Global Edition

UNITED KINGDOM

Nic Mitchell

The Labour government has unveiled plans to fix the higher education system in England with a Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper that aims to put vocational education on equal footing with academic study and increases home tuition fees in line with inflation.

GLOBAL

‘University leaders need to reimagine HE – with urgency’

Amber Wang

As artificial intelligence and global insecurity challenge university leaders worldwide, universities must remain true to their fundamental principles of independence, intellectual inquiry, academic excellence and inclusion, American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell told the International Association of University Presidents’ meeting in Seoul.

CANADA

Nathan M Greenfield

The impact of Canada’s decision to drastically slash the number of new student visas has had a disproportionate impact on Canada’s poorest region, the four Atlantic provinces, causing several universities to restructure and damaging the economy of the communities around them.

MADAGASCAR

Villen Anganan

Protests by students at Madagascar’s largest university have helped bring down the embattled former president of the island country, replaced on 14 October by army troops. Observers noted that the spontaneous student-led movement, coordinated through social media, has been unprecedented in both organisation and reach.

MOROCCO

Wagdy Sawahel

Morocco’s Generation Z movement nationwide protest for ‘dignity, justice and freedom’ is set to continue on 18 October, despite the alleged police killing of three people, including a Moroccan film student, during the uprising that started at the end of September to demand wide-ranging social reforms.

NIGERIA

Afeez Bolaji

The Academic Staff Union of Universities in Nigeria has just announced the suspension of its two-week strike, which has disrupted academic activities across the country. Professor Chris Piwuna, ASUU president, said this followed “useful engagements” between the parties in the past few days.

GLOBAL

The provision of micro-credentials around the world has grown phenomenally, spurred on by employer and learner demand, massive online learning platforms and a pandemic that accelerated digital and short course learning. Credit recognition is the new frontier, as universities and countries work to make micro-credentials matter.

INDIA

Shuriah Niazi

Artificial intelligence is no longer an experimental, futuristic tool for India’s universities but is transforming how institutions teach, manage and innovate. Once a buzzword, AI now drives academic planning, administration and student support, according to a new report.

JAPAN

Yan Li, Xiao Chen and Justin Sanders

Japanese universities need to embrace one of the most basic drivers of student satisfaction and retention: a physical campus environment that promotes ‘third places’ which offer a space for international and domestic students to mix and feel comfortable outside of the lecture theatres.

AFRICA-EUROPE

Dominik Fischer

Could African-European partnerships pave the way for the foundation of a transcontinental university? Existing research clusters, models of co-creation and joint scientific and economic initiatives could help move towards a jointly governed, innovation-driven institution built on equal ownership, transdisciplinary research and shared infrastructures.

GLOBAL

Min Bahadur Bista

Global patterns show that widening participation in higher education does not guarantee completion. As enrolment expands, policy-makers must recognise that large numbers of students leave without a credential, threatening both equity and economic productivity. The policy focus must shift from access alone to access plus success.