news agency ESNA and the cinema, music and arts company Caucaso from Bologna, Italy, is the first of its kind. “In contrast to an ordinary service provider who covers an event for public relations purposes”, says film director Enrico Masi, “we became part of the community of 240 international social scientists in Vienna. And something magical has happened, like when an painter works with a silkscreen printer, something unforeseeable has been created.” ... watch the video

TTIP? Protect your educational investment!

BERLIN (sz) -- There is more to ‘protect’ than just the capital of international investors in the transatlantic trade agreement, the TTIP. Lutz Wingert, philosophy professor in Zurich, argues that instead of Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS) for property interests, there should be a legal way for citizens to protect their educational investments. He proposes arbitration courts consisting of ILO-certified economists and labour lawyers who could sue an international company if their actions caused the loss or the deterioration of a job. The ILO courts could apply the severe German dismissal protection laws and lift the international standard in the US and Europe in favour of employees ... read more 01.07.2015

Bologna with ESU student eyes

BRUSSELS (esna) -- The political career training centre ESU in Brussels, also known as the European Students Union, argues that the Bologna Process is a brand and its abuse for policies ‘unrelated to Bologna’ should be prohibited. In their latest report, ESU wonder about diminishing student participation and academic freedom — but did they support the significant student protests in Amsterdam in early 2015? ... read more 30.06.2015

2020 European University Games ahead

LJUBLJANA (eusa) -- The European University Sports Association (EUSA) announces the start of the bidding procedure for the 2020 European Universities Games. The Games are organised on a biannual basis, participants are coming from 34 countries ... read more 1.7.15

UK universities push for higher fees

LONDON (bbc) -- University managers are calling for the limit on tuition fees in England to be lifted so that they could rise with inflation above the current £9,000 maximum ... read more 1.7.15

EU fosters open science

LONDON (the) -- Close to 500 delegates from 40 countries have attended a conference in London to explore the challenges of open science for research libraries. Jean-Claude Burgelman, head of the unit for science policy, foresight and data in the European Commission’s directorate general for research and innovation, argued that key drivers of open science include “the demand for accountable, responsive and transparent science” and “the need to address faster societal challenges” ... read more 28.06.2015

Science 2.0: the other side of the coin

New Finnish education minister sweetens the cuts

HELSINKI (ilkka) -- The number of higher education institutions in Finland will remain unchanged despite huge cuts to education and training, Finland’s new minister of education and culture, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, has told the media. Mentioning “the need for specialisation”, she hinted at possible rationalisation measures within the universities ... read more 06.02.2015

Fusion of German higher education research

HANNOVER/BERLIN (div) -- The Berlin-based research institute iFQ will be integrated into DZWH (German Centre for Research on Higher Education and Science Studies), also known for the Eurostudent reports. A major project of the new DZHW is a comprehensive open database on German higher education and research ... read more | and here 27.6.15

Student housing crisis in Dublin

DUBLIN (independent) -- The college and university accommodation crisis in Ireland has become ‘so chronic’ that students are being forced to sleep rough, share a bed with strangers – or give up on studying altogether. With 165,000 full-time students in Ireland – and that figure expected to increase to around 200,000 within the next 15 years –fears remain that there aren’t enough properties to accommodate current numbers ... read more | and here 19.6.15

Major Armenian universities hold rector elections

YEREVAN (armenia now) -- Leading Armenian universities are holding rector elections with new promises and new expectations ... read more 22.06.2015

Norway forces university mergers

OSLO (uwn) -- The Norwegian Council of State has ordered the merging of eleven higher education institutions into four new institutions, thereby establishing the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) as the largest university in the country. Other mergers that were in the planning process were either suspended or prolonged for further discussions ... read more 24.06.2015

German government worries about short term contracts

BERLIN (heise) -- Tens of thousands of young researchers at German universities depend on temporary contracts (as a matter of fact they are nearly 200,000). Trade unions and opposition parties demand the law on university employment to be changed. The federal government has promised improvements this year ... read more 28.06.2015

Russians want their own university ranking

MOSCOW (gazeta) -- Victor Sadovnichy, rector of Moscow State University, is convinced that Russia needs an internationally recognised university ranking system. “We need to make the same effort as the Chinese government,” he said on tv, “who created the Shanghai ranking to enhance our students’ international mobility” ... read more 22.06.2015

