Russia struggles with Bologna Reform
MOSCOW (wciom) -- Perception of Russian students’ passion for learning has improved in recent years. A recent survey indicates that double the number of people in 2013 think students’ attitudes are improving. However, faith in the four-year undergraduate degree is not so strong. 47 percent of respondents did not think a four-year degree was sufficient to find employment. Russia switched to a two-tiered system in 2007 to ease compatibility with Western degrees … read more 24.01.2017
Ukraine and Poland to cooperate in higher ed
KIEV (gov) -- The education ministers of Ukraine and Poland, Lilia Grinevich and Jarosław Gowin respectively, will sign an agreement on cooperation in higher education and research as soon as April, according to a press release by the Ukrainian ministry … read more 19.01.2017
Who will host the European Medicines Agency?
LONDON (science) -- The Netherlands has become the latest country to announce its interest in hosting the influential regulatory body, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which must be relocated from the UK following Brexit. The EMA employs 900 people with an annual budget of 300 million euros. The Dutch have joined six other countries in declaring interest, but Germany and Finland amongst others have unofficially joined the race, with more, such as France, expected to come … read more 20.01.2017
First private faculty in a German public university
POTSDAM (handelsblatt) -- The Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), a German private research institute and university long affiliated with the University of Potsdam, is about to become the first such institution to receive faculty status, allowing it to licence its own degree programmes. Resulting questions surrounding the independence of the University of Potsdam have not gone unnoticed by the many lawyers drawing up contracts to facilitate the transition … read more 12.01.2017
Border hoppers costly for Basel
BASEL (baz) -- The German state of Baden-Württemberg, which borders Northern Switzerland, is supplying the University of Basel with nine percent of its students, a higher percentage than any other country. The Basel region and Basel City have to pick up the costs for foreign students on the basis that they add to the institution’s excellence. Proximity might have more to do with the concentration of young Swabians … read more 20.01.2017
Coca Cola cooperation with Hungarian universities
BUDAPEST (bbj) -- Coca Cola Hungary has signed a educational agreement with four universities in the country. “The most important condition of competitiveness today is clearly a well-trained workforce,” said Minas Agelidis, general manager, “therefore we expect dual training to spread.” This follows a former agreement between the Hungarian government and the beverage coorporation … read more 23.01.2017
Trump likely to eradicate NEH and NEA
WASHINGTON (pw) -- Unlike as is depicted above, these proposals have not been officially enacted, but an unnamed member of Donald Trump’s transition team has signalled that the new US President will eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Both provide grants for the promotion and conservation of cultural heritage. With a combined budget comprising just 0.0075 percent of federal expenditure, the report has been criticised as highly ideological … read more
Ayatollah urges Muslim students to be more active abroad
TEHRAN (mehr) -- The Supreme Leader of Iran, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seized the occasion of the 51st annual meeting of the Union of Islamic Student Associations in Europe to send a message to Europe’s Muslim students. “You are expected to influence the world around you and step on the path of God through your words and conducts” … read more 20.01.2017
Greece to study economics of education
ATHENS (iefimerida) -- Speaking to the Greek parliament, education minister Kostas Gavroglou announced that a committee will be set up to study the economics of education at all levels. It is intended to identify weaknesses and close gaps in the system. Mr. Gavroglou also accepted that state funding of universities is very low, but stated that for the first year in many it has stabilised and even increased slightly … read more 19.01.2017
Finland’s brain drain
HELSINKI (inside highered) -- Government cuts to to higher education and research in Finland have caused fears of a brain drain fallout. Academic, Jaakko Hameen-Anttila, said “The future seems very bleak,” with recent figures from Statistics Finland suggesting that numbers of PhD educated Finns moving abroad increased by 37 percent between 2011 and 2015 … read more 19.1.17
Russia top European country for higher ed efficiency
NEW YORK (bloomberg) -- In the 2017 Innovation Index, the Nordic countries made it to the top fifteen overall. But in terms of ‘tertiary efficiency’, measured by enrolment in higher education, share of graduates in the workforce and proportion of new science and engineering graduates, it was South Korea, Singapore, Russia and Ukraine filling out the top four … read more 17.01.2017
ESF launches expert services division
STRASBOURG (esf) -- The European Science Foundation (ESF) has announced the creation of a new expert services division dedicated to practical support for the European scientific community. Science Connect, as the service is called, will provide expert resources, tools and metrics to support projects in both the private and public sectors … read more 06.01.2017
No support for support staff at Irish university
DUBLIN (university times) -- Trinity College Dublin informed a union representative before Christmas that the university would offer “no more promotions” and “no more permanent contracts for future employees.” Caoimhe Ni Lochlainn, College press officer said this was part of a “revised approach for administrative, library and support staff.” The move has been heavily attacked by several unions in Ireland … read more | and here 22.01.2017
