Germany’s next education and research minister
BERLIN (spektrum) -- As
coalition talks are nearly over, it appears that Hermann Gröhe, formerly
heading Health, will be Germany’s next education and research minister.
Unlike his predecessor, Johanna Wanka, he is a lawyer, not a scientist, and he is a long-serving party soldier of the Christian Democrats and
Angela Merkel. His task will be tightening the federal government’s grip
on schools, universities and science. The coalition has already decided
to raise the education and science budget by €11 billion (to 3.5% of
the GDP), to further the federal funding of universities and to invest
in the digital infrastructure of schools ... read more 08.02.2018
Ball season in Vienna
VIENNA (nyt) -- The Vienna faction of the party, which returned to government last year, has sponsored the Academics’ Ball since 2013. Attendees include members of Austrian right-wing fraternal societies, who wear pillbox hats. Outside the venue, up to 10,000 protesters marched by, carrying banners saying “Don’t Allow Nazis to Govern.” The night after, more than 3,000 guests attended the Vienna Ball of Sciences, which was founded as a “counterball”, in a subtle protest by university rectors and scientists ... read more 04.02.2018
European libido
BRUSSELS (s|b) -- Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has joked that Erasmus “increased the European libido”, referring to the estimated one million babies born to couples who met through the mobility scheme. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK could still participate in some form, but this would depend on post-Brexit immigration rules ... read more 01.02.2018
Turkey becoming international education hub
ANKARA (andalou) -- “Compared with 2004, when there were only 10,000 international students studying in Turkey, today we can say that Turkey has become an educational base,” Mehmet Ali Bolat, head of Turkey’s Federation of International Student Associations (UDEF), said. Now Turkey hosts around 120,000 university students from more than 150 countries and their number could increase to 300,000 by the end of 2023 ... read more 02.02.2018
Scandinavia: Foreign students in the cross hairs
COPENHAGEN (uwn) -- In Denmark, data was collected in response to a parliamentary question about how many students were reporting fictitious addresses to claim student financing - 50 foreigners! In Sweden, public pressure was necessary to stop requiring evidence from international students that they are able to afford living costs when applying for a residence permit. And in Norway, the visa application charge has sharply risen and is now the highest in the region ... read more | here | and here02.02.2018
‘Gendering’ at Swiss universities
ZURICH (nzz) -- Gender research departments and language handbooks blossom at Swiss universities. Some female professors insist that their grades hinge on gender-neutral language in exams. Others criticise the threat to freedom of criticism ... read more 06.02.2018
Grand coalition promises big time for education
BERLIN (zeit) -- A new grand coalition of Christian and Social Democrats in Germany appears to coagulate, and it segregates promises of 6 billion euros to be spent on education and science. While the research budget could go up to 3.5 percent of the GDP, the Government in the making also plans to throw more money at schools, VET and universities ... read more xx.01.2018
Zuckerberg’s outdated ideas
(the atlantic) -- Mark Zuckerberg and others continue to tout the potential of ‘personalised learning’, pointing to decades-old research that’s been practically impossible to duplicate. “If you’re really going to make these huge investments [based on this study], you might want to be absolutely sure that the analysis of that research is solid,” said Ben Riley, a skeptic of personalised learning. ... read more
Prominent Oxford professor charged with rape
PARIS (nyt) -- Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Islamic studies scholar and professor at the University of Oxford, has been charged with rape in France. He has denied the accusations as a smear ... read more 02.02.2018
EU freezes funding for Bulgarian research projects
SOFIA/BRUSSELS (nature) -- The European Union withheld funding after Bulgaria failed to identify enough sufficiently qualified scientists. Bulgaria was due to receive €150 million (and up to €700 million by 2020) from the EU to build facilities for research and innovation ... read more 02.02.2018
Italian court blocks English-courses
ROME (repubblica) -- Italy’s high administrative court, the Consiglio di Stato, has declared the Polytechnic Institute of Milan’s decision to offer all graduate programmes in English unconstitutional. 98 professors had sued the university, now the court confirmed three principles that limit internationalisation: the primacy of the Italian language, the freedom of students to learn and the freedom of professors to teach ... read more | and here 30.01.2018
Sci-Hub strives
BERLIN (daily beast) -- Users of Sci-Hub downloaded more than 150 million papers in 2017, reveal raw data released by the pirate site. The collection houses 85.2 percent of all journal articles stored behind all paywalls everywhere ... read more | and here 14.01.2018
Russian student protests against ‘upskirting’
ST. PETERSBURG (newsx) -- A Russian student in an attempt to protest against ‘upskirting’ (taking pictures under a woman’s skirt in public places) took unusual measures. In a lone protest, the student activist took it to the crowded St. Petersburg subway and pulled up her skirt showing her underpants ... read more | video 01.11.2017