Juncker Plan goes through parliament

BRUSSELS (eu) -- The 315-billion-euro investment plan, first announced by the Commission in November 2014, was approved this week by the European Parliament. MEPs voted in favour of the fund’s rules by 464 votes to 131, with 19 abstentions. Earlier this month there had been a small victory for the research community, when the amount to be siphoned off Horizon 2020 science funding to help fuel the stimulus package was reduced from 2.7 to 2.2 billion euros … read more 24.06.2015

Italian professors demand fair wages

CAGLIARI (ansa) -- Italian professors have been losing out in university spending cuts for five years, as their salaries haven’t increased while those of all other public employees have. 70 professors have staged a sit-in in Cagliari, Sicily. However the problem is national: on June 25, protests were organised all over Italy … read more | and here 25.06.2015

Crato won’t be rushed

LISBON (i online) -- Portuguese education minister Nuno Crato has been receiving criticism for lack of efficiency in dealing with the Universidade Lusófona scandal, and the question of whether alumni should be stripped of their degrees from the institution. Currently only 5 of the 152 cases have been processed. He defended himself, saying that it “takes time” to “dignify the academic degree” ... read more 26.06.2015

Sweden courting top universities

STOCKHOLM (svd) -- The Swedish Liberal Party has unveiled a number of proposals for to make Stockohlm “smarter and sharper”. These include inviting a world-leading university to open a branch there to attract students from all over Europe, and taking better advantage of the talents who choose to study there … read more 26.06.2015

Number of Syrians in Turkish universities quadruples

ISTANBUL (today’s zaman) -- The number of Syrian refugees attending universities in Turkey is increasing, as it is nearly impossible for Syrian students to continue their education in Syria because of the ongoing civil war. Compared to 600 Syrian students in Turkey in 2012, there number is 4600 today ... read more 27.06.2015

French students stumped by tricky exam question

PARIS (france 24) -- This week, more than 12,000 French pupils signed a petition calling for the education minister to cancel an “impossible” exam question. The question was part of an English baccalaureate exam sat by high-school leavers hoping to attend university … read more 22.06.2015

Britain’s best “sucked into the mouths of corporations”

LONDON (guardian) -- British writer George Monbiot has criticised corporate culture in UK higher education in a blog written earlier this month. In it he describes how “lovebombing” by corporations in finance and consultancy lures “thousands of the brightest students” into these careers … read more 3.6.15

Terrorists attack higher education

GENEVA (ihe) -- A report entitled “Free to Think” was launched this week in Geneva by the Scholars at Risk network. It analyses attacks on higher education around the world over the last 4 years, concluding that there is a global trend of universities and scholars becoming a target for terrorists … read more | read the report 23.06.2015

Brits benefit from international student body

LONDON (relocate) -- More than three in four Britsh students believe they benefit from studying alongside foreign students. More than half think that international students work harder … read more | read the full report 25.6.15

Edutopia

EU should help stop brain drain in developing countries

Airbus in university partnership agreement

LE BOURGET (europawire) -- Airbus Group signed an agreement with seven leading European universities in a ceremony at the Paris Airshow. The partnership between the aerospace giant and the aeronautics and engineering universities intends to ensure graduates leave with the skills required by industry … read more 23.06.2015

Does Science 2.0 foster greater academic freedom?

OLDENBURG (euroscientist) -- Since the advent of the era of open science, or Science 2.0, attitudes in academia are gradually changing. A contribtion to the debate as to whether digital technologies help or hinder academic freedom by Constanze Böttcher ... read more 22.06.2015

Google invests in European innovation

OXFORD (telegraph) -- Google’s European venture capital fund, Google Ventures Europe, has made only its second investment. It invested in a fund called Oxford Sciences Innovation, whose aim is to turn the university’s inventions into profitable products. It is believed to be the biggest fund of its kind in the world, having raised £320 million … read more 19.06.2015

Swiss university upgrade in Malta

VALLETTA (malta today) -- Switzerland’s European Graduate School (EGS), is applying to receive university status in Malta. “We have chosen Malta because of its important topological situation in the Mediterranean culture, and its role as an axis between Southern Europe and the African continent,” EGS spokesperson Jennifer Davy said … read more 22.06.2015

Three-way merger planned in Grenoble

Rapprochement of Portuguese universities and polytechnics

Full house for five Russian universities

MOSCOW (vz) -- The Russian education ministry has tested the effectiveness of higher education on the labour market. Five of the country’s universities achieved a 100 percent graduate employment rate. On average, three in four graduates found employment last year  … read more 23.06.2015