A year of new government fails Portuguese higher ed
LISBON (publico) -- One year of Social Democratic government has done nothing to improve the situation for Portuguese higher education. The annual report made by the Observatory for Education and Training Policy (OP.edu) found that the burden of austerity on universities has not been alleviated and there has been no change of approach towards adult education. The authors complain, “very little has been done for science, and what little has been done is not good” … read more 12.01.2017
International university rankings severely flawed
LONDON (pienews) -- A damning report by the UK’s Higher Education Policy Institute casts serious doubt over the usefulness of international university rankings such as those made by Times Higher Education and QS. The report claims the rankings make use of data that are “unreliable and sometimes worse” … read more 17.01.2017
Student numbers drop in Belgium
BRUSSELS (de morgen) -- For the first time in over fifteen years, the number of Belgians entering university has dropped. At the same time, vocational college courses have seen an increase in uptake. Martin Valcke of Ghent University explains, “Professional bachelors are more appreciated now, for many students college looks a safer and cheaper option” … read more 19.01.2017
Copyright proposals problematic in Germany
BERLIN (div) -- A preliminary report made by the German justice ministry seems to indicate a broadening of educational copyright regulations. Though it has not been officially published, the report has already exposed a conflict between the scientific community and the publishing lobby. Proponents have defended the right to exemptions from copyright for educational and research purposes. Kai Gehring, Green Party spokesman for science, says, “We see this as the best way to make scientific copyright fit for the digital age.” The German Publishers and Booksellers Association fears on the other hand that the new regulations would result in a significant loss in deserved remuneration for small publishers and authors … read more | and here 18.01.2017
International student restrictions could cost UK £2 billion
LONDON (studytravel) -- The UK economy could lose 2 billion pounds if tougher restrictions on international students were to be reduced, according to a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute. Meanwhile, a report by Student.com reveals an increased interest in UK accommodation from EU students since the Brexit vote … read more 18.01.2017
Dutch students scared of Turkey
AMSTERDAM (nos) -- It is perhaps unsurprising that Turkey, a country plagued by terrorist attacks and witness to a military coup last year, has seen its popularity as an Erasmus destination plummet by as much as 90 percent amongst Dutch students. However, Turkey is still the seventh most popular country in the Erasmus exchange programme … read more 18.01.2017
‘Predatory Publishers’ website shut down
DENVER (nature) -- A popular website that lists “potential, possible or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishers” was completely shut down, but the website’s creator, Jeffrey Beall, academic librarian at the University of Colorado, Denver, remains silent as to why … read more
150 million euros for Austrian university infrastructure
VIENNA (standard) -- Austrian science and economy minister, Reinhold Mitterlehner, has made use of his combined responsibilities by announcing “a new stimulus package for science and the economy.” The 250 million euros promised will go towards a ‘special construction programme’ 150 million of which is reserved for universities to finance twelve ‘large, urgent building projects’ … read more 19.01.2017
Student mobility: France’s attraction wanes
PARIS (petit journal) -- While other countries surge up the ranks, France is barely seeing an increase in international student numbers. The Netherlands saw a 199 percent increase in incoming mobility between 2009 and 2014, and Belgium 64 percent, according to UNESCO data. France recorded just 11.2 percent in the same period, but it remains the fourth most popular destination after the UK, USA and Australia … read more 10.01.2017
Betsy DeVos gets grilled
WASHINGTON (esna) -- Donald Trump’s choice for education secretary, billionaire business woman from Michigan Betsy DeVos, performed spectacularly at her confirmation hearing at the US Senate. The spectacle, of course, was her remarkable lack of knowledge of the education sector, failing to answer simple questions about student debt and the debate on assessing proficiency or growth in schools. As Trevor Noah, host of the Daily Show points out, her appointment is more likely due to her family’s 200 million dollars of contributions to the Republican Party than her expertise … watch | and here
Messy higher education reform in Spain
MADRID (div) -- Spain’s minority government is clearly desperate. The motions of the parliamentary opposition to abolish the controversial educational law, LOMCE, have caused education minister Íñigo Méndez de Vigo to appeal to the Constitutional Court to keep it in place. Meanwhile, five trade unions have requested an urgent meeting with the minister to “reverse as soon as possible the cuts of recent years and recover lost employment in the teaching sector” … read more | and here 12.01.2017
Czech minister wants to increase wages
PRAGUE (českénoviny) -- In the run up to budget negotiations in spring, Czech education minister Kateřina Valachová stated in a press conference that she would be seeking 4.5 billion koruna (167 million euros) for universities, expressing that all extra funds should go to teachers’ and academics’ salaries, although legally the universities themselves decide how their budgets are allocated … read more 11.01.2017
STEM subsidies in Bulgaria
