Facebook teams up with European universities

Public-private partnerships in Hungarian universities

GÖDÖLLŐ (orient press) -- Large food companies are to be involved in students’ practical training at the Faculty of Food Science of Szent István University. This marks a milestone in co-operation between the higher education and private sectors in Hungary … read more 24.02.2016

Decline of graduate employment in Italy

ROME (leggo) -- New figures, showing that only 31 percent of graduates are in work one year after leaving university, have prompted concerns about the value of Italian university degrees. Graduates leave university lacking career guidance and direction … read more 26.02.2016

Spanish students demand fair access

MADRID (ideal) -- Student opposition to the higher education law introduced by former Spanish science minister José Ignacio Wert shows no signs of stopping. The National Student Union (SE) has announced plans for strike action, set to take place in April. “We are millions of students,” said SE general secretary Ana García, “who suffer from the effects of cuts, redundancies and the Franquist counter-reforms approved by the People’s Party” ... read more 24.02.16

Leading Holocaust historian sparks anger in Poland

PRINCETON (guardian) -- Academics have leapt to defend Princeton University’s Jan Tomasz Gross, one of the world’s leading Holocaust historians, after Poland threatened to strip him of his Order of Merit following his claims that Polish villagers were complicit in a 1941 massacre of Jews. Leading figures in academia signed open letters protesting the Polish government’s proposal, encouraging officials to reconsider for the sake of academic freedom of expression … read more 13.2.

Regensburg criticised for animal testing cruelty

REGENSBURG (regensburg digital) -- The University of Regensburg in southern Germany has come under fire from leading animal rights charity PETA for perceived mistreatment of animals in its scientific research. PETA promotes greater transparency with regards to the methods used by universities, so that students can opt for studies which avoid animal suffering … read more 23.2.16

Portuguese students suffer under severe austerity

PORTO (observador) -- The Porto Academic Foundation has released a study revealing the rapidly increasing numbers of students receiving hardship grants: there were 63,000 recipients this year compared to just 11,000 in 1990, revealing the devastating effects of austerity measures upon the poorest students … read more 24.02.2016

Romania to get tough on plagiarism

BUCHAREST (europa libera) -- A government promise to crack down on plagiarism in postgraduate education has been welcomed by the Romanian academic community. However, some are concerned that not all universities will have the conviction to punish sufficiently students who plagiarised their theses … read more 26.02.2016

France cracks down on hazing rituals

PARIS (education) -- Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, minister, and Thierry Mandon, state secretary for higher education and research, have announced their intention to take steps to put an end to the practice of hazing and French universities, following a report assessing the successes and shortcomings of previous anti-hazing measures … read more 24.02.2016

Competition heats up in Ukraine

KIEV (gazeta) -- Oleg Sharov, Ukrainian Minister for Science and Education, has announced the development of a new funding competition between universities, comparable to Germany’s successful Excellency Initiative, which will see state investment in the higher education institutions with the highest performing entrants and graduates … read more 23.02.2016

No teacher training reforms under Lunde

COPENHAGEN (folkeskolen) -- The Danish education minister, Esben Lunde Larsen, has shot down suggestions that teacher training should be elevated to university level. Anders Bondo, chairman of the Danish Union of Teachers, had suggested a five year training programme, but Lunde has said that such a reform will not happen whilst he holds the position of minister … read more 23.02.2016

Italy goes digital

ROME (tecnica della scuola) -- The Italian Ministry of Education is to save 400 thousand euros a year, merely by converting its files to digital. Over 36 kilometers of paper files have been put online with some of the more interesting files featuring in a new exhibition. Some of the scanned materials, among them books from the 19th century, will stay in a permanent exhibition at the ministry, before being showcased elsewhere … read more 23.02.2016

Swedish quality assurance system called into question

STOCKHOLM (dagensjuridik) -- The Swedish government’s new university quality assurance system has met with criticism, particularly from students who feel that the scheme makes it difficult to compare courses. A unanimous Education Committee has called on the government to evaluate the system and examine its effectiveness in helping universities and their programs improve … read more 18.02.2016

Slovakian education budget increased

BRATISLAVA (aktuality) -- The Slovakian education ministry has given 20 million euros to public universities this year. This is an increase on last year and sees the overall increase of the state budget from the past year being funneled into education. The money is intended to help co-finance education and research activities … read more 23.02.2016

24-hour student protest in Denmark

COPENHAGEN (modkraft) -- A 24-hour protest by the Student Activist Association is scheduled for the 3rd to the 4th of March at the University of Copenhagen. This is a reaction to considerable cuts in Danish higher education as well as the loss of certain degrees due to lack of funding … read more 23.2.

