Mixed success for developing world science, says UNESCO - SciDev.Net

Mixed success for developing world science, says UNESCO - SciDev.Net: "Developing countries more than doubled their output of scientific publications between 2002 and 2008, but their share of patent applications remained extremely low, according to the latest UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) science report.

The developing world's share of science publications rose from a fifth to nearly a third during this time, according to the 'UNESCO Science Report 2010: Current Status of Science around the World'."

The university, diversity and autonomy

University World News - GLOBAL: The university, diversity and autonomy: "Comparing these models can help clarify the potential future choices universities must make in the face of a problem that commonly confronts them - how to affirm the university's valuable social role, while resisting two recurrent threats to its autonomy: 'the state as social engineer' and 'the student as customer',' Graham told University World News."

Chronicle of Higher Education Audio: Tech Therapy - Download free podcast episodes by Tech Therapy on iTunes.

Chronicle of Higher Education Audio: Tech Therapy - Download free podcast episodes by Tech Therapy on iTunes.: "Scott Carlson, a Chronicle reporter, and Warren Arbogast, a technology consultant who works with colleges, talk about the headaches, anxieties, and general problems you might be having with technology on your college campus. File sharing, security, dealing with vendors, figuring out how to talk to your president, or how to talk to your CIO -- it's all game for a therapy session. The podcast is interactive. Scott and Warren will take your questions at techtherapy@chronicle.com. Look for new installments every other Thursday."

United Nations University Institute for Sustainability and Peace

United Nations University Institute for Sustainability and Peace: "UNU-ISP takes an innovative, integrated approach to sustainability — one that encompasses global change, development, peace and security. The Institute bridges these cross-cutting issues through research, educational, and collaborative initiatives with the aim of solving current problems and anticipating future challenges."

UK science society network to go global - SciDev.Net

UK science society network to go global - SciDev.Net: "The Learned Societies for Development (LSfD) network was launched last month (15 October) under the auspices of the UK National Commission for UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Many scientific societies — networks of researchers in a specific field — carry out capacity building work such as mentoring and exchange schemes, providing equipment and advice, running training courses and providing free access to publications.

At a meeting in June last year, UK societies agreed that their strength lay in large networks, which could nurture researchers in developing countries at a grassroots level and connect them directly to global networks they may have been isolated from before."

OECD ministers debate education for new skills

University World News - GLOBAL: OECD ministers debate education for new skills: "As background to the talks, the OECD said the recession had forced most of its member governments to cut spending, including on education. Cuts had fallen mainly on higher education, but vocational education and training was another vulnerable sector.

A dramatic consequence was the sharp deterioration of the labour market, especially for the young - in the OECD area there were nearly 15 million young people unemployed, a rise of six percentage points to almost 19% in the two years to end-2009.

Meanwhile, the nature of skills needed for jobs was changing rapidly, with 'jobs that have not yet been created, using technologies that have not yet been invented, to solve problems that cannot be foreseen', said the OECD."

Internationalisation: past, present, future

University World News - GLOBAL: Internationalisation: past, present, future: "The IAU's 3rd Global Survey Report, Internationalisation of Higher Education: Global trends, regional perspectives, is based on the analysis of survey responses from 745 institutions in 115 countries from all regions of the world, as well as a number of national university associations.

It represents the most geographically comprehensive collection and analysis of data on the internationalisation of higher education ever undertaken. Previous editions of the Global Survey were published in 2003 and 2005."

Alarming fall in Chinese student numbers

University World News - AUSTRALIA: Alarming fall in Chinese student numbers: "For the first time in more than 14 years, an Australian minister for tertiary education has gone to China to try to head off a potentially disastrous collapse in the number of young Chinese studying in Australia.

Senator Chris Evans, a former immigration minister in the previous Labor government, headed a four-day, high-level university delegation to China last week. It was Evans' first international visit as Tertiary Education Minister and was, he said, intended 'to deepen educational cooperation between Australia and China and explore new opportunities for collaboration between universities in both countries'.

But the trip also signified that the cries of alarm emerging from Australia's universities about the prospect of a catastrophic fall in enrolments of Chinese students had begun to influence government decisions."

Stanford Food Summit encourages researchers to collaborate across disciplines - Office of Communications & Public Affairs - Stanford University School of Medicine

Stanford Food Summit encourages researchers to collaborate across disciplines - Office of Communications & Public Affairs - Stanford University School of Medicine: "More than 350 members of the campus community attended the inaugural Stanford Food Summit Nov. 3 for a day of cross-disciplinary intellectual ferment about food-related problems.

Researchers from all seven Stanford schools gave presentations describing the top food questions in their fields and suggesting ways the university's affiliates could collaborate to address them. Two research-development workshops gave all participants the opportunity to brainstorm how to turn their ideas into concrete research proposals."

Global Education & Liberal Education

Liberal Education | Summer 2010 | Global Education & Liberal Education: "American students will almost certainly be involved in rising levels of global interaction—often in their work, at least sometimes in their leisure, and always in their citizenship. Moreover, expanding global connections, combined with obvious shifts in the global balance of power, make it clear that China, India, Brazil, and other regions, in addition to Europe, will strongly shape our national future. Contemporary American students will have to develop a greater awareness of diverse parts of the globe than was expected of their counterparts of a generation ago, and they will probably have to adjust to some modifications to the idea of the United States as the sole superpower.

