Paris-Saclay “lost without excellence programme”

PARIS (educpros) -- Jacques Bittoun, president of the University of Paris-Sud, said in an interview: “Without the excellence programme Idex, the federal research university Paris-Saclay” —as part of a larger research conglomerate launched by the former French president Nicolas Sarkosy— “could fall apart. In 2010, the government gave us more autonomy; it will fail without financial support” ... read more 29.03.2016

IS threatens European universities

WASHINGTON (wt) -- Islamic State terrorists have taken to social media to tell the West that waves of violence will strike more targets in Europe and the US. An Al-Wafa article specifically threatens Europe saying, “We have come to you today with bombs, explosive belts, and rifles (...) we will strike you in the nightclubs, the stadiums, the schools, and the universities; on land, on sea, and everywhere” ... read more 29.03.2016

E-Paper market to grow in European higher education

LONDON (businesswire) -- Europe is the second largest revenue contributor to the global electronic paper screen market in the education sector, accounting for a share of 25 percent. In Europe, the higher education sector is experiencing significant growth with changing government regulations and ever-increasing numbers of educational institutions. Also, blended learning is used extensively in universities, which is fueling the market growth in Europe. In Central Europe, demand is growing as international vendors are expanding their presence ... read more 28.3.16

Witch hunt on critical academics in Turkey

ISTANBUL (science) -- A total of 464 investigations have been launched by public universities into academics who signed a petition calling for an end to military operations in Turkey’s southeast since the controversy erupted in January. Nine of the signatory academics have been fired. A press statement said a “legal and verbal war” had been waged against signatory academics, even including death threats ... read more | and here 30.03.2016

International rankings unnecessary in Germany

Italy: Barrage of complaints regarding private schools

ROME (padova news) -- More and more complaints about private universities are filed at the National Consumers Union in Italy. “These schools, online or not, make a lot of advertisement, but they lead the complaints tables. Their contracts are full of traps,” a NCU speaker explains, “be aware of the small print!” ... read more 29.03.2016

Flemish investigation into fraudulent universities

BRUSSELS (nieuwsblad) -- Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits has opened an investigation into fraudulent universities. This follows a report by the Antwerp-based science magazine EOS that found dozens of such institutions in Flanders offering master’s degrees at prizes up to 17.000 euros … read more | and here 21.03.2016

French students continue to rally against labour law

TOULOUSE (la depeche) -- After demonstrations with 200,000 to 500,000 participants across France, students will continue to express their opposition to the labour law reforms with their feet in the following weeks. Pupils and students are expected to make up the majority of demonstrators during the workers’ strike and procession day on March 31st… read more 23.03.2016

Porto in your pocket

PORTO (economico) -- The University of Porto has just launched a smartphone and tablet app that allows students and staff to check timetables, subjects, university social networks and more on the go. The app should save time and money and give students even more information about their university experience … read more 17.03.2016

New international initiative to boost Open Access

MUNICH (mpg) -- A growing number of research organisations want to establish an international initiative which aims to convert the majority of today’s scholarly journals from subscription to Open Access (OA) publishing. This week a new website, ‘OA 2020’, was launched and an Expression of Interest was published, having already been adopted by thirty signatories … read more | and here 21.03.2015

Science is politics in another form

SEATTLE (evolution news) -- Commenting on an opinion piece in nature about the nexus between ‘science’ and the political establishment, the American author Wesley J. Smith notes that scientists who take a non-majority view are easily labelled as ‘anti-science’ … read more 17.03.2016

Swedish government defends cuts in education

HELSINKI (ht) -- Swedish education minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen has responded to the onslaught of criticism she has received from the academia over drastic cuts in education spending. “Finland needs a more science-friendly climate,” she admitted ... read more 19.03.2016

More autonomy for the New University of Lisbon

LISBON (dn) -- The New University of Lisbon (UNL) will join a scheme next year which gives it more control over its spending, funding and recruiting. The scheme, which the universities of Porto and Aveiro among others are already part of and which makes it easier to get European funding, will not affect the university’s status as a public university … read more 20.3

Universities promote growth

LONDON (lse) -- International data since the 1950s shows that universities boost economic growth. A study based on UNESCO’s World Higher Education Database detailing the location of 15,000 universities over the period 1950 to 2010 found that doubling the number of universities in a region increases the region’s subsequent income by over four percent. There are also spillover effects to other regions in the same country, creating a growth multiplier … read more 23.3.16

UK universities under cyberattack

LONDON (computerworld uk) -- A software firm that questioned senior IT people at fifty British universities found that they have been aggressively targeted in much the same way as many other sectors in the UK and beyond. A third of universities said this was now happening on an hourly basis. Hackers usually steal student data, dissertation materials, exam results, IP and research data … read more 22.03.2016

Brussels universities closed after suicide bombings

BRUSSELS (dS) -- After the two terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday, where at least 34 people were killed and about 200 injured, universities in and around the city were closed and will stay closed for the week. Universities organised transportation and shelter for students who were stranded as city traffic was shut down … read more | and here 22.03.2016

Minutes of silence at Louvain-la-Neuve

BRUSSELS (l’avenir) -- Hundreds of citizens and students observed the minute of silence on the central square of the University of Louvain-la-Neuve near Brussels yesterday to honour the victims of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks. The minute’s silence will be repeated today and tomorrow ... read more 24.3.16

Egyptian university condemns terrorist attacks

CAIRO (pro) Al-Azhar University in Cairo, founded in 988, is one of the oldest universities in the world. Its theological faculty, connected to the Al-Azhar Mosque, is considered one of the most important religious authorities in Sunni Islam. Alongside other international leading voices of Islam the university condemned the terrorist attacks in Brussels, calling the “heinous crimes […] a violation of the tolerant teachings of Islam” … read more 23.3.16