Polish universities join Black Monday
WARSAW (polska times) -- Thousands of women in black went on strike across Poland on Monday, closing down restaurants, government offices and university classes, and blocking access to the ruling party headquarters in Warsaw to protest against plans for a total ban on abortion. Universities also agreed to permit the absence from class due to the protest … read more 29.09.2016
French universities’ internationalisation efforts
PARIS (france strategie) -- Higher education institutions in France undertake 600 internationalisation programmes that 37,000 students take part in worldwide, according to the first comprehensive report on France’s universities’ activities abroad. The report suggests that these activities are more opportunistic than part of a clear strategy … read more 26.09.2016
Knowledge Capitals Stockholm and Zurich
WASHINGTON (brookings) -- Knowledge capitals are defined by capital, not knowledge - at least according to Brookings and JP Morgan Chase’s Global Cities Initiative. Parameters such as economic output and nominal GDP per capita are used to define the nineteen knowledge capitals, Stockholm and Zurich being the only two European cities to make the list … read more 29.9
Czech student numbers fall
PRAGUE (prague monitor) -- For the second year in a row, the number of Czech students at university will decline. This trend has been visible since 2010 due to demographic developments … read more 26.09.2016
The end of mergers in Russia?
MOSCOW (uwn) -- New Russian education minister has made a break from the policies of her predecessor Dmitry Livanov and called a halt to university mergers. She also cast doubt over the continuation of Project 5-100, which aims to get five Russian universities into the top 100 in world rankings … read more 30.09.2016
Universities’ Third Mission according to Pope Francis
ROME (universitas) -- Some Oxford scholars and industry spokesmen define universities’ so-called Third Mission as the entrepreneurial or business side of affairs. Pope Francis has a different idea. At the Jubilee Audience in Rome on September 10th, God’s deputy on Earth greeted “those taking part in the Jubilee of Universities and Research Centres, with the hope that the teaching may be rich in values, so as to form people who are able to make their God-given talents bear fruit”. The coinciding university symposium agreed on three pillars of universities’ third mission ... read more 28.09.2016
€100 million for French universities
PARIS (20 minutes) -- Prime Minister Manuel Valls has announced a 100 million euro injection into higher education in the budget for 2017. New Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research Thierry Mandon said this was proof that higher education is crucial for France’s future. Student union UNEF was less impressed, calling it “the smallest change in the last five years” … read more 28.09.2016
Bad science: Thomson-Reuters’ flawed ranking
NEW YORK (div) -- Thomson-Reuters has published their yearly analysis of the hottest trends in science research. Increasingly, governments and funding organisations use them to identify strategic priorities. So it’s profoundly disturbing that their conclusions are based on shoddy methodology ... read more 3.10.16
Part-time lecturers picking up the slack in Austria
VIENNA (orf) -- Part-time lecturers who are only entrusted with teaching, undertake an average of a quarter of all teaching at Austrian universities. They are employed on different bases depending on the institution, sometimes for only a semester, sometimes indefinitely. “The number of courses being held by precariously employed lecturers is far too high” said Green Party science spokeswoman Sigrid Maurer … read more 30.09.2016
The insatiable Swiss
ZURICH (div) -- Is being the ‘world’s most competitive country’ for eight consecutive years not enough? Obtaining 5.8 points out of a possible 7 in the World Economic Forum’s yearly report, in part due to ‘outstanding’ universities, doesn’t seem to satisfy Swiss industry. Patrick Schellenbauer, acting director of the economic think tank Avenir Suisse, would see more cooperation and mergers between Swiss unis and more private investment, “in order to be competitive” … read more | and here 27.09.2016
New pay-as-you-go Dutch tuition scheme
THE HAGUE (div) -- A proposal from the Dutch education minister Jet Bussemaker would make it possible for students at some universities to pay per credit. Thus students who are ill or have responsibilities as a carer or parent, for example, would be able to focus their studies in a way that suits their own circumstances … read more | and here 03.10.2016
Gerontocracy in Zagreb
ZAGREB (div) -- Students of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb are still demonstrating against the intended cooperation with the Faculty of Catholic Theology. But the main controversy is now the ongoing employment of 71 year old faculty dean, Vlatko Previšić, who attempted to barricade himself from the peacefully protesting students and called security guards to prohibit their action on 'suspicion of terrorism'. Despite calls to step down and legal requirements to retire, he is refusing to go … read more | and here 28.09.2016
French students love Belgian degrees
BRUSSELS (france tv info) -- French students have long travelled to Walloon for degrees in medicine, physiotherapy and pharmacy. But now, thanks to the lower cost of living and less stringent entry conditions, the phenomenon has spread to areas such as graphic design and architecture, so much so that 11 percent of students at francophone Belgian unis are indeed French … read more 26.09.16