At the same time, many American students—amid great variety—are rather parochial in their experience and education, which creates a very real gap between the world taking shape around them and their own intellectual comfort zone."

What role for higher education in development? - SciDev.Net

What role for higher education in development? - SciDev.Net: "Anyone seeking to tackle the problems facing the developing world must remember two simple facts of life. First, none of these problems — from food shortages and the spread of disease, to achieving sustainable economic growth — can be addressed without the use of science and technology.

Second, harnessing science for development depends on the skills of a country's people. And that in turn requires a robust and effective higher education system — the only mechanism that can produce and sustain these skills."

China extends brain drain campaign to young scientists - SciDev.Net

China extends brain drain campaign to young scientists - SciDev.Net: "[BEIJING] China is set to expand its ambitious scheme to attract the cream of the scientific diaspora back to the country so it includes young scientists as well.

Li Zhiyong, vice-minister of the Organisation Department of the Central Committee, told a conference of the High-level Overseas Talents and National Development Strategy in Beijing last month (28 September) that under-35-year-olds will be targeted to return to China. This issue was also a focus of discussions at the conference organised by the Western Returned Scholars Association (WRSA)."

GlobeCampus Report - University Report E-zine includes the latest survey results on which schools made the grade

globecampus.ca ~ GlobeCampus Report - University Report E-zine includes the latest survey results on which schools made the grade: "We were the first to grade universities based on what their students said about them, and the students have again spoken. For the latest undergraduate satisfaction survey results, turn to our e-zine, which also gives you the option of downloading the magazine as a PDF file."

University World News - BHUTAN: Future higher education hub of Asia?

University World News - BHUTAN: Future higher education hub of Asia?: "The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is renowned for its untouched mountainous beauty. It is also known for its political innovation: its tobacco sales ban and its use of 'gross national happiness country' as a yardstick for development, for example. But could it soon become a higher education hub of Asia?

Its current plans are groundbreaking. Bhutan has a tradition of insularity that has only recently started to weaken. But its government - democratised only two years ago - is embarking on an ambitious plan to build a high-end US$1 billion education city to encourage prestigious universities and colleges worldwide to establish affiliated institutions in Bhutan."

Chinese students pay dearly for Canadian ‘education’ - The Globe and Mail

Chinese students pay dearly for Canadian ‘education’ - The Globe and Mail: "Vic is one of thousands Chinese students who arrive at Canadian colleges and universities each year via recruitment agencies that match students eager for a Western education with universities happy for an influx of cash.

However, an investigation by The Globe and Mail found that some agencies abuse their relationships with Canadian schools, promising Chinese families far more than they can deliver. Often, students are charged thousands of dollars for what turns out to be a semester of English-language training at private colleges loosely affiliated with the Canadian universities to which the students’ families thought they were paying admission.

Some Canadian universities seeking foreign students – who pay higher tuition fees than Canadian students – recruit directly, without using overseas agencies, avoiding the potential pitfalls."

Universities are becoming too business-like, conference told

Universities are becoming too business-like, conference told: "Universities are becoming too much like businesses due to global competition for students, increased reporting requirements from governments and the ascendancy of managers more interested in the bottom line than in academic freedom, some professors say.

'Canadian universities are caught up in an international movement that makes them less autonomous than they were 25 years ago,' said William Bruneau, a University of B.C. professor emeritus and co-chairman of a recent international conference held at UBC on higher education reform"

Academics for Higher Education & Development

AHED-UPESED.org: "The purpose of AHED is to support developing countries develop and expand institutions of higher education by sending volunteers to work on projects in those institutions and in ministries of higher education. AHED is involved in projects in the full range of post-secondary institutions, including universities, colleges, and business, engineering, normal, medical and nursing schools."

Science academies must learn to be more transparent - SciDev.Net

Science academies must learn to be more transparent - SciDev.Net: "To retain public trust in a connected world, science academies need to be more open about the way that they operate.

When India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, criticized an Indian inter-academy report on genetically modified crops last month as lacking in scientific rigour, the science academies responsible for producing the report could have chosen to stand their ground.

Instead, the head of the country's top academy issued an apology a day later, and promised to produce a new report. Although the science academies’ acknowledgment of the weaknesses in their report was welcome, it was the kind of incident that they could have done without, signalling that they may be susceptible to political pressure."

African and U.S. Universities Partner to Tackle Development Challenges Across Africa

African and U.S. Universities Partner to Tackle Development Challenges Across Africa: "WASHINGTON, D.C. – USAID and Higher Education for Development announced that 11 innovative new partnerships between 22 universities in Africa and the United States have each been awarded up to $1.1 million for activities to address issues including food security and agriculture, solar energy, health care, education, and water in Africa. These partnerships will maximize the resources of U.S. institutions while placing African universities in the lead to capitalize on their on-the-ground knowledge, proximity to the challenges, and build their own capacity to better address these challenges"

EAST AFRICA: Moves to harmonise higher education

University World News - EAST AFRICA: Moves to harmonise higher education: "The East African Community's five member countries have inched closer to harmonising and standardising their university education systems, potentially boosting student access and mobility. But the improvements will require major changes to individual countries' education systems.

The Inter-University Council of East Africa Bill was recently published and introduced to the region's legislative assembly. Among other things the bill seeks to allow thousands of university students to move freely across the bloc's institutions via a credit transfer arrangement. The bill will also push universities to review degree classification criteria to meet regional standards, as it strives to harmonise university education in the region."