Further persecution of university staff in Turkey
IZMIR (almanar) -- Turkish authorities arrested 15 members of staff from Ege University, one of the oldest and largest universities in the country. They are suspected of links to the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who is the scapegoat for July’s failed coup. Eight of the suspects, some of them professors, are still at large … read more 01.10.2016
Romanian doctoral schools under investigation
BUCHAREST (agerpres) -- Romanian education minister, Mircea Dumitru, has announced that he will begin to investigate doctoral schools for intellectual theft. He added, “the university is not, cannot be, nor should be an institution acting politically”, stressing that academic integrity is vital for the reputation of the community on an international level … read more 03.10.2016
Danish universities fear political control
COPENHAGEN (berlingske) -- Following the Danish education ministry’s report recommending ministry involvement in board and director appointment, universities have come out in strong opposition. Anders Bjarklev, rector of Technical University of Denmark, fears "if a professor is a little too outspoken about political stuff, the ministry might call the board and tell them to shut him up” … read more 04.10.2016
Bulgarian brain drain
SOFIA (utroruse) -- “A major obstacle to better economic growth is the lack of human resources” said Vasil Velev, Chairman of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria on a bTV discussion about keeping students in the country after graduation. Emil Stoimenov, a medical student, claimed that as many as half of his classmates were planning on leaving Bulgaria after graduation. But until conditions on the labour market improve, he does not see forcing students to stay in Bulgaria as a viable option … read more 4.10.16
Hungarian academics protest immigration referendum
BUDAPEST (nepszava) -- In the run up to last weekend’s referendum in Hungary, over 140 academics signed a declaration condemning it as “meaningless, unconstitutional and inhumane.” The question asked if the people wanted the EU to be able to set migrant quotas without approval of the National Assembly. The vast majority voted against EU quotas, but turnout was too low to validate the referendum … read more 01.10.2016
Croatia: Controversial dean suspended
ZAGREB (vijesti) -- Vlatko Previšić, the stubborn dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb has been suspended in an almost unanimous decision by the University Senate. But students have refused to recognise his appointment, citing irregularities in the election process … read more | and here 03.10.2016
Burqa ban in Norwegian universities
OSLO (daily mail) -- Norwegian education minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen is pushing for a ban of the full-faced burqa in schools and universities. Such veils are uncommon in Norway, but Isaksen stressed that the ban would not apply to the hijab … read more 06.10.2016
International student hub in Brussels
BRUSSELS (pie news) -- The French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Flemish Vrije Universiteit Brussel are collaborating to create an 800 room accommodation complex for international students. Rector of VUB, Paul De Knop, added that “our central location is important for international students, who are eager to visit London, Paris and Amsterdam, all destinations that are less than two hours away” … read more 29.09.2016
Berlin’s students struggle for living space
BERLIN (rbb) -- Berlin is one of 19 university cities in Germany where the housing market is graded as acutely critical, according to a new study. In comparison with last year however, the situation has only got slightly worse, where in other cities it has heated up significantly … read more 26.09.2016
‘Good news’ for Spain’s higher education
MADRID (el economista) -- The decision by Spain’s autonomous communities to maintain the ‘single district’ of access to universities has been greeted as “good news” by education minister Íñigo Méndez de Vigo. Thus any student can attend any university in Spain. Last June, de Vigo replaced the unloved José Ignacio Wert … read more 05.10.2016
Impending catastrophe for Italy’s universities
PAVIA (pp) -- Budget cuts to university research of 50 per cent since 2010 and dramatic drops in student, graduate and teacher numbers will lead to a catastrophe in a matter of years for Italian higher education, according to Gianfranco Viesti, Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Bari. Without action, he predicts “a near future in which universities will be forced to close, and where others will become elitist” … read more 02.10.2016
Irish students demand free higher education
DUBLIN (irish times) -- The Irish students’ union USI has announced that on the 19th October it will demonstrate for public investment into tertiary education. It added that an income-contingent loan system was not good enough, as the debt-burden would act as a deterrent against studying … read more 26.09.2016
New ESNA Bulletin out now
BERLIN (esna) -- Europe’s most appreciated overview of higher ed and science policy has just been published. It features the most relevant news reports on universities and research, focussing in this edition on mergers, rankings, funding and fees. It also presents the latest books, studies, events and EU project calls ... read more
UK government pushes for university privatisation
LONDON (nature) -- A draft law, the Higher Education and Research Bill, is making its way through the House of Commons. The bill amounts to the biggest shake-up in the sector for more than a generation. It is designed to make it easier for private companies to set up universities, and to enable more researchers to commercialise their work ... read more 04.10.2016Denmark no favourite for international students
COPENHAGEN (cph post) -- Denmark is the 8th best country in Europe to be an international student, according to the latest International Student Satisfaction awards. Unfortunately this makes them the least desirable out of their Nordic neighbours: Finland coming 4th, Sweden 7th, and Norway in pole position … read more 03.10.2016