Spanish rectors criticise hiring restrictions

Horizon 2020: more applications, less success

BRUSSELS (uwn) -- The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 received 45,000 applications in 14 months — a large increase in the number of applications compared to its predecessor FP7 between 2007 and 2013. But the success rate of Horizon 2020 of around 15 percent is five percent lower ... read more 19.06.2015

Youth employment a European priority

BRUSSELS (eu) -- The European Commission has committed to expanding its European Alliance for Apprenticeships, and making 140,000 apprenticeships available. EU Commissioner Marianne Thyssen said: “Together we will create new opportunities for young people to learn the skills and gain the experience needed in the labour market” … read more 22.06.2015

Minister opposed to Latvian-only education

University of Messina counts to 12

MESSINA (giornale di sicilia) -- The University of Messina in Sicily has undergone a quite revolutionary structural change, with the number of departments decreasing from 21 to twelve. The new structure, agreed on by the board of directors last month, will take effect from next year … read more 20.06.2015

Humboldt University students defend freedom of speech

BERLIN (wsws) -- The student parliament of Berlin’s Humboldt University adopted a resolution by a large majority defending the fundamental right to freedom of speech at the university and upholding the right of students to criticise their professors. The resolution follows media attacks against students who anonymously started a blog about the influential political science professor Herfried Münkler and his allegedly racist, anti-democratic and revisionist views … read more 22.06.2015

Norwegian terrorist to take university degree

SKIEN (amur) -- Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011, will study for a degree in political science from the University of Oslo, from his cell in Skien Prison, southern Norway. Norwegian law allows prisoners to study and he reportedly has all of the documentation ready … read more 19.06.2015

Czech research budget will grow

PRAGUE (ČTK) -- The Czech science budget will grow by 1.7 billion koruna (62 million euro) to 28.6 billion koruna next year. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Paul Bělobrádek, expressed satisfaction with the result of the negotiations with Finance Ministry. The increase is intended mainly for the development of research organisations … read more | and here25.05.2015

Romania focusses on technical education

BUCHAREST (romania actualitati) -- Starting this week, specialised committees will be working to produce the new Romanian ‘Law on Education’. Secretary of State in the education ministry, Vasile Şalaru, said that the new law will focus on the re-establishment of technical schools, vocational schools and technical profile of post-secondary education … read more 21.06.2016

New French state secretary for higher ed and research

PARIS (l'etudiant) -- Thierry Mandon has been named as the new French State Secretary for Higher Education and Research, a position vacant since Geneviève Fioraso stepped down for health reasons in March.
Mandon’s challenges will include stabilising the budget ahead of rumoured cuts in 2016, addressing uncertainty surrounding university selection, reorganising the higher education landscape, dealing with widespread dissatisfaction across higher education establishments over the excellence initiatives (Idex), and delivering the long awaited release of the national higher education strategy ... read more 17.06.2015

Turkish scientists bask in election result

ANKARA (nature) -- Scientists in Turkey are euphoric in the aftermath of this month’s election, in which the increasingly oppressive Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost power. They are hopeful that a more pluralistic government will reverse restrictions on academia … read more 16.06.2015

5000 research grants

BRUSSELS (eu) -- This week a symbolic ceremony was held to award the 5000th prestigious grant of the European Research Council, which is eight years old. The recognition goes to Iva Tolić from the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Croatia, whose research is contributing to the development of new therapies against cancer … read more 16.06.2015

Hungarian university fights racism

Brussels universities unite for a science park

BRUSSELS (metro) -- The Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université Libre de Bruxelles are to join forces to create a new science and technology park. The park will be between the two universities’ campuses. The start will be the construction of a Library & Learning Center in 2018 … read more 18.6.15

Picture of the week

Slovenian higher education needs stable funding

Rural universities in Bavaria

Creative Russians get a second degree for free

The shy college student who helped build Bitcoin into a global phenomenon

HELSINKI (the verge) -- When Martti Malmi found Bitcoin in the spring of 2009, he was in his second year at the Helsinki University of Technology. He was happiest in his room with his computer, writing code, which he had learned to do at age 12, or hammering away at enemies in online games, while listening to heavy metal music on headphones ... read more 13.06.2015

EU guarantees loans for Master’s degrees

BRUSSELS (eu news) -- Graduates taking their Master’s degree on the Erasmus+ programme can now apply for loans under the new Erasmus+ Master Loan Guarantee scheme. The European Commission will provide up to 30 million euros of loans to students. The first guarantee agreement was signed by the European Investment Fund, which runs the scheme, and MicroBank in Spain. The scheme, which relies on a combination of Erasmus funding and investment from banks, hopes to provide loans to 200,000 students. In addition, the Commission is announcing the launch of a new Erasmus+ Student and Alumni Association (ESAA) ... read more | and here 11.06.2015