SOFIA (mediapool) -- In an effort to meet labour market demands, the Bulgarian state is increasing the subsidy of student support for “priority professional fields”, particularly maths, sciences, and engineering. Meanwhile subjects not considered as priorities, which include medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, will see a cut in their state subsidy … read more 11.01.17
Lithuania to reduce number of state universities
VILNIUS (baltic course) -- There are fourteen state universities in Lithuania, but this number may be set to dramatically reduce. Based on a report made by higher ed monitor MOSTA, new education minister Jurgita Petrauskienė announced that there should be a maximum of five state universities in the country by 2025 … read more 11.01.2017
Dutch universities too research-focused
AMSTERDAM (tpo) -- In a letter to parliament, Dutch education minister Jet Bussemaker bemoaned the fact that only seventeen percent of university teaching staff are female. She added that those from migrant backgrounds are also being left out, and that many staff are too research-focused, at the expense of teaching talent … read more 11.01.2017
Endangered species
COPENHAGEN (berlingske) -- Two Danish rectors, Hanne Leth Andersen of Roskilde University and Per Holten-Andersen of Copenhagen Business School, have come up with a drastic proposal to save language teaching in Denmark. In an article in Berlingske, the rectors compared language degrees in Denmark to endangered species such as rhinos, turtles and pandas, suggesting that to preserve the subject, language teaching should be concentrated at Denmark’s “centres of gravity”: the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University … read more 15.01.2017
French left-wing presidential candidates meet in the middle
PARIS (lemonde) -- The theme of higher education didn’t make it to the televised debate amongst France’s left wing presidential candidates, probably because they are all essentially in agreement. Former prime minister Manuel Valls, as well as Benoît Hamon and Vincent Peillon all propose a billion euros a year for research and higher education. Arnaud Montebourg is in favour of a multi-year plan to increase expenditure per student by half. What is more, unlike their opponents on the right, none of the left wing candidates wish to introduce a form of selection into university entrance … read more 16.01.2017
Croatian minister vs ethics committee
ZAGREB (div) -- In December, the Croatian Committee for Ethics in Science and Higher Education alleged that education minister Pavo Barišić was guilty of plagiarism. Now, in an open letter to the prime minister, one hundred academics have come out in support of Mr. Barišić, as well as the Rectors’ Conference expressing dismay at the ethics committee for overstepping its legal framework … read more | and here 15.01.2017
Greek universities receive budget for 2017
ATHENS (alfavita) -- Greek education minister Kostas Gavroglou has revealed a six point plan for the finances of universities. The plan includes a 5.5 percent increase in the ministry’s regular budget to 4.5 billion euros, 138 million euros from the European Investment Bank to improve university infrastructure, and an invitation for HEIs to submit plans for the development of creating their own sources of revenue (e.g. through real estate or services) … read more 15.01.2017
Research bodies call for better copyright rules
BRUSSELS (uwn) -- Five leading European research organisations, including the European University Association (EUA) and the League of European Research Universities (LERU), have called for changes to the EU’s copyright reforms, including the broadening of copyright exceptions for text and data mining to facilitate research … read more 11.01.2017
One million Erasmus babies
BRUSSELS (euronews) -- This year marks the 30th birthday of the Erasmus scheme. Now called Erasmus+, the programme allows young Europeans to travel to 4,000 higher education institutions across more than 30 countries. According to the European Commission the scheme “has produced many success stories.” Indeed, around one million babies have been born to Erasmus couples since 1997 … read more 10.01.2017Student debt: The other side of the coin
LONDON (yahoo) -- The European student loan market is growing. But the continent’s biggest student lender, Future Finance, wants to accelerate the company’s growth even further and has appointed a new executive team with a view to expanding its operation into other European jurisdictions including Ireland. So far, the company has provided loans for 7000 British and German students, 3000 in the second half of 2016 alone, passing the 50 million pound mark. The start-up, which now employs over 50 staff, is partnered with European Investment Fund and with more than 60 universities … read more 12.01.2017
Horizon 2020 must integrate the periphery
CLUJ-NAPOCA (nature) -- Is Horizon 2020 doing enough to foster excellence in Europe’s low-income periphery? For Horizon 2020’s midterm review, the Coimbra Group made recommendations to increase research salaries where they are not already internationally competitive. This coincides with a letter by Romanian scientists published in nature, explaining that lower salaries in Eastern Europe “weaken the motivation of researchers in the eastern EU to put in the extra effort required to catch up and gain international standing” … read more 11.01.2017
Dr Dr hc Dr hc Dr hc Dr hc Dr hc Dr hc Merkel
LEUVEN (globaltimes) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel received honorary doctorates from two Belgian universities on Thursday. The universities of Leuven and Gent wished to acknowledge her “diplomatic and political efforts to strengthen Europe.” Merkel gained her first doctorate, in quantum chemistry, in 1986 and has since received six honorary titles … read more 13.01.2017
Ubiquity of English damaging science?
