31 mei - The most ancient university in the world returns to life. Nalanda University in northern India might attract scholars from all over the world, like it did before its destruction in 1193. Also in this week’s ‘on the agenda’ might European teenagers vote soon?
30 mei - British higher education will face extensive budget cuts. Education think tank IPPR analyzed how money could be saved without “degrading the critical contribution universities make to economic prosperity and social justice”. The plans include a special fee for students that life with their parents or work part-time.
24 mei - France voted for lectures in English after an intense debate, but the number of foreign students in Britain has severely fallen. Also in this week’s ‘on the agenda’ 3-D printing against hunger and fierce criticism of dissident lawyer on European HE and China.
23 mei - France is split over a law that would enable public universities to teach in English. The opposition fears for the French cultural identity, while the government sees benefits for both international and French students. Minister Fioraso rejects the critique and points out that there are already 800 English courses.
20 mei - The battle for brains is increasingly being fought by all nations. Today’s talents are tomorrows knowledge workers. Lector Jos Walenkamp (The Hague University) studied the key factors that make international students stay abroad after graduation.
16 mei - The United States want to triple the number of students going to India for higher education in the next five years. More than 100.000 Indian students visit the US every year, but only 4300 Americans go the other way. Streamlining the visa procedure must help to make India a more attractive study destination.
8 mei - New Zealand and Australia suffer from a drop in foreign students. New Zealand’s universities point their finger to the high New Zealand dollar, the global recession and earthquakes. The countries see many Asian students go to elite institutes in the US, instead of going to Oceania.
3 mei - The number of students in the UK that already submitted their application is still lower than before the dramatic rise in tuition fees. Several universities might be in serious trouble, but for the first time ever, the figures per institute are not published. Is a new era for British higher education looming?
1 mei - A world leader in humanoid robotics must save Italy’s schools and science. The former rector of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Maria Carrozza is Italy’s new minister of Education and Science. “The Italian university needs to open up to the world, because our academic system is destined to collapse”.
25 april - Switzerland is the next country to raise the bar for foreign students. Foreign students can expect a doubling or even tripling of their fees. The European Student’s Union is furious.
24 april - The British Ministers of Business and Universities tour Mexico, Colombia and Brazil in order to attract more students from Latin America. This charm offensive will not only help Latin American students to pursue their dreams, but it will also help to repair the gap in the budget of British universities.
17 april - Germany urgently needs extra space in its master-programs to accommodate every student. Up to 36.000 bachelor students may not find a spot in 2016. This does not solely have implications for German students it might also harm the reputation of German universities abroad.
16 april - Russia’s fifteen leading universities must become ‘world-class’ before 2020. During a visit to the Netherlands Ural Federal University rector Victor Koksharov said: “But regions in Russia are a lot bigger than in other countries, you have to become regionally excellent first.”
9 april - For most universities internationalisation equals ‘attracting students from abroad’. Moreover the role of MOOCs needs to be clarified, say institutions surveyed by te European University Association (EUA).
8 april - Danish universities have to pay a fine of 13 million Euro for accepting more foreign exchange students than they have sent abroad. Minister of Education Østergaard is “considering if this is the right way to achieve our goals”.