Higher education for Greek military

DAAD celebrates 90 years

BERLIN (tagesspiegel) -- The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has turned 90. Two million students have benefited from its services since 1925, and today the state-funded non-profit association has 900 employees and an annual budget of 450 million euros. German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, praised the DAAD’s important role for diplomacy and intercultural understanding ... read more 17.6

Many poles unhappy with their education

WARSAW (the news) -- A quarter of Poles quizzed in a survey said that they had attained a lower level of education than they had originally wanted to achieve ... read more 20.05.2015

European petition for academic job security

Denmark not investing enough in research

COPENHAGEN (jv) -- Although public investment in Danish research has been climbing slightly, it is still only at 1.11 percent of GDP. This is not enough to compete on innovation with the rest of the world, according to Danish industry, universities and academics. In a joint proposal they plan to reach public investment of 1.5 percent of GDP by 2020 … read more 10.06.2015

Students in Romania linked to extremism

BUCHAREST (ziua) -- Two Tunisian nationals studying in Romania were identified by the country’s intelligence service as followers of the Islamic State. They were declared undesirable and a threat to national security and are awaiting deportation … read more 12.06.2015

New Latvian funding model to follow market

RIGA (delfi) -- A new model to finance the country’s education system has been proposed by the Latvian cabinet. It will aim to streamline the funding system, encourage universities to connect education and research, and motivate an improvement in the quality of studies. It will be linked to the development of the economy and labour market needs … read more 9.6.15

Spain’s higher education needs a better image

BADAJOZ (teinteresa) -- At a meeting of Spanish university rectors in Badajoz, south-west Spain, Manuel López, current president of the Spanish rectors’ conference, demanded more funding, understanding and hard work. He said this is necessary to improve the image of Spain’s education system and to increase enrolment. Although they have a great system, it is underperforming and the country needs to do it justice … read more 10.6.15

Plans for Finnish university partnership

HELSINKI (verkkouutiset) -- The University of Helsinki and the Lappeenranta University of Technology are to cooperate in a “strategic partnership”, hoping to improve performance and increase research. This follows announcement of streamlining and mergers in Norway as well … read more 11.06.2015

Croatia underinvesting in science

Florence, Italy, has record numbers of newcomers

FLORENCE (repubblica) -- Luigi Dei, new rector of the University of Florence, is surprised. An increase in applications of nearly eight percent is very unusual, and the country’s biggest. “It’s the product of years of orientation work we did,” says pro-rector Anna Nozzoli. The biggest growth has been in the faculties of technology, sciences and humanities … read more 13.06.2015

Russians rally in support of science

MOSCOW (grani) -- A rally was held in central Moscow in defence of science and education. It was attended by some 3,500 people. The government has been making controversial changes to the country’s science and education systems, and citizens are worried for the future … read more | video 6.6.15

EU lays out Smart Specialisation Strategy

RIGA (science business) -- The EU’s new thinking on how to stimulate job creation in poorer regions, outlined at the Innovative Regions in Europe conference on 5 and 6 June, says that universities, research institutes, regional authorities and business should write roadmaps on how to make the best use of available resources in a smart specialisation strategy. Many researchers and SMEs remain to be convinced about the scheme and criticised EU bureaucracy and unfavourable reimbursement rules ... read more 11.06.2015

Graduates look out for workplace culture

STOCKHOLM (cnn) -- According to the recent survey, students still want to work for companies offering cool products and services, but are increasingly interested in the workplace culture. For the fourth year in a row, Google is the most attractive employer in Europe ... read more | and here 10.06.2015

Norway to distill its education system

OSLO (nho) -- A white paper adopted this week by the Norwegian parliament will likely bring about drastic changes to the country’s education system over the next 20 years. It calls for mergers between educational institutions, reducing 14 to 5, to create fewer better institutions. The aim is to consolidate expertise and increase competitiveness … read more 11.06.2015

First black professor at the University of Vienna

VIENNA (m-media) -- Dr. Adams Bodomo, from Ghana, has been appointed to lead the Institute of African studies at the University of Vienna. In the 650 years that the prestigious university has existed, he is the very first black professor they have appointed … read more 09.06.2015

