How free trade threatens higher education
BERLIN (uwn/esna) -- The European university sector, precisely because of its almost entirely publicly funded and intensely regulated status, is seen by the negotiating parties of TTIP, CETA and TiSA as a prime target to be opened up to the market and wrested from state control. US companies hold a strong position in the field of education services, but it would be an easy mistake to see the pressure as coming exclusively from America: equally, the EU ... read more 21.10.2016
EU research funding competition is heating up
BRUSSELS (the) -- University systems in Europe are under growing funding pressure, a new report from the European University Association finds. “The funding gaps between national systems is widening,” says Thomas Estermann, EUA’s director of governance, funding and public policy development. Up to 50 percent of the Horizon 2020 funding goes to cover the costs of the applications, successful or otherwise ... read more | and here 06.10.2016
Norway’s favouritism of its older universities
OSLO (aftenbladet) -- The Norwegian government’s recent proposals for the state budget reinforce inequalities in the funding of older and newer universities. The latter receive 157,000 krone (175,000 euros) per student, half of the provision for older HEIs. Some rectors have labeled this as “totally unreasonable” and “without justification” … read more 18.10.2016
Code of Ethics for Srpska universities
BELGRADE (rtrs) -- Dejan Popovic, president of the National Council for Higher Education in the Bosnian entity the Republic of Srpska, has announced the introduction of a national Code of Ethics for universities. Violations include plagiarism, misuse, falsification of research and unethical behaviour to others … read more 18.10.2016
Graduate glut in the UK
LONDON (guardian) -- The glut of university graduates in the UK are ‘colonising’ jobs that were once the preserve of school-leavers, the human resources association CIPD suggests in a new study. The CIPD maintains that the political consensus to increase student numbers is no longer justified considering high student debt and more than half of graduates taking non-graduate jobs. The report is likely to intensify the debate about whether university courses are good value for all students, the Guardian writes. Supporters of the current approach say that limiting numbers would result in higher education being dominated by children from better-off families, and that courses increasingly have a vocational bent to prepare young people better for their careers … read more 11.10.2016
EU-student funding guarantee extended
LONDON (bbc) -- EU students applying for a place at English universities for the next academic year will be eligible for loans and grants, ministers have said. The arrangement will be honoured even if the UK exits the EU in that period ... read more 11.10.2016
‘Impoverishment’ of French universities
PARIS (le point) -- In a press conference, rector of the Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris, Georges Haddad, has lamented the pitiful financial situation faced by universities and their staff. “We are on the ropes permanently. Students are not less well trained, they are less well supported.” He added, “a country that does not respect its teachers cannot claim to love its youth” … read more 18.10.2016
Dutch students struggling with Dutch
AMSTERDAM (ad) -- At the beginning of the semester thousands of freshmen at Dutch universities must take proficiency tests in their mother tongue. But according to Bas Schrijver, spokesman for The Hague University of Applied Sciences, “the majority of students on Dutch language Bachelor’s programmes don’t have the starting level required” … read more 19.10.2016
EU launches Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition
BRUSSELS (ec) -- The European Commission is launching a multi-stakeholder partnership — the so-called Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition — to develop a large digital talent pool and ensure that individuals and the labour force in Europe are equipped with adequate digital skills ... read more 19.10.2016
Danish students protest cuts
COPENHAGEN (ekstrabladet) -- An alliance of 45 student organisations and unions demonstrated across Denmark against planned cuts of 8.7 billion krone (1.2 billion euros) over four years. 20,000 students took to the streets in Copenhagen alone, and Yasmin Davali, president of the Danish Union of Students, called the cuts “a disaster for the quality of our educational institutions” … read more 13.10.16
Mutual recognition between China and Europe
BEIJING (shanghai daily) -- China has signed agreements on the mutual recognition of degrees with 19 EU member states, including Germany, France and Italy. The Chinese education ministry also expressed desire to focus on the ‘balanced flow’ of students between China and Europe. 303,000 Chinese students were studying in Europe at the end of 2015 … read more 09.10.2016
