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What needs to be done to maintain the momentum?</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=2024110610132811" style="color:#000;">How to foster community-centred African universities</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Aslam Fataar</div>By grounding themselves in community needs, universities can re-establish themselves as institutions that are serving the public good, but reclaiming African universities for the public good will require visionary leadership, supportive policies and sustained efforts to resist the allure of global prestige and profitability.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20241103180631108" style="color:#000;">Synchronous engagement could fulfil diverse student needs</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Lorna M Dreyer</div>The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of online teaching and learning in higher education, both locally and internationally. However, before this change, educationalists had been exploring possibilities to enhance learning, using learning technologies.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20241030181631985" style="color:#000;">Internationalisation in HE is not a simple proxy for quality</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Faith Mkwananzi and Patience Mukwambo</div>Shifts in traditional understandings of higher education internationalisation, combined with the increased scale and variety of internationalisation opportunities available to scholars, institutions and students, invite a careful reconsideration of how we understand quality within the increasingly complex process of internationalisation.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20241023191557744" style="color:#000;">Ethiopia’s bold plan to train five million coders should involve HE</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>In one of the biggest projects of its kind in Africa, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Innovation and Technology has started to recruit five million young people, including students, to become coders – a bold attempt to create active participants in a digital economy. What role can higher education play to ensure its success?</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA-UNITED KINGDOM</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20241023001645693" style="color:#000;">The challenges facing disabled African students in the UK</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Sibonokuhle Ndlovu</div>While there is an emphasis on inclusion in the Global North, and policies tend to be well implemented to support the inclusion of students with disabilities in universities in the United Kingdom, students with disabilities from Africa still face the reality of impairment-related disadvantages.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">GLOBAL</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20241018115946430" style="color:#000;">‘Responsible partnership’ starts by examining our language</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Elizabeth Agbor Eta and Anaïs Georges</div>The 26th Annual Conference of the International Education Association of South Africa was an opportunity to reflect on the real meaning of ‘responsible partnership’ and the importance of preceding any partnership with a critical examination of the power dynamics inherent in communication practices.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20241016182328277" style="color:#000;">The language predicament in multilingual universities</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic country in which about 80 languages are spoken across the nation, explaining ongoing efforts to recognise multilingualism in the educational context. However, proper language planning and pragmatic policy-making are needed to address the apparent neglect to develop a language or languages of integration.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">GLOBAL-AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20241009183749883" style="color:#000;">To advance women in science, courageous leaders are needed</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Teresa Woodruff</div>Be globally strategic when seeking to empower women; be institutionally systematic in advancing women in science, and apply tactics that directly facilitate individual attainment and sustainability, higher education leaders heard at a discussion about advancing the role of women in science for sustainable development in Africa.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20241002055923157" style="color:#000;">How engaged are Africa’s universities in their communities?</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Goolam Mohamedbhai</div>Most African public universities are engaging with their communities and are conscious of their role in the social and economic development of their countries. But there are still thorny issues they have to address, which they could overcome through even greater engagement.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240924153252830" style="color:#000;">Poor school-leaving exam pass rate requires urgent action</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>Without a concrete plan from the Ethiopian Ministry of Education to improve the poor pass rate in the national higher education entrance examination, the national aspiration to get more qualified students into the tertiary education system will remain a nagging and deferred challenge.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240916095036366" style="color:#000;">The new ‘et al’: High risks for university research</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Addamms Mututa</div>A new cohort of academic authors is short-changing the academic enterprise by deliberately and shamelessly unpicking the intimate connection that exists between the academic author and their research and publication. What does the cure for this kind of malaise look like?</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=2024091707121233" style="color:#000;">Advancement: Navigating challenges with a mission-driven focus</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Karen Bruns</div>From student protests and policy changes to reputational crises and natural disasters – universities are familiar with crises. For advancement professionals and university leaders tasked with fundraising, it is crucial not to retreat in times of difficulty, but to remain open, transparent and engaged.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240917142003220" style="color:#000;">Apprehension over re-registration of tertiary institutions</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>Ethiopia’s Education and Training Authority has embarked on a re-registration process of all of the country’s estimated 400 public and private higher education institutions. But there are questions about the legality, procedures and goals for the process which has to be addressed to include all stakeholders and build trust in the system.