New appointments in Italy

ROME (ansa) -- Plans to recruit 861 university researchers in Italy have been approved. The education minister, Stefania Giannini, gave the go-ahead for the introduction of more three-year contracts, saying it would provide “new energy” for university research. Giannini also approved a measure to distribute six million euros for the recruitment of ordinary professors in 2016 … read more 18.02.2016

Austrian universities on the defensive

VIENNA (presse) -- Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger, rector of Wirtshaftsuniversität Wien (WU), has opposed the idea of transferring economic and business-related subjects from universities to universities of applied sciences, saying this would damage the Austrian economy. The science ministry had proposed this step in order to lighten the burden of universities, allowing them to devote themselves to research … read more 16.02.2016

More money needed for Czech universities

PRAGUE (novinky) -- The Czech government wants to increase spending on universities. Schools receive far more money, whilst universities still face cuts, having lost 200 million koruna (7.4 million euros) in public spending just this year … read more 19.02.2016

Bulgarian Education Minister puts an end to rumours

SOFIA (bgonair) -- Bulgarian education and science minister, Meglena Kuneva, has announced changes to higher education policy. She expressed her wish for universities to focus more closely on specialisms, and was keen to stress that funding for higher education institutions and research will not be reduced, contrary to speculation … read more 21.02.2016

Umberto Eco is gone

MILAN (esna) -- Umberto Eco, semiologist, writer and intellectual, died on Friday, 19 February. He received over 40 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, most recently at the University of Łódź, Poland ... watch | read more 19.2.

Pervasive inequality at Croatian universities

ZAGREB (liderpress) -- Chronic underfunding cements social inequality in Croatian higher education, new data confirms. Only 4.8 percent of the country’s GDP is invested in education, compared to the EU average of 5.8 percent, and only 0.7 percent of this goes into research. Four in five of university students have to be supported by their parents … read more 20.2.

Dutch universities swamped by overseas students

AMSTERDAM (gn-online) -- More foreign students than ever before are studying in the Netherlands. Higher Education institutions have noticed an increase in non-native students of 1.8 percent compared to last year … read more 21.2.15

French academics turn attention to Islam

PARIS (etudiant) -- Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, French education minister, wants to promote research into Islam and radicalisation by creating academic courses on the subject at six universities. Government investment, set to total 650,000 euros in the academic year commencing in 2016, will also lead to new academic posts at the universities of Panthéon-Sorbonne, Aix-Marseille, Lyon and Strasbourg … read more 19.02.2016

Catholicism on campus causes controversy

MADRID (el diario) -- Catholic chapels on college campuses in Spain —of which there are currently 33— are still funded by the taxpayer, causing controversy which has led to protests such as that involving Rita Maestre, spokesperson for Madrid City Council, who will stand trial later this week facing a charge of inciting religious hatred. The Spanish church is the second biggest owner of real estate in Spain, but pays no property tax and receives 11 billion euros a year in public subsidies … read more 17.02.2016

Germans trust the universities

Strike action in Slovakia gains momentum

BRATISLAVA (školský servis) -- Following a threat earlier this week, disgruntled university lecturers in Slovakia have gone ahead with strike action in protest of “unsustainable” working conditions. The action now involves lecturers from half of the country’s 35 universities … read more 17.02.2016

Poland fights plagiarism

WARSAW (polska) -- Poland will allocate a total of 35 million złotys (8 million euros) to more than 50 universities, in an effort to curb plagiarism. The news has not been universally welcomed, however: Science minister Jarosław Gowin hopes that a nationwide scheme to end academic misconduct would be more effective than grants to individual institutions … read more 17.02.2016