Nobel laureate stumbles over political correctness

LONDON (bbc) -- British biochemist Tim Hunt, who won the Nobel Prize in 2001 and was made a knight in 2006, has resigned from his job at UCL in the wake of a sexism scandal. He stated this week that the “trouble with girls” in science is that “they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry”. He has since apologised for but stood by what he said … read more 11.06.2015

New Spanish inclusion programme

MADRID (economista) -- The Spanish education ministry, along with the foundations Repsol and ONCE, have announced “Campus Inclusivos, Campus sin Límites” — a new initiative designed to increase the numbers of disabled students and disabilities awareness … read more | video 11.6.15

77 years later, one doctorate

University in Hong Kong wants Czech students

PRAGUE (prague post) -- Representatives of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) were in Central Europe recently to spread the word about their institution ... read more 12.06.2015

Vilnius joins Coimbra

VILNIUS (alkas) -- In a move that reflects the growing credibility of higher education in the Baltics, the University of Vilnius has been unanimously accepted into the prestigious Coimbra Group. The group, which takes its name from the ancient Portuguese university, brings together established European universities of a high international standard … read more 09.06.2015

New leader hopes to revive French elite schools

PARIS (les echos) -- The French grandes écoles, which are in a “state of urgency”, have chosen Anne-Lucie Wack to represent them as their new leader. She wants to make higher education and research a “pivotal issue” ahead of the presidential election in 2017. She has also spoken of tackling a “rift” by patching up a suffering relationship between the University Presidents’ Conference and the Grandes Écoles Conference … read more 09.06.2015

Unpaid research jobs draw criticism

LONDON (nature) -- The practice of using free labour to do field work sparks online discussion ... read more 03.06.2015

Universities key to Turkish development

ANKARA (kpss) -- The Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK) has said that universities have a major role to play in the development of the country. Specifically, university competitiveness is needed to provide a boost in regional areas … read more 09.06.2015

Raising talent in Central Europe

WARSAW (vi) -- After announcing the New Europe 100 project, a list of challengers – one hundred people from Eastern Europe who are the drivers of the world’s innovation – the editors focus on education in their new issue of Videgrad Insight, acknowledging it to be the most strategic policy area in respect to innovation ... read more 11.06.2015

Prizewinning Pole to run American Encyclopaedia

WARSAW (polityka) -- Dariusz Jemielniak, professor at Kozminski University, will become the first non-American or Western European member of the council that governs Wikipedia. He says the academic world should become more involved in its functioning, and that the current crisis in Polish higher education could be addressed by taking inspiration from the model of Wikipedia … read more 08.06.2015

Russian move to hold scientists in the country

MOSCOW (rapsi) -- Vadim Solovyov, a member of the Communist Party faction in the lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, and the deputy head of the body’s constitutional law committee, suggests banning foreign companies from recruiting young scientists to study abroad ... read more 09.06.2015

Bulgaria academics take their rector to court

SVISHTOV (news7) -- Following a complaint by 4 academics at the Tsenov Academy of Economics in Svishtov, northern Bulgaria, a court is hearing a case for the legitimacy of the rector and management. The Veliko Tarnovo Administrative Court will decide whether to accept calls to force the resignation of rector Velichko Adamov. 139 members of the academy’s general assembly have been called to testify … read more 10.06.2015

UK’s first evolutionary research centre to open

BATH (university business) -- Following the largest ever donation from one of its graduates, the University of Bath is to launch a brand new centre for evolutionary research. Dr Jonathan Milner, who graduated in Biology & Biochemistry at Bath in 1988, is donating £5 million towards establishing the Milner Centre for Evolution. It will be the first of its kind in the UK and only the second in the world … read more 08.06.2015

Universities popping up in Croatia

ZAGREB (vecernji) -- Croatia, having only recently opened its 8th public university in Koprivnica, has announced plans for a new one in Slavonski Brod. It is part of a drive to increase enrolment from the current 26 percent to 35 percent by 2020. However there are concerns about whether the quality of universities is deteriorating … read more 08.06.2015

Employment woes for foreign students in Germany

BERLIN (dw) -- Around 300,000 foreign students currently study in Germany, with many intending to stay on in Germany after their studies. But they lack the network, experience and German skills to find suitable jobs, and the state doesn’t do enough to help them in their search … read more 9.6.15

Czech calls for increased education budget

EAST BOHEMIA (deník) -- Teachers’ unions in the Czech Republic have called upon Kateřina Valachová, proposed as the new education minister on Friday, to increase spending on education by 5 billion Czech Crowns (180 million Euros). They say this will be necessary to cover teacher’s salaries and to improve the employment system … read more | and here 07.06.2015

