English taking over Dutch universities

AMSTERDAM (uwn) -- An investigation by the Dutch Inspectorate of Education reaffirms claims that the increased anglicisation of higher education in the Netherlands is in fact violating the Dutch Higher Education Law ... read more 25.01.2019

How ethical are Facebook sponsored research ethics?

MUNICH (dw) -- Facebook has taken its first steps into university research funding in Germany by financing a new centre for ethics and artificial intelligence at the Technical University of Munich to the tune of €6.6 million. Critics, however, are not best pleased with the sponsorship deal. Many, like economist Christian Kreiß, argue that past experiences of the kind indicate that this deal will be a threat to the freedom of research and teaching, with concerns about the social media giant influencing the research agenda, as well as censoring the unwanted results and picking and choosing certain staff ... read more 26.01.2019

EPP promises effort for cancer research

CYPRUS (politico) -- The necessity to offer something in exchange for votes in the upcoming European elections might even help to boost science funding in Europe. Hence Manfred Weber’s, the EPP’s Spitzenkandidat for the EU election, sudden interest for cancer research. In front a crowd of about 500 diners in Cyprus, he spoke of classic EPP issues such as free trade and the single market and of “an ambitious approach on medicine research”. He told the audience that experts and researchers told him that “if we combine our money and resources, we actually can cure cancer” ... read more 11.01.2019

Swiss students strike for climate protection

BERN (swissinfo) -- Thousands of students in 15 cities across Switzerland went on strike last week to demand greater action from both Swiss and other European governments in the fight against climate change. Their protest was inspired by student Greta Thunberg, who began a solo climate protest by striking every Friday in Sweden in August 2018. She was invited to address world leaders at last year’s climate summit (COP24) in Poland, arguing that they behaving like irresponsible children by not doing enough to deal with climate problems. A further protest is scheduled for February 2 ... read more 18.01.2019

German academics broker publishing deal

BERLIN (the bookseller) -- A group of German academic institutions has struck a deal with the publisher Wiley to make research papers more freely accessible. The three-year contract means that the 700 institutions represented by the consortium will have access to read Wiley’s academic journals dating back to 1997, while researchers at the institutions can publish articles with open access to Wiley journals ... read more 23.01.2019

Student protests oust Albania’s science minister

TIRANA (nature) -- Lindita Nikolla, Albania’s education and science minister, has been replaced in a government reshuffle during weeks of mass student protests that brought the country’s public universities to a halt. Nikolla has paid the price for weeks of unrest amongst students, who are unhappy with what they believe is a “handicapped public education system” amid growing privatisation of education in the country. The student protests had started in December seemingly in response to the raising of student fees, but quickly encompassed a broad range of issues, including financial aid, education quality, corruption, dorm maintenance, plagiarism, and student representation ... read more | and here 16.01.2019

Extreme tuition fee hike in the UK

LONDON (independent) -- MPs in the UK have passed a legislation paving the way for two-year degree courses that could cost students £11,000 per year. The shorter, more intensive degree programmes would save students 20 percent on tuition fees compared with the traditional three-year courses, which currently cost up to £9,250 per year ... read more 23.01.2019

Erasmus+ breaks academic exchange records

BRUSSELS (sciencebusiness) -- A record breaking 400,000 university students and staff from all EU member states took part in an Erasmus+ exchange during the 2016-17 academic year, according to figures from the European Commission. The Commission aims to meet its target of supporting 3.7 percent of young people by 2020. ... read more 24.01.2019

A new Élysée Treaty

BERLIN (bund) -- 55 years after the original Élysée Treaty, a new agreement between Germany and France has been signed. Members of the Bundestag and the Assemblée Nationale want to create a common economic sphere, work together more in the border regions, and cooperate better in education and research. The good intentions include joint education facilities, support for language learning and the reciprocal recognition of school and professional qualifications ... read more 22.01.2019

Free Estonian language course proves a hit

TALINN (pienews) -- More than 30,000 people have signed up to a free online course to learn Estonian. Offered on app platform, Speakly, and with the help of the country’s government, the programme was launched in 2018, the year of Estonia’s centenary, to help people learn the notoriously difficult language for free. The course is directed to all foreigners, especially local Russian minorities ... read more 18.01.2019

Jobs are scarce for Russian graduates

MOSCOW (realnoe vremya) -- According to the Russian prime minister, up to 25 percent of graduates of domestic universities are unable to find a job within a year after graduation, the student union considers that a proportion of 50 percent is more realistic. To tackle the issue, the Kremlin plans to apply a set of measures: work placements, quotas, cheaper loans and more state-funded places for graduates in postgraduate schools ... read more 25.01.2019

Transnational universities coming to Europe

BRUSSELS (el país) -- The EU has launched an ambitious plan to introduce 20 transnational university campuses across the continent by 2025. The initiative will enable students to, for example, “start a higher education cycle in Rome, continue it in Brussels, and complete it in Madrid” without administrative complications. The hope is that, by offering the same curriculum and diplomas across multiple countries, a shared educational culture will be created in Europe.

One of these university alliances with classy names is ARQUS uniting Granada, Graz, Leipzig, Padua, Vilnius and Lyon ... read more | here | and here 3.1.19

France: The problem of higher tuition fees for foreigners

PARIS (rfi) -- Several universities in France refuse to increase tuition fees for students outside the EU, irrespective of a government decision. The universities say they were not given enough notice about the change in policy, which is supposed to take effect in September. The government wants to attract more international students, but a recent survey suggests that the relatively low tuition fees charged in France compared to the US and UK makes French universities appear less prestigious in the eyes of international students ... read more 23.01.2019

Hungary: new year, new mandate

BUDAPEST (esu) -- László Murai, the new president of the National Union of Students in Hungary, HÖOK, has expressed his commitment to continuing the fight for the reform of student allowances in the country. In his debut speech, László said that, “after raising the social grants by 40 percent, the performance-based students’ grants should follow” ... read more 18.1.19