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SUDAN</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240911200330425" style="color:#000;">Can a quality assurance cohort analysis system help Sudan?</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Mustafa Shazali Mustafa Ahmed</div>As the war in Sudan drags on, Sudanese students face an uncertain educational fate. A compelling question is how the country can innovate during this time and come up with a new role for quality assurance systems. Cohort analysis can be a tool that generates powerful insights.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240910103151970" style="color:#000;">Storytelling can drive decolonisation at universities</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Nuraan Davids</div>Stories can help students to make sense of themselves in relation to the world. Stories provide opportunities for connection – for students to find themselves within each other’s stories – and hence a potential for empathy and compassion. The personal and relational creativity which storytelling fosters locates it firmly within the imperatives of decolonisation.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240902234739542" style="color:#000;">AI literacy a critical component in 21st-century learning</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Hanelie Adendorff</div>In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, a new imperative is gaining prominence: artificial intelligence literacy. As AI increasingly permeates academic and professional spheres, the explosion of scholarly discourse on AI literacy – evident from the surge in recent academic publications – underscores its critical role in equipping students to navigate an AI-driven world.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240821210239251" style="color:#000;">Universities should include students with invisible disabilities</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Simon Ngalomba</div>Inclusive education has been a buzzword in multiple international contexts. The Salamanca Statement on Special Needs Education; Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive quality education; as well as the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have all helped to place the focus on persons with disabilities.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTHERN AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240821075959556" style="color:#000;">Extended reality, AI can change health professions education</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Simone Titus-Dawson</div>In an era of rapid technological advancement and the adoption of digital transformation to streamline our educational processes, health professions education is at a crossroads. While digital transformation has revolutionised many sectors, the adoption of cutting-edge technologies in health professions education in Southern Africa has been slow.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">GLOBAL</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240819111432800" style="color:#000;">Rebuilding HE after war is essential to a nation’s recovery</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Savo Heleta and Logan Cochrane</div>Rebuilding higher education after conflict is key to socio-economic recovery, peace-building, development and progress. Yet bilateral donors, who provide the majority of aid to higher education in conflict settings, prioritise international scholarships while neglecting rebuilding and strengthening of local systems and institutions.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240807143508374" style="color:#000;">Astronomy ‘Olympics’ hosted in Africa for first time</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">James Okwe Chibueze</div>Cutting-edge telescopes, gravitational waves, black holes and our solar system’s central star, the sun, are just a few of the topics that will be on the table in Cape Town, South Africa, for an event that’s a scientific version of the Olympic Games – though the world’s leading astronomy researchers in attendance will be showcasing their brains rather than their brawn.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA-GLOBAL</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240724221448951" style="color:#000;">Navigating internationalisation in times of polycrisis</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Samia Chasi and Lavern Samuels</div>Universities in South Africa are expected to navigate multiple crises at both global and local levels, often with direct implications for their internationalisation agendas. How are they navigating internationalisation in times of polycrisis and how do their experiences and lessons learned compare to those of universities in other regions of the world?</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240724091032525" style="color:#000;">Preparing accounting students as future responsible leaders</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Remerta Basson and Gretha Steenkamp</div>In the wake of numerous business scandals, the need for ethical and responsible leadership in business and accounting has never been more pressing. Especially in emerging economies, business leaders should use their expertise to tackle social issues such as income inequality and economic stagnation.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240722231808375" style="color:#000;">Revival of Africa’s railways needs a robust HE sector response</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Goolam Mohamedbhai</div>Higher education institutions in Africa will have to boost their engineering training to meet the expected increasing demand for experts in the railway sector. Also, because of the specialised nature of the industry, institutions will have to work closely with the industry to understand and meet its specific requirements.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">GLOBAL</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240712204452721" style="color:#000;">Why universities need strategies for knowledge diplomacy</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Ylva Rodny-Gumede</div>Through knowledge diplomacy, universities will not only be able to engage more meaningfully with global grand challenges, but also change narratives around history and how these continue to influence geopolitical debates, narratives and perceptions, hopefully contributing to the decolonisation of geopolitics.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ZAMBIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=2024060920594853" style="color:#000;">Is it safe for academics to criticise Zambia’s government?