Academic inbreeding in Portugal
LISBON (publico) -- More than two thirds of doctorate university professors in Portugal are employed by the university who trained them, a process known as academic endogamy, a report by the National Council of Education has found. The authors of the study say it calls into question “principles of equality and merit” … read more 24.09.2016
Slovakian graduate numbers drop dramatically
BRATISLAVA (pravda) -- As the law of supply and demand applies to the labour market as well, Slovakian employers are increasingly interested in graduates of computer science, engineering and economics, while the number of Slovakian alumni from public universities has dropped from 56,000 in 2011 to 45,000 this year … read more 24/09/2016
Belgian universities more elitist
HASSELT (knack) -- “The democratisation of universities has failed.” This is the brutal assessment of Hasselt University rector Luc De Schepper. Quoting OECD statistics, the rector highlighted that in Belgium, the proportion of highly educated young people with poorly educated parents is lower than it was twenty years ago, at 22 compared to 30 percent … read more 28.09.2016
“Best” universities in Europe 2017
LONDON (the) -- The THE ranking is spamming the news with infantile taglines again: “The top 10 European universities include UK, Swiss, German and Swedish
institutions, but UK universities take most of the spots at the very
top” ... read more 21.09.2016
Time come for a higher education market in Albania?
TIRANA (panorama) -- Adrian Civici, president of the private European University of Tirana, thinks it is. The proportion of Albanian students attending private universities has reached at least 20 percent since the founding of the first of such institutions 15 years ago. Civici claims the “time has come for a higher education sector with all the elements of the market” ... read more 18.09.2016
Belarus struggles with Bologna reform
MINSK (naviny) -- Since Belarus’ conditional acceptance onto the Bologna Process in 2015, less than 10 percent of its provisions have been fulfilled thus far. In order to fully benefit from being a part of the European Higher Education Area, Belarus must implement some central policy measures, such as the introduction of an independent agency of quality control and the European credit system. But the state has departed from publicity over the reform process … read more | and here 26.09.2016
Increased funding for Estonian research
TALLINN (ohtuleht) -- Estonia’s Minister of Education and Research, Maris Lauri, intends to invest a further 8 million euros in research and development in 2017. This will add to the coffers of research institutions as well as bolstering personal research grants … read more 28.09.2016
Portuguese universities against cybercrime
LISBON (canal superior) -- Prosecutors are increasingly relying on computer experts from higher education institutions to overcome the delay of up to 2 years in the Judicial Police’s realisation of skills in cyber crime, a report by the Attorney General’s Cybercrime Office has revealed … read more 22.09.2016
What do Clinton and Trump think about science?
WASHINGTON (science news) -- Hillary Clinton’s “I believe in science” declaration aside, science has not played a starring role in the 2016 presidential election. Far from it. For the most part, the candidates’ science policies have trickled out in dribs and drabs, and in varying degrees of detail — talking points on a website here, a passing comment in response to a spur-of-the-moment question there ... read more 13.09.2016
EU prescribes Hungarian research policy
BRUSSELS (europa) -- The European Commission revealed policy proposals for Hungarian research and innovation. Among the proposals to bring Hungary in line with EU orthodoxy was the increased cooperation of business with public R&I … read more 20.09.2016
Valencian education deputy fails to keep his word on fees
VALENCIA (las provincias) -- Podemos Valencia has criticised the regional education deputy Vicent Marzà for failing to lower tuition fees as promised a year ago. Sandra Mínguez of Podemos brought to attention that the fees (between 978 and 1,549 euros) are among the highest in Spain … read more 25.09.2016
Top-down democracy for Swedish universities
STOCKHOLM (dn) -- A Confederation of Swedish Enterprise commissioned report states that the process of electing university rectors should be transferred from university staff to board members. Li Bennich-Björkman from Uppsala University and other academics criticise this kind of top-down administrative policy as a threat to the democratic and independent nature of universities … read more 20.09.2016
Cypriot students denounce fees increase
NICOSIA (ikypros) -- The Cyprian student union, POFEN, has expressed disappointment at the increase of tuition fees at two of Cyprus’ private universities, in some curricula by up to 39 percent … read more21.09.2016
German student support finally increased
BERLIN (aaz) -- After the government’s recent decision, BAföG State Loan for students has risen by seven percent and slightly higher earning families are eligible. Despite being a welcome increase, it barely falls in line with inflation … read more 26.09.2016
Professor sues President Zeman