Austrian university funding increasingly competitive

VIENNA (standard) -- A growing share of Austrian university budgets comes from competitive funds for research projects (so-called Drittmittel). Already one fifth of university lecturers’ salaries derive from this source ... read more

Russia’s ‘untapped potential’ for publishers

MOSCOW (ri) -- A group of explorers from Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, UK, were sent to visit libraries in St Petersburg, Moscow and Kazan and to learn more about the Russian higher education market for social science publishers. They visited nine universities, dividing their time between running publishing workshops for faculty, and interviewing librarians and library directors. Here’s what they found out ... read more 4.6.15

Crato to name and shame cancelled degrees

LISBON (rtp) -- The office of Portuguese education minister Nuno Crato has decided to make publicly available the names of former students at the Universidade Lusófona who have had their degrees revoked. This is the end result of an inquiry started in 2012 by the case of the shamed Miguel Relvas, a politician who obtained a degree aged 47 without attending any classes or exams … read more 05.06.2015

Optimism from new Latvian rector

RIGA (delfi) -- The new rector of the University of Latvia, Indriķis Muižnieks, has said that the factor that allowed him to be elected was his emphasis on diversity within the university. He explained that it is optimism that sets him apart, and that will allow the university to take off … read more 04.06.2015

Swedish Minister wants a review of the system

STOCKHOLM (dn) -- Helene Hellmark Knutsson, Sweden’s Minister for Higher Education and Research, would review the system so that more young and female researchers could have access to funding. This follows criticism of a system which allocated grants inefficiently, leaving some unused … read more 7.6.15

No end to Hungarian demonstrations

BUDAPEST (nepszava) -- A forum was held at the Corvinus University, attended by the students’ union, employees’ council, and others. Students pledged to continue resistance, to not give up their universities, and to fight for autonomy … read more 05.06.2015

Iranian and Russian universities ink cooperation pacts

TEHRAN (mehr) -- An Iranian university signed agreements with Russian institutions on scientific cooperation and joint projects: St Petersburg State University and Moscow State University ... read more 06.06.2015

Spain: 20.000 lost scholarships

MALAGA (europa press) -- The secretary-general of the Socialist Youth of Andalucía has stated at a sporting event that 20,000 students have lost their scholarships thanks to the Partido Popular (PP). He claimed that the PP, who have presided over crippling austerity and unemployment, don’t recognise education as a fundamental right … read more 07.06.2015

Lithuania minister to put in hospital hours

VILNIUS (15min) -- Dainius Pavalkis, the Lithuanian education minister, is leaving his post. He will start working at Kaunas Klinikas, a university hospital and the largest medical institution in Lithuania. Pavalkis, who disclosed that he has received lucrative job offers from Brussels, will put in some hours there over the summer to “plug the holes” … read more 05.06.2015

Atlantic crossing

BERLIN (bbc) -- The financial advantages of studying in Germany have not been lost on US students. The country has abandoned tuition fees altogether for local and international students alike. Students pay a fee to the university each semester to support the student union and other activities. This so called “semester fee” rarely exceeds €150 and in many cases includes public transportation tickets. At the same time the total student debt in the US has reached $1.3 trillion. More than 4,600 US students are fully enrolled at Germany universities, an increase of 20 percent over three years ... read more 3.6.15

EUA seeks university industry partnerships

BRUSSELS (guv) -- The European University Association (EUA) has been campaigning for harmonised policies across Europe for many years to facilitate university-industry co-operation. Director Lidia Borrell-Damián shared her insights ... read more 05.06.2015

AHELO “is deeply flawed”

TORONTO (inside highered) -- The American Council on Education and Universities Canada have reiterated their longstanding opposition to the OECD’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO). The one-size-fits-all approach of AHELO “fundamentally misconstrues the purpose of learning outcomes,” they state ... read more 5.6.15

What TTIP means for public higher education in Europe

LONDON (conversation) -- A growing number of colleges and universities are emerging as multinational organisations – creating start-up versions of themselves in foreign countries ... read more 05.06.2015

La Sapienza slammed for sexism

ROME (div) -- The university La Sapienza in Rome is facing accusations of sexism and has even been called a laughing stock after organising a student beauty pageant in which young women were offered plastic surgery as prizes. Female academics in Italy and elsewhere have criticised the institution’s rector Eugenio Gaudio, for hosting the opening stage of the Miss University 2015 competition ... read more | and here 01.06.2015