</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Zachariah Mushawatu</div>In 2021, massive celebrations swept over Zambia when Hakainde Hichilema and the United Party for National Development emerged victorious in the national elections. People thought that Zambians were finally going to enjoy democracy after years of dictatorship.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240708145001437" style="color:#000;">HIV breakthrough: Trial shows drug provides 100% protection</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Linda-Gail Bekker</div>A large clinical trial in South Africa and Uganda has shown that a twice-yearly injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug gives young women total protection from HIV infection. This breakthrough gives great hope that we have a proven, highly effective prevention tool to protect people from HIV.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=202407080855571" style="color:#000;">Emerging dynamics in private HE demand rethink of sector’s role</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat and Damtew Teferra</div>The tertiary education age cohort in many African countries is growing and the demand for higher education will continue to rise in the coming decades. The role of private higher education in Africa’s developmental agenda, in particular to improve participation without necessarily expanding public budgets, needs to be reconsidered, a new book urges.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240612214418204" style="color:#000;">Dismissal of university presidents raises accountability bar</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>When the presidents of three public universities in Ethiopia were dismissed based on poor financial audits, and six others received warnings, shock waves rippled through the higher education sector. The accountability of the sector is more in the spotlight than ever before.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">GLOBAL</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240530104547827" style="color:#000;">Artificial intelligence: Ethical challenges for research</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Hallvard Fossheim</div>The fact that things move fast, as AI technology developments currently are, is no excuse for postponing reflection. Indeed, developments in AI are a help to ethical thought, in the specific sense that they force us to think through again the principles and values we depend on and cherish.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240522152655695" style="color:#000;">Decisive action is needed to restore credibility of NSFAS</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Linda Meyer and Patrick Fish</div>The existing fragmented and unaccountable structures of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme perpetuate dysfunction, corruption and exploitation, betraying the trust of South Africa’s most vulnerable students and undermining the integrity of its higher education system. It’s time for decisive and comprehensive action.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240515195555864" style="color:#000;">Science journalism: Social media can help to reach audiences</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Sisanda Nkoala</div>X, formerly known as Twitter, offers unique advantages for communicating science. It allows interaction. It makes it possible to simplify complex information into easy-to-understand formats. And it supports multiple languages and media. This creates a more dynamic and inclusive way to share scientific knowledge.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">KENYA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240508032625220" style="color:#000;">Financing model overhaul fails to address funding challenge</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Ishmael Munene</div>Kenya adopted a new approach to public university funding at the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year. Rapid student enrolment growth and declining state revenues have triggered the need for the reforms, which will require students to meet a higher proportion of costs. What are behind these reforms?</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">GLOBAL-AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240509000643443" style="color:#000;">Restrictions on data access impede crucial societal research</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Douglas Parry</div>The European Union has led on legislation addressing restrictions on equitable access to social media platforms for researchers seeking to use their data to research potential risks of social media use. Now academics are seeking ways to secure similar measures in Africa.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240421215145801" style="color:#000;">Navigating the digital frontier through innovation in HE</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Deresh Ramjugernath</div>It has been said that we live in a time of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). Amid unprecedented global upheaval and the relentless march of digital transformation, higher education finds itself at a pivotal juncture. Integrating digital innovation has become an imperative.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240417140934766" style="color:#000;">Addressing poor pass rate in HE exit exam remains urgent</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>Only 41% of students who wrote the national higher education exit examination in Ethiopia passed with the required 50% or above. In 2023, 42% of students passed the first-ever national exit exam. These outcomes, particularly those of the private education sector, need to be investigated and addressed urgently.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">NIGERIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240416123912672" style="color:#000;">Using evidence to tackle student shisha and alcohol abuse</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Samson F Agberotimi</div>Addressing the growing problem of escalating shisha and alcohol consumption among students in Nigerian universities calls for a multifaceted approach that involves collaboration among all relevant stakeholders and with experienced practitioners in school-based drug use prevention to provide a befitting evidence-based solution.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA-GLOBAL</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240403123756208" style="color:#000;">Higher education in Africa: Pathways to relevance and impact</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Goolam Mohamedbhai</div>As African universities embark on pathways to relevance and impact, they ought not to reject all Western development – especially in technology – but rather adapt what is relevant to local needs. Africa can overcome this ‘glocal’ challenge through equitable partnerships with the Global North and South.