PRAGUE (nova) -- Following May's controversy of the Czech President Miloš Zeman’s unprecedented intervention to deny the appointment of a new professor to Charles University (on the grounds of a banner he was holding during a gay pride parade), Ivan Ošťádal of the Mathematics and Physics Faculty sued the head of state. The Prague City Court, however, dismissed the case … read more 21.09.2016
Students raise rent in Bulgaria
SOFIA (standart) -- In Bulgarian university cities, the influx of students onto the housing market has caused rents to rise. The phenomenon has been noticeable since August in Sofia, where rents appreciated by 10-15 percent in areas surrounding universities … read more 25.09.2016
Blind Western focus not enough for Ukraine
ODESSA (odessa media) -- Rector of the South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University, Aleksij Chebykin, has explained in an interview that without proper investment in infrastructure outside of education: “blind orientation to Western standards will lead to a lack of professionals and the outflow of students,” he added, "due to the lack of a normal market, graduates are forced to retrain or go abroad" … read more 19.09.2016
Poisonous science
LONDON (global research) -- Pesticide manufacturers have spent millions influencing researchers who are investigating the role of neonicotinoids (nicotine-like chemicals found in many major pesticides) in bee die-offs, according to a recent analysis by Greenpeace. Bayer and Syngenta gave over 2 million pounds (over 2.3 million euros) to British universities engaged in research on pesticides and plant sciences between 2011 and 2016 ... read more 14.09.2016
Four new research centres in Bulgaria
VARNA (investor) -- In August, the Bulgarian education ministry pledged 300 million lev to modernise science and research. Yesterday, the director of the Structural Funds and International Educational Programmes, Ivan Modev, announced that 200 million of this will go towards building four new ‘centres of excellence’ … read more 21.09.2016
Value science
PARIS (un) -- Science should be valued more highly in international decision-making, argues a United Nations report released on 18 September. Prepared by the UN Scientific Advisory Board, the report states that policymakers should consider the role of science in policy and society more seriously when addressing issues such as sustainable development, climate change, food & water, security and inequality. It also recommends that nations invest a greater proportion of GDP in science, technology and innovation … read more 18.09.2016
Unfair working conditions foment racism among scientists
BERLIN (tech review) -- Often the comments are more noteworthy than the articles themselves. The news about an online platform to help educated refugees in Germany network with researchers, did not impress German researchers reading it. Commenters lamented that Germany didn’t give it’s own researchers a chance. Some described an “exodus” of researchers to other countries to escape the German system of short-term contracts, which forces scientists to undergo long hours of unpaid work ... read more 24.9.16
Growing inequality in science
LONDON (nature) -- Despite science’s egalitarian ideal, income inequality between the top-earning one percent of researchers and the rest, is increasing. The strong competition and relatively low reward for most scientists is dissuading people from entering the field, with 20 percent of respondents to Nature’s salary survey saying they would not recommend their career to students … read more 21.9.16 Special issue on inequality in science
Students in Bari reduced to tears
BARI (trmtv) -- After students of the University of Bari, Italy, invaded the rectory in tears, unable to meet the first instalment of tuition fees which were increased this year, the rector, Antonio Uricchio, has secured deadline extensions or exemptions for those families in financial difficulty … read more | and here 21.09.2016
Research for sale
MAINZ (freitag) -- Between 2005 and 2012, the proportion of German universities’ research budget that was supported by third-party funding increased from under 40 percent, to over a half. The latest controversy to emerge from state-underfunded universities’ growing dependence on private funding comes from the University of Mainz, where a 150 million euro deal with the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds, affiliate of the pharmaceutical company of the same name, has called into to question the academic integrity of the universities’ research … read more 20.09.2016
Open access for German research
BERLIN (heise) -- The German government has announced an “Open Access Strategy” which states that any research that has been publicly funded should be publicly accessible for free. According to German research minister, Johanna Wanka, “Free access to knowledge is a springboard to social development” … read more | and here 20.09.2016
Italy’s worrying number of NEETs
ROME (rai) -- The number of Italian young people who are neither in education, employment or training has increased by 10 per cent in 10 years, according to the OECD’s education report. This is the highest number of NEETs in any country in the OECD … read more 15.9.16
UNESCO report on worldwide education
PARIS (huffpost) -- The latest UNESCO Global Education Monitoring report has been published, revealing that a shocking 263 million children receive no education of any kind … read more 06.09.2016