Anti-Semitism in UK universities

OXFORD (independent) -- The row over alleged anti-Semitism at Oxford University has intensified following the resignation of Alex Chalmers, a former chair of the university’s Labour Club (OULC). Anti-Semitic abuse is said to be an increasing problem on university campuses nationally and worldwide, and the issue is particularly pertinent as pro-Palestine academics and scientists continue to campaign for the boycotting of Israeli goods … read more 17.2.16

EFG money for Finnish universities

HELSINKI (svenska) -- The Finnish government has applied to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) for support to help those let go due to the most recent wave of university cuts. If the request is granted, it will be the first time that the EGF has agreed to fund a project in the public sector. The money is to be used to help the recently redundant find a job in the global market with specific training and personal advice … read more 17.02.2016

Turkish universities look the other way

Centralisation damaging to universities?

SUSSEX (the) -- Universities are ignoring evidence that decentralisation and autonomy in study lead to better functioning institutions, according to a science policy expert. Ben Martin’s paper “What’s happening to our universities?” cites numerous studies to support the idea that centralisation is not only damaging to staff morale but may also lead to a lack of innovation … read more

Third level fees still a possibility in Ireland

DUBLIN (irish examiner) -- The current Education minister, Jan O’Sullivan, has refused to rule out the possibility of the introduction of university fees if Labour is reelected. Currently students only need to pay a contribution of 2,000 to 3,000 euros, but a report to be concluded this summer is likely to show that universities need an increase of up to a billion euros from the state in order to avoid the introduction of university fees. Despite O’Sullivan saying that higher education should be attainable for everyone, she could not guarantee that universities would remain free of fees … read more 17.02.2016

English ‘the new Latin’ in Ukraine

KIEV (study international) -- Education minister Serhiy Kvit and public officials in Ukraine have announced plans to implement bilingualism across all national universities, with English to become the country’s second working language. Scholars of the region have compared the rise of English to ancient Latin, as students and professors will also be encouraged to talk to one another in English outside of their studies … read more 15.02.2016

Portuguese research promised support

BRAGA (porto canal) -- The Portuguese education minister, Manuel Heitor, has promised greater support to the research community. In an interview at the international conference of nanotechnology in Braga he described 2016 as a ‘year of change’ for Portuguese science policy … read more 16.02.2016

Robin Hood of research

MOSCOW (science alert) -- A Russian researcher, Alexandra Elbakyan, has made 48 million journal articles —almost every single peer-reviewed paper ever published— available online for free. Despite a court injunction, she is still refusing to take them offline, stating that it is ridiculous that you should have to pay 32 dollars per journal just to skim read it, especially when scientists need to access hundreds of thousands of these papers for their research. Elsevier, one of the world’s biggest publishers, has also filed a lawsuit against her, but they themselves are facing a petition to boycott their services, which has already been signed by 15,000 scientists. With leading universities, like Harvard and Cornell, even admitting that they too are struggling to pay these fees, something will have to change soon … read more | Sci-Hub12.2.16

Science centres vs brain drain

VILNUS (15min) -- Lithuania must look to the future of science centres to keep up with its neighbouring countries. According to Dainius Pavalkis, former education minister (2012-15), these centres could be a means of counteracting the effects of brain drain, by providing suitable jobs for researchers and encouraging others to study the field … read more 10.02.2016

Dutch universities and Wiley make a deal

ROTTERDAM (engineers online) -- Dutch universities and the publishing house Wiley have reached an agreement to make possible unlimited open access to scientific articles for all researchers and students attached to Dutch universities. Koen Becking, president of Tilburg University, called the move “a huge step forward” for Dutch higher education … read more 08.02.2016

Portuguese polytechnics seek recognition

LISBON (dn) -- Starting this summer, Portuguese polytechnics will work in conjunction with companies on applied research projects. Joaquim Mourato, President of the Coordinating Council of Higher Polytechnic Intitutes (CCISP) is thrilled with the announcement of this project, seeing it as a step towards polytechnics receiving the recognition they deserve … read more 15.02.2016

Russia: Inflation drives foreign student influx

MOSCOW (uwn) -- The number of foreign students in Russia could see a sharp increase over the next few years as a result of the country’s financial crisis. According to the Rector of Moscow State University, Viktor Sadovnichy, the devaluation of the ruble means the cost of studying is three times less than in 2014 … read more 10.02.2016

Spanish universities to blame?