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240327194650914" style="color:#000;">Incentives for private sector can enhance linkages with HE</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>A proclamation aimed at advancing university-industry linkages in Ethiopia envisages rewarding private-sector stakeholders for their efforts to work with the higher education sector. Likewise, researchers who mobilise external funds may also reap the benefits of their efforts. The details of how this will work, however, are urgently needed.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=2024031822421416" style="color:#000;">ARUA plans to revolutionise doctoral training in Africa</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Ernest Aryeetey</div>The African Research Universities Alliance, or ARUA, through its network of universities, has come up with an innovative pilot collaborative project to train an additional 1,000 PhDs annually, but the project will demand a rethink about everything from student mobility to supervision.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240319193318655" style="color:#000;">Pitfalls en route to more responsible, ethical HE sector</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>The Ethiopian Education and Training Authority has recently issued a directive that magnifies its monitoring and controlling role, which includes executing punitive measures against higher education institutions that engage in prohibited activities. But key stakeholders have to be involved to create an ethical sector.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240306183858627" style="color:#000;">Navigating the horizon: Preparing African universities for the inevitable AI</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Eyualem Abebe</div>There is a compelling need for universities to prepare for generative AI. There must be awareness creation to improve understanding of this advanced tool, institutional readiness to exploit its transformative powers, alertness to potential misuse and corrective measures in place before problems arise.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240311124514153" style="color:#000;">Support services for at-risk students do help – Study</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Lamese Chetty and Brigitta Kepkey</div>In South Africa, many students, especially first-generation students, enter university without the skills needed for success in higher education. Academically unprepared, they may not engage in self-help-seeking behaviour and may be less likely to seek assistance when required. They can be supported.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240305123818736" style="color:#000;">Global education philanthropy is shifting in Africa’s favour</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Sarah Archer and Andrew Wigley</div>There are many reasons to be optimistic about the potential of African universities to increase their funding through global philanthropy, including the rise of high-net-worth Africans who are keen to prioritise social impact, and the popularity of education as a philanthropic cause.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240304072722812" style="color:#000;">Why it is wrong that big companies fund health research</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Susan Goldstein, Mark Tomlinson, Rachel Wynberg and Tanya Doherty</div>Across African universities, companies with products that are harmful to health fund health-related research and education. It is not enough to simply declare these interests. Public health academics need to develop much more robust systems to manage conflicts of interest at all levels of academia.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=2024030618310251" style="color:#000;">Copyright bill a positive development, says advocacy group</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">ReCreate</div>ReCreate, a copyright advocacy group, has declared its support for the South African Copyright Amendment Bill that has just been approved in the National Assembly. In this article, the collective responds to an earlier commentary published in <I>University World News</I>.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">GLOBAL</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240226080114643" style="color:#000;">Inclusive HE empowers students, helps to cultivate empathy</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Anika Berning-Van Zyl</div>In a society striving for equity and diversity, the realm of education, particularly higher education, stands at the forefront of change. As university classrooms become increasingly diverse, the call for inclusive teaching practices grows louder. Inclusive education can ensure every student can participate fully and equally.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240227202300781" style="color:#000;">Funding is urgently needed for intra-Africa mobility</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Ylva Rodny-Gumede</div>The economic downturn, budget cuts and administrative hurdles in South Africa are contributing factors that are affecting local and international students. While African governments need to commit to bursary funds, the private sector must also make bigger commitments to higher education to support intra-Africa mobility.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240228073054719" style="color:#000;">The merits and challenges of centralised programme reviews</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>The introduction of new academic programmes by Ethiopian higher education institutions has often been left to the discretion of individual departments of universities. Despite the freedom this has given institutions, a significant level of abuse has marked this process over the years.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240219211643508" style="color:#000;">Ethics codes for researching indigenous people could fail</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Stasja Koot</div>There is a long and often complicated history of researchers studying indigenous people. Historically, many researchers did not care about their study participants’ consent or agency, or how they could benefit from the research. And, although ethical rules have been created to protect these participants, the codes can also have flaws.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">GLOBAL</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240214032739828" style="color:#000;">Rankings are unscientific and bad for education, say experts</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Sharon Fonn</div>A recent meeting of experts convened by the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health noted that university rankings were massively overvalued, and reinforced global, regional and national inequalities. It also found that too much attention to ranking inhibited thinking about education systems as a whole.