American non-profit pledges to aid Ukrainian science

KIEV (science) -- With the conflict in its second year and no resolution in sight, displaced Ukrainian scientists from the self-proclaimed independent regions of Luhansk and Donetsk find themselves in precarious jobs, with little or no funds to conduct research. CRDF Global, a nonprofit organisation based in Virginia, USA, has vowed it will assist Ukrainian science through the creation of an emergency fund. But funds must first be found and president, Cathy Campbell, says the bulk of donations to come from private individuals … read more 3.6.15

Diffident scientists underestimate themselves

LONDON (nature) -- A poll by the Royal Society of Chemistry has shown that British chemists believe themselves to be viewed in a negative and pessimistic light by society. This would appear not to be accurate, as in another section of the poll, the British public see science in general as “welcoming” and “fun”, and nine out of ten trust scientists … read more 02.05.2015

Study trip ends in international misunderstanding

TARTU (postimees) -- A visit by students of Tartu University to Nagorno-Karabakh, an unrecognised region disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, caused a diplomatic spat in the Caucasus. The Azerbaijani Embassy demanded an explanation from Volli Kalm, rector of the university, but the reason for the visit was merely to improve relations with Artsakh State University while studying the conflict in the region … read more 02.06.2015

Historic step for UK-Korean relations

ABERDEEN (pie news) -- The first ever UK university campus is set to open in South Korea next year, funded largely by Korean government grants. The new campus will specialise in engineering and oil technologies, reflecting South Korea’s trust in the UK to boost its offshore industry … read more 27.05.2015

University sells books for Bitcoins

VANCOUVER (newsbtc) -- The Simon Fraser University is the first post-secondary Canadian institution to start accepting Bitcoin. Students at the university can now pay for their books with Bitcoin at any of the book stores located on the university campuses ... read more 31.05.2015

Protection of universities an international priority

German left questions church power in education

STUTTGART (ta) -- Germany’s only regional governor belonging to a left-wing party, Bodo Ramelow, has demanded an examination of the influence of the church in higher education politics. Speaking just before Stuttgart’s church congress, the leader of Thuringia voiced his doubts over university’s independence from religious power … read more 03.06.2015

Call for overhaul as Romanian education ranked EU worst

BUCHAREST (digi24) -- Romania currently has the worst education system in Europe. According to an extensive global classification by the OECD, it came at the bottom of the 28 countries of the European Union. Romania’s outdated system lacks the investment and infrastructure that the countries at the top of the list can boast. A unanimous request of 92 Romanian universities has called for an overhaul of the system … read more | and here 30.05.2015

Full speed a-higher-ed for Britain

LONDON (guardian) -- The UK’s new education minister Jo Johnson has announced in his first public speech that the country is aiming to increase education exports from £18 billion to £30 billion by 2020. With a recent study showing how lucrative foreign students are to Britain, Johnson is pushing to capitalise … read more 01.06.2015

Silver lining for science in Brussels

BRUSSELS (rsc) -- European researchers are hailing a small victory, as the European Parliament  reached an agreement that will see only €2.2 billion siphoned away from Horizon 2020 science funding. All-night negotiations saved three bodies that had been earmarked for cuts to fuel EC President Jean-Claude Juncker’s stimulus package. The amount had previously been announced as €2.7 billion, a figure which triggered uproar and controversy. The new compromise is yet to be officially approved by the parliament … read more 01.06.2015

Portuguese student unions turn back on the AAC

LISBON (as beiras) -- A dozen academics and student associations have condemned the action of the Coimbra Academic Association, the students’ union of the prestigious University of Coimbra. They accused them of creating a “media circus” when their president Bruno Matias suggested breaking from the national representative association rather than make an attempt to resolve disagreements through dialogue … read more 29.05.2015

Oxford appoints first female vice-chancellor

OXFORD (bbc) -- The University of Oxford is to appoint its first female vice-chancellor in 800 years. Professor Louise Richardson, a counter-terrorism expert, said that she “look[s] forward to the day when a woman being appointed isn’t in itself news”. She also spoke at a recent British Council conference, saying, "education is the best possible antidote to radicalisation.” … read more | and here 02.06.2015

Murcia moves to help vulnerable students

MURCIA (la verdad) -- In a move to promote equality of opportunitie, the University of Murcia (UMU) has announced it will make 135,000 euros worth of scholarships available for students in “vulnerable circumstances”. Students experiencing sudden illnesses, or precarious familiar situations can apply for the grants … read more 02.06.2015