CAMBRIDGE (cam) -- A new report by researchers at the University of Cambridge finds that the omnipresence of the English language in academia is leading to gaps in scientific knowledge and communication. “People tend to assume all relevant scientific knowledge is available in English,” says Dr Tatsuya Amano, “this hinders the collection and use of the scientific knowledge of the whole world” … read more 04.01.17
Czech students bored of sex
PRAGUE (idnes) -- Stereotypes of students as sex-crazed hormone-slaves appear to be redundant in the Czech Republic. Over half of Czech students have never had a one night stand, with only around a quarter having regular sexual encounters, a survey reveals. One reason, sexologist Jaroslav Zvěřina says, is a changed lifestyle with the constant availability of internet pornography … read more 03.01.2017
German science struggles with Elsevier
BERLIN (nature) -- After negotiations for a new contract broke down in December, German academics will not have access to Elsevier journals in 2017. For more than 60 institutions, access licences ran out at the end of 2016. “It’s very unpleasant,” says Horst Hippler, president of the German Rectors’ Conference and spreaker of the negotiating consortium, “but we just cannot accept what Elsevier has proposed so far. Taxpayers have a right to read what they are paying for. Publishers must understand that the route to open-access publishing at an affordable price is irreversible” … read more 23.12.2016
Transparent professors in Zurich
ZURICH (nzz) -- Since the beginning of this year, the University of Zurich has published the extra-curricular activities of all 634 of its professors on an online register. The register is the result of a 2015 law, obliging professors to publicise every single engagement outside of university officialdom, although most are unspectacular … read more 04.01.2017ESNA reaches 1000 Twitter followers
BERLIN (esna) -- In the modern world, social media is as integral to a media outlet’s success as more traditional forms of publication. ESNA, which has just reached the milestone of one thousand Twitter followers, clearly understands this.
Twitter is just one channel that ESNA provides for higher education experts, researchers, policy makers and media groups in Europe. Whether it be via its integrated platforms of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter or the website’s daily news updates and subscription bulletin, ESNA continues to grow as a vital source of information for Europe’s educators and interested parties … @esnahighered
Union and minister clash in Portugal
LISBON (div) -- Late last year, it was revealed that at three Portuguese universities, some 176 teachers and researchers were working without remuneration. The president of higher education union SNESup, Gonçalo Velho, was quick to denounce the contracts as illegal and demand an inspection of the institutions. But the education minister Manuel Heitor sees no illegality that would justify this measure. In response, Velho remarked, “These statements demonstrate a person who does not know, and worse, who does not want to know” … read more | and here 03.01.2017German students are getting younger
WIESBADEN (azm) -- The number of minors attending university in Germany has more than quadrupled since 2010. This is likely due to the shortened “Turbo-Abitur” introduced in most German states since 2000. As long as the students’ parents have given consent, representatives of the German Rectors’ Conference see no problem in the rise … read more 03.01.2017Croatian students fight new tax rules
DUBROVNIK (dulist) -- Students who work often do so seasonally. This is particularly true in Dubrovnik, a popular tourist spot in the summer months. The Students’ Union at Dubrovnik University are thus “strongly condemning” government proposals to make earnings over 5050 kuna (670 euros) a month tax deductible, stating, “we do not want this to break students’ backs” … read more 05.01.2017
The cost of science
UTRECHT et al. (erasmus) -- Across the globe, scientists are demanding open access. The publication (for the first time) of Dutch universities’ expenditure on scientific journals is sure to add fuel to the fire. In 2015, 43 million euros was spent on academic journals by Dutch universities, with 12 million going to publishing giant Elsevier alone … read more 05.01.2017Record number of temporary staff in Norway
BERGEN (fagpressenytt) -- Actions speak louder than words, and in this case the University of Bergen has spoken loud and clear. Despite promising to reduce staff on temporary contracts, 25.2 percent of all university staff are under precarious employment, a record high … read more 09.01.2017What will 2017 bring for British higher education?
LONDON (guardian) -- Controversy, by the looks of things. Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union predicts that ‘Brexit brain drain’ will gather pace. Shelly Asquith, vice-president of the National Union for Students foresees a boycott of the National Student Survey over fears of its results being used to inform fee rises. Meanwhile, the House of Lords will continue to slow the progress of the contentious Higher Education Bill … read more 05.01.2017