MADRID (20minutos) -- Four out of ten graduates in Spain believe their university education was inadequate in helping them secure a job, according to a new study exploring attitudes to study and employment … read more 11.2.16

Italians excel abroad

ROME (il fatto quotidiano) -- An Italian academic abroad has hit back at the Italian education minister. After Stefania Giannini announced that an Italian researcher, Roberta D’Alessandro, recieving tender as an ERC consolidator was a great achievement for Italy, she replied saying it was actually an achievement for the Netherlands, where she works. D’Alessandro stated that Italy did nothing to help her, instead her career has been based abroad, where she has had far more opportunities than if she had remained in Italy … read more 13.2

Big data, big research centre

LEIDEN (automatiseringgids) -- Three Dutch universities —Leiden, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam —are to join forces in creating a research centre using big data to find solutions to urban issues. The centre will be named ‘Centre for BOLD Cities,’ and will focus on social issues and conduct research, developing education for students and professionals and giving advice on traffic, schools and public health … read more 12.02.2016

Lecturers join teachers on the picket line

BRATISLAVA (dennikn) -- Following the strike of primary and secondary school teachers, academic staff at universities in Slovakia are now threatening strike action. Lecturers at higher education institutions including Comenius University, Trnava University and the University of Pavol Jozef Safarik have come together to create a ‘strike committee,’ citing financial problems in the higher education sector as reason for their frustration … read more 09.02.2016

Prospective students face tall order in Denmark

COPENHAGEN (bt) -- Entry requirements for prospective students at three top universities in Denmark —Copenhagen, Aarhus and Southern Denmark— are set to increase, in an effort to enhance quality and international reputation. The government is expected to put forward a bill later this month that will allow universities to establish minimum grade requirements for bachelor programs … read more 12.02.2016

Cash prizes for development initiatives in Russia

MOSCOW (rg) -- Eleven universities, selected by the education ministry following a competitive application process, will receive funding amounting to 150 million rubles (1.7 million euro), in order to support five-year development programs that they must create and present before government officials. Dmitry Livanov, Minister of Education and Science, has emphasised the importance of such initiatives for the industrial and socio-economic development of the Russian Federation … read more 11.02.2016

Moedas advocates the “innovation principle”

BRUSSELS (ebx) -- Speaking at a industry conference in late January, EU research commissioner Carlos Moedas said “It’s time to put The Innovation Principle at the heart of Europe’s economic revival.” The move, suggested by influential lobby groups, aims at watering down the precautionary principle, a legal barrier according to which a producer, manufacturer or importer may be required to prove the absence of danger their products may pose to the public or to the environment ... read more 10.02.2016

Desperate for doctors in Switzerland

BERN (vaterland) -- Too few doctors are being trained in Switzerland, prompting the government to invest 100 million Swiss francs (90 million euros) in medical higher education, with the aim of increasing intake. It is as yet unclear how the funding will be distributed, but the plan is to increase number of trainee doctors from 900 this year to 1300 in 2025 … read more 12.02.2016

Swedish students propose tuition fees

STOCKHOLM (sydsvenskan) -- Sweden’s liberal Ateneum Student Association has outlined three reforms that they believe would improve the quality of the country’s universities and colleges. The students urge the government to transform the funding system for higher education programs, allow universities to charge any tuition fee up to 25,000 Swedish krona (2,100 euros), and recognise the importance of humanities and arts faculties … read more 10.02.2016

Ukrainian-Czech university liaison

LVIV (lvivskaja gazeta) -- In the latest example of strengthening Ukrainian-Czech relations through academic policy, officials from the University of Lviv and Prague’s Charles University met to discuss opportunities for co-operation between the two institutions … read more 11.02.2016

Bologna Follow-Up Group look to the future

BRUSSELS (eurashe) -- Preparation has begun for the upcoming EHEA Ministerial Conference in Paris in 2018, marking a new period of development for the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in the Bologna Follow-Up Group (BFUG). New working groups have been set up with the objective of consolidating cohesive structures throughout Europe and enlargement towards Asian and African countries … read more 02.02.2016