Czech Education Minister fired for bullying

PRAGUE (radio prag) -- Czech Education Minister Marcel Chládek has been dismissed from his role on grounds of bullying and unacceptable behaviour towards primarily female subordinate colleagues. The announcement came last Thursday from Prime Minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, who said “he no longer fulfills the stringent requirements that come with a position in government” … read more 29.05.2015

Dublin technical university proving costly

DUBLIN (irishtimes) -- Bureaucracy and consultancy costs are making the attempt to create a technical university in Dublin breathtakingly expensive. The bid, involving the merger of three universities, is set to cost €23.8 million over three years … read more 28.05.2015

Birth of a French supercampus

PARIS (the local) -- The University of Paris-Saclay is set to take its first cohort of students this September. It will bring together 19 higher education institutions and a science cluster in an attempt to become Europe’s leading multi-disciplinary campus … read more 28.05.2015

US education between elite and embarrassment

NEW YORK (rollingstone) -- Two stories this month show the enormous contrast between the two sides of the American higher education system. Yale is set to receive $150 million from billionaire business magnate Stephen A. Schwarzman, while at the other end Corinthian Colleges have declared bankruptcy, leaving 77,000 students demanding a refund … read more 28.5.15

Russia: Science philantropy under suspicion

MOSCOW (sz) -- Organisations receiving funding from abroad are in trouble in Russia nowadays, as the Ministry of Justice may declare them “foreign agents” and shut them down. Billionaire Dmitri Zimin whose 7,5 million euro yearly for the science foundation Dinastia come from his own foreign accounts, is now asking for an apology from the authorities ... read more 02.06.2015

Controversy about Holocaust courses in Hungary

BUDAPEST (hungary today) -- Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party has responded negatively to the introduction of a mandatory class on the Holocaust. Pázmány Péter Catholic University will introduce the classes from September, adding to an existing compulsory class on the Catholic faith. It will be the first initiative of its kind in Europe, the university’s rector, Szabolcs Szuromi, said the decision was made amid rising anti-Jewish attacks in the country. Jobbik say they are succumbing to international pressure … read more | and here 29.05.2015

Social sciences produce leaders

LONDON (inside highered) -- Despite an increasing world-wide trend to focus on ‘practical’ degrees in the technology and science industries, a survey by the British Council found that in fact most leaders of international organisations are qualified in social sciences or humanities … read more 01.06.2015

‘Political purge’ at Russia’s oldest university

ST. PETERSBURG (al jazeera) -- Worries have been raised about Russian academic freedom following the dismissal of three professors, allegedly on political grounds, at Smolny college, Russia’s oldest university. Students protested and petitions against the so-called ‘political purge’ gathered thousands of signatures, but campaigner Viktor Katchalovski says the university is “simply refusing to enter into a dialogue” … read more 23.5.15

Edinburgh inspires: UK students against fossil fuels

NORWICH (the) -- In the light of successful student occupation movements in Edinburgh, which have led to the University of Edinburgh fully divesting in the fossil-fuel industry, the movement has spread elsewhere in the UK. An open letter from 1,000 students and 95 notable academics at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, was delivered to university management, calling for a complete divestment in the fossil-fuel industry. Glasgow, Bedfordshire and London universities are also following suit … read more 26.05.2015

Maastricht won’t bend to Arabian demands

MAASTRICHT (observant) -- Maastricht University has announced it will no longer educate medical students from Saudi Arabia, following disagreements with their government. Jan-Joost Rethans, medical programme director at the university said the Saudi’s government kept proposing increasing demand, ultimately proving too much and leading to the end of cooperation … read more 26.05.2015

Belarus intensifies internationalisation efforts

MINSK (belTA) -- In the wake of its acceptance into the Bologna Process this month, Belarus is pursuing several partnerships with countries around the world. Plans are being discussed to open a Belarusian-Bangladeshi university in Dhaka, in addition to recent announcements of cooperation with India, Kurdistan, Egypt and Indonesia … read more 28.05.2015

OECD laments “unacceptable waste of human potential”

PARIS (oecd) -- OECD figures keep drawing links between youth unemployment and the labour market, releasing this week damning figures. According to the Skills Outlook 2015, more than 35 million 16-29 year-olds across OECD countries are neither employed nor in education or training (NEET). Citing figures of low work-experience and education systems’ failure to provide the right skills, the report states that this is an “unacceptable waste of human potential” … read more 27.05.2015

International treaties focus on science

LONDON (nature) -- The two major international trade treaties, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, are coming closer to fruition. Proposed deals have potential to boost scientific research, but also to weaken health and environmental protections … read more 26.05.2015