Certain Spanish regions do better
BARCELONA (abc) -- Student dropout rates in Spain have generally increased over the past few years. But institutions in the autonomous community of Castilla y León have managed to buck that trend, with a rate 10 percent lower than the national average … read more 17.10.2016
Finnish Nobel laureate criticises cuts to higher education
HELSINKI (yle) -- The Finnish joint-winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Economics, Bengt Holmström, has sharply criticised the government’s proposed cuts to higher education. The MIT professor said the decision “was a vote of no confidence and also strongly reflected contempt for the university world. I don't see that [the government] has any expertise in this area” … read more 10.10.2016
Irish teachers’ union rejects merger
CORK (irish examiner) -- The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) branch at the Cork Institute of Technology have issued a vote of no confidence in CIT president Brendan Murphy over the planned merger with the Institute of Technology Tralee. The union believes it is more about cost-cutting than improving education … read more 14.10.2016
German universities’ corruption problem
FRANKFURT (huffpost) -- How corrupt are German universities? Students perceive there to be foul play at hand in the awarding of doctorates and professorships, according to a recent survey. Conducted in eleven countries, it reveals that Germany’s students’ perception of corruption in this area is worse than in the Ukraine, which is often portrayed as a hotbed of malpractice. Only Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic fared worse … read more 16.10.2016
Icelandic rectors demand investment in higher education
REJKJAVIK (rejkjavik university) -- Iceland’s universities are significantly underfunded and receive the least investment of all Nordic countries, according to OECD data. In a declaration, all of Iceland’s rectors have called for politicians to act: “Universities cannot continue under the status quo. higher education in the country is endangered” … read more 07.10.2016
Ireland: international students as cash cows
DUBLIN (irish examiner) -- Seeking to fill the gap in the market of an English-speaking EU country that Brexit will leave in its wake, Irish education minister, Richard Bruton has announced a plan to attract 37,000 more foreign students by the end of the 2019/20 academic year. This would mean an extra 520 million euros a year … read more 07.10.2016
German students stressed out
BERLIN (stern) -- Over half of Germany’s students feel stressed, according to a study by health insurer AOK. The larger exam burden that is a consequence of the Bologna Reforms is cited by those involved in the study as a main factor. Young women suffer more than men … read more 11.10.2016
Students of the world on the move
BRUSSELS (aca) -- The proportion of international students in OECD countries continues to rise, as this year’s ‘Education at a Glance’ report has shown. Their numbers have grown by five percent in twelve months … read more 09.2016
UK scientists fear Brexit backlash against immigration
LONDON (nature) -- At the Conservative Party annual conference, Prime Minister Theresa May made it clear that freedom of movement is not on the agenda of Brexit Britain, to the dismay of the academic community. Stephen Curry, a biologist at Imperial College London said that the comments would “restrict us from EU funds” and are “reinforcing the rather sour atmosphere," adding, "I think the mood has turned a lot darker” … read more 06.10.2016
Half of Greeks want private universities
ATHENS (nova sports) -- One in two Greeks want to see a the introduction of private universities, according to a survey conducted by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry … read more 11.10.2016
Apple expands cooperation with Italy’s universities
NAPLES (iculture) -- At the opening ceremony of the first iOS Developers Academy in Naples, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, Lisa Jackson announced plans to work with at least five universities in the Campania region so that more students can attend the iOS Foundation Program … read more 09.10.2016
Slovenians fear linguistic colonisation
LJUBLJANA (etv) -- Slovenian academics have issued a declaration against proposed legislation to introduce English instruction into its HEIs to attract foreign students. The declaration states: “The openness of universities and scientific exchanges are achievable in other ways that do not jeopardise Slovene.” These are, namely, to finance high quality translation, to combat brain drain and to encourage academic expats to return. Otherwise they fear “Slovenian will gradually be marginalised as a language of a subordinate class” … read more 09.10.2016