Spring cleaning in Bergamo
BERGAMO (eco) -- Staff and students at the University of Bergamo proudly presented the results of their work cleaning the lawn in front of the former monastery of Sant’Agostino, which dates from 1290 and is now home to the university’s Department of Human and Social Sciences … read more 11.04.2016
Dutch degrees not worth what they promise
THE HAGUE (nl times) -- Universities in the Netherlands often give prospective students too positive or even inaccurate information about the job prospects awaiting them following the completion of a study program, according to a study done by the national student association ISO ... read more 11.04.2016Irish students better pray
DUBLIN (irish times) -- Whilst
students and citizens in Spain fight against having chapels in university (see Catholicism on campus causes controversy), readers of the Irish Times have come to the defence of religion in
tertiary education. A poll conducted by the paper shows 65 percent want to keep
chaplains in colleges, despite very low attendance by students ... read more
11.04.2016
Salafism on the march in France
PARIS (la depeche) -- Salafism, the Sunni Muslim denomination which can lead some to Islamic radicalism, is very active in French universities, particularly Toulouse’s Jean-Jaurès University, and is winning ‘the ideological battle’ with mainstream Islam in France, says Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Meanwhile Education minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem is considering introducing inspections of Muslim schools to combat radicalisation … read more 11.04.2016
Ageing professors in Spain
MADRID (opinión de zamora) -- The hiring of staff at public universities in Spain has been interrupted by the economic crisis, leading to an ageing of university staff, with 70 percent older than 40. The foundation for economic studies, FEDEA, proposes increasing funding and the lifting of existing legal restrictions on hiring … read more 11.04.2016
Transparent university-industry cooperation in Germany
BERLIN (ots) -- After much criticism of university-business cooperations in Germany without public scrutiny, the industry-funded foundation Stifterverband has proposed transparency rules. It comes as no surprise that they do not propose transparent research contracts which can be monitored, for instance, by an independent agency ... read more 06.04.2016
Spanish universities win tax rebate
OVIEDO (lne) -- 20 million euros of VAT on research taken in tax by the treasury must be repaid to Spanish universities, including the Universities of Salamanca and Santiago de Compostela. This follows two Supreme Court rulings stating that research done on behalf of other institutions is exempt from tax after the universities complained to the tax authority … read more 11.4.16
Danish industry vs. social student funding
COPENHAGEN (uwn) -- The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations has disagreed with proposals of an industry-oriented think tank to introduce loans instead of public grants for master’s students. The academics foresee a decrease in master completion rates, currently one of the highest among OECD countries ... read more 08.04.2016
Intellectual crisis at Irish universities
DUBLIN (irish times) -- Universities are under increasing pressure to produce graduates solely for the labour market and face an “intellectual crisis” over their role in society, President Michael D Higgins has said. Mr Higgins said higher education has a crucial role to play in laying the foundations of a society that is more inclusive, participatory and equal … read more 08.04.2016
Finland: Library staff revolt
HELSINKI (uwn) -- The director of the National Library, Kai Ekholm, became a symbol in Finland of how to stand up to the authorities in a situation of national crisis. He refused to execute an order to fire staff. “We are catering for Finnish cultural heritage,” he wrote in a note. “This is a more responsible mandate than an order given by a coincidental government” ... read more 08.04.2016
Dutch medical students out of pocket
AMSTERDAM (mare) -- Despite a petition with 22,000 signatures last October protesting the reduction of loans for medical students, Dutch education minister Jet Bussemaker has refused to pay medical students during their obligatory hospital placements. She claims they earn enough on graduating to cover these costs themselves … read more 06.04.2016
The Swedes got homework to do
STOCKHOLM (ergo) -- Despite a government decision five years ago to abolish tuition fees for foreign students, this has not happened and needs reviewing, says education minister Helene Hellmark Knutsson. She also notes the worrying decline in student performance, which can be traced back to poor school performance … read more 04.04.2016
Moldova and Romania brace themselves against brain drain
BUCHAREST/CHISINAU (agerpres) -- Only seven percent of Moldovan students studying abroad return after graduating, and student intake in Romania dropped by 200,000 between 2009 and 2014. A joint cooperation between the two countries aims to rectify this, reforming research institutions and universities, especially their curricula … read more 5.4.16
Education cuts to pay Finnish state debt
HELSINKI (savon sanomat) -- The education cuts including cuts to student aid are justified, argues Finnish education minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, because of Finland’s “weak economy and high debt” … read more 06.04.2016
Spain: Down with LOMCE, say students
MADRID (info libre) -- Students opposed to the far-reaching reforms of former education minister José Wert have called a general strike next week. Massive demonstrations demanding the withdrawal of his law (‘LOMCE’) are expected in Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga … read more 07.04.2016Moedas advocates integrated European Open Science Cloud
AMSTERAM (scienceguide) -- Speaking at the Netherlands EU Presidency 2016 conference in Amsterdam, EU research commissioner Carlos Moedas asks “will academic journals face the same fate as the music and media industries?” Referring to the great business opportunities of Open Acces, he bluntly stated that “open science is a good thing” and “Europe’s final transition must be one from fragmented data sets to an integrated European Open Science Cloud.” Open Science is a key priority of the Dutch Presidency. The Netherlands is committed to open access to scientific publications and the best possible re-use of research data, and it would like to accelerate the transition this requires ... read more | and here 05.04.2016
Public debate on university entrance in Greece
ATHENS (foititikanea) -- The reintroduction of a higher minimum school leaving qualification (‘βάση του 10’) for admission to higher education is a hot topic in Greece at the moment. The question of restructuring access to universities “will be the subject of a measured public debate”, deputy education minister Sia Anagnostopoulou said … read more 06.04.2016
Belarus plans “optimisation” of education
MINSK (belta) -- Education is one of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko’s top priorities. In a cabinet meeting with education minister Mikhail Zhuravkov, “optimization” efforts for the coming legislative period were discussed. Plans include improving research institutes, merging vocational training schools and integrating some with universities … read more 1.4.16
Bulgaria: Working on academic salaries
SOFIA (standart) -- The salaries of young scientists are currently comparable to those of cleaning staff. Little wonder there is a lack of qualified applicants for academic posts. Education minister Meglena Kuneva promised more money for young scientists, having already allocated two million lev to fund 231 projects … read more 06.04.2016
Country spotlight: Education in Syria
DAMASCUS (wenr) -- In 2012, there were approximately 659,394 students enrolled in public and private higher education institutions throughout Syria. In 2015, it is estimated that some 450,000 university age Syrians had become refugees; about 100,000 are believed to be qualified for enrollment in universities ... read more