March for science

British higher education bill in fast-forward mode

LONDON (div) -- A general election announced on short notice by British PM Theresa May, leaves only a few days of parliamentary sessions until May 3. As many bills before, it promises to “improve competition and choice” in higher education meaning a series of marked-based strategies that make it easier for new providers to offer degrees alongside existing universities. Its controversial aspects include the possibility of further tuition fees increases later on and the immigration status of students ... read more | and here 18.04.2017

Beating the drum for more EU research subsidies

VIENNA (researchresearch) -- After a year of consultations, an expert group commissioned by the Austrian science ministry (BMWFW) called ‘FP9 Think Tank’ has come to conclusions. They recommend a near doubling of the budget for the next EU research and innovation Framework programme to 130 billion euros. The think tank, whose members include Helga Nowotny, a former president of the European Research Council, also said that FP9 should have a clearer and narrower focus on “genuinely European themes” to help defend the EU from rising nationalism ... read more 18.04.2017

More web coverage for Russian science

MOSCOW (prn) -- Clarivate Analytics, in partnership with the Russian science ministry, expanded its Web of Science coverage from 300 to 1,600 institutions across the Russian Federation. This allows Russian universities to co-operate with world leaders of science on an equal footing ... read more 20.04.2017

What French scientists vote for

PARIS (nature) -- A email survey conducted by nature reflects a trend among some French researchers to veer to the left of the political spectrum. They show Macron as the clear frontrunner, well ahead of Mélenchon and Hamon, and even further ahead of Fillon, with almost no support for Le Pen. They would like to see more funding for basic and long-term research; more science on topics directly relevant to citizens, and a simplification of complex grant-application procedures ... read more 18.04.2017

More flexible Slovak universities

BRATISLAVA (dennik) -- With a year of delay, Slovak education minister Peter Plavčan presented a draft amendment to the Higher Education Law. His proposals include the introduction of a national accreditation agency; the abolition of the distinction between universities and vocational high schools as well as the introduction of “research universities”; and the possibility for universities to hire professionals as lecturers without an academic title ... read more 05.04.2017

Europe’s tech sector calls for more deregulation

BRUSSELS (euronews) -- The old continent is often viewed as a digital laggard, running behind the US and Asia. But, according to a new report, European startups are now taking the lead in artificial intelligence, building new tech hubs, and drawing investment from traditional industrial stalwarts. With five of the top ten global computer science faculties being within the EU, Europe’s start-up boom looks sustainable ... read more 12.04.2017

Universities of Pisa about to merge

PISA (il sole 24 ore) -- Pisa is working on a dream to create an academic super hub that will merge two smaller but internationally known universities — Normale and Sant’Anna — to compete with “big” universities. Starting from the next academic year, there will be a single board with one president, students will receive the first joint diplomas, and research departments will collaborate ... read more

Brain drain challenges ERA integration policy

BRUSSELS (nature) -- A new study found that some countries that joined the European Research Area would have had more cross-border collaboration between scientists if they had not joined. It found a higher risk of brain drain and a much slower increase in Eastern European rates of collaboration per publication in the decade after 2004 ... read more | and here 12.04.2017

Dynamics of “brain circulation” in the EU

LUCCA (uc merced) -- By developing data-driven models to explore the structural dynamics of the labor-mobility networks, researchers have shown how the EU expansion facilitated the inter-European circulation of people in the medical, technical, educational, scientific, engineering and business and legal communities. One factor facilitating the growth of the high-skilled labor markets is the EU’s policy of converging standards ... read more 12.04.2017

Spanish students drown in debt

MADRID (nc) -- More than 12,000 Spanish students who took up state-backed loans from 2008 to 2010 are affected by the measure of the Zapatero government that terminated the possibility to cancel their debts. Their global debt now amounts to 178 million euro, and many are harassed by banks on a weekly basis ... read more 12.04.2017

Brexit affects Northern Irish students in Ireland

Germany speeds up international student marketing

BERLIN (pienews) -- Foreign students in Germany are now more than 340,000, their number grew by six percent last year. One reason is the continuing proliferation of English-taught master’s programmes... read more 06.04.2017

Armenia joins ENQA

YEREVAN (medimax) -- The Armenian National Center for Professional Education Quality Assurance Foundation (ANQA) has become a full member of the European association ENQA. Five private and 13 state universities are accredited by ANQA ... read more 13.4.17

Science publishers fear the EU’s digital copyright reform

BRUSSELS (techcrunch) -- The aim of the European Commission’s draft proposals for digital copyright reform is “to ensure a good balance between copyright and relevant public policy objectives such as education, research, innovation and the needs of persons with disabilities.” At the same time, as MEP Julia Reda argues, the business model of extremely powerful publishing companies is “contributing to global inequality because basically universities in developing countries and increasingly also in industrialised countries are not able to afford access to the content that is actually necessary to get a good education” ...read more 15.04.2017

Belarus-EU talks on education adjustment

MINSK (belta) -- After talks between the European Union and Belarus on trade and cooperation in other policy fields have restarted last fall, both are now engaging in a dialogue in matters of education and science policy. Belarusian education minister Igor Karpenko is optimistic ... read more 10.4.17

Discussions on university autonomy in Ukraine