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240209095451857" style="color:#000;">Apartheid divide persists in international research collaboration</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Savo Heleta and Divinia Jithoo</div>From 2012 to 2021, 64% of South Africa’s research collaboration was with the Global North – despite policy calls for more collaboration with Africa and the Global South. Historically white institutions are still mainly focused on the Global North in contrast to historically black institutions.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240207185336305" style="color:#000;">How academics can counter ‘AI thinks, therefore I am’</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Martin Bekker</div>In a world changed by artificial intelligence – or, more specifically, large language models, led by their brash poster child, ChatGPT – ethical principles around intellectual process and ownership ought to be protected against the vague accountability of black-box algorithms with respect to published or submitted work.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240204185751927" style="color:#000;">Paulin Hountondji: Tribute to a great modern thinker</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Sanya Osha</div>Celebrated Beninese philosopher, politician and academic Paulin J Hountondji’s long and gallant campaign to establish and disseminate an African philosophical voice is noteworthy. Following his death on 2 February 2024, he has been praised for a life well spent in service of African systems of thought.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240207111202900" style="color:#000;">Copyright Amendment Bill ‘bad news’ for South Africa</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Keyan G Tomaselli and Hetta Pieterse</div>The South African government is forging ahead with plans to pass the Copyright Amendment Bill despite its legal flaws and contradictions, seemingly oblivious to the ongoing public debate on its provisions that has been raging for years. Academic publishing will also feel the impact.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">EGYPT</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240118092427365" style="color:#000;">Getting women into HE leadership calls for specific policies</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Rami M Ayoubi, Rasha Abd El Aziz Youssef and Hiba K Massoud</div>Two projects have recently been launched to address the persistent under-representation of women in senior leadership roles in higher and further education in Egypt, both of which recognise that without dedicated efforts and specific policies to address gender disparities, progress may remain sluggish.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20240117134328812" style="color:#000;">Refugees in Egypt face grave barriers to higher education</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Ibrahim M Karkouti and Hagar Younes</div>A study of refugee students in Egypt highlights the intersecting barriers to higher education that need to be dismantled to create a more equitable educational landscape – one that recognises the resilience of refugee students and harnesses their potential as architects of a brighter future.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231219172805108" style="color:#000;">Views on Africanising tech integration in higher education</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Teklu Abate Bekele and Samuel Amponsah</div>Research on technology integration in higher education in Africa seems to be gathering some momentum although the primary focus is on exploring how particular technological tools are used to support certain course activities. However, studies investigating technology integration that transcends specific application contexts are warranted.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231213193936560" style="color:#000;">Predatory publishing: Journals going rogue, authors beware!</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Rudi de Lange</div>Selecting a journal for disseminating one’s work requires more effort than checking whether the journal appears on a reputable index. We must sensitise ourselves to predatory indicators such as a high volume of papers, opaque editorial members, poor copy editing, papers outside a journal’s scope, and promises of rapid publication.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231211000340366" style="color:#000;">Can Ethiopian HE free itself from ethnicity’s shackles?</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Abebaw Yirga Adamu</div>Ethiopia has a population of about 120 million and up to 80 ethnic groups. Amid deep-rooted ethnic divisions and a spiral of crises, can higher education rise to the challenge of promoting equity and inclusion, or will it succumb to the divisive forces that threaten to tear the nation apart?</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231206073118437" style="color:#000;">The debt spiral and the survival of public higher education</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Patrick Fish and Linda Meyer</div>Higher education in South Africa stands at a crossroads where the allocation of resources and the management of funding mechanisms are scrutinised. Within this context, the government confronts a series of challenges that underscore the need for a reassessment of how educational resources are distributed.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">MOROCCO</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231121122050972" style="color:#000;">With a global outlook, universities can reach full potential</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Jamal E Benhayoun</div>Speeding up internationalisation efforts will put Morocco’s public universities in a stronger position to offer world-class academic services, tap the support of their diaspora communities and serve as powerhouses of human capital for the African continent and the Mediterranean in the years to come.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231122175036899" style="color:#000;">Beyond University of Cape Town: Governance and implications</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Patrick Fish</div>A recent report into leadership and governance failures at the University of Cape Town is a reminder that the rules of good governance have again, as has happened so often in South Africa, been trumped by an array of personality traits, techniques and mechanisms that have somehow become credentialed in South Africa’s higher education culture.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231126182913585" style="color:#000;">Stability at the helm is crucial for a healthy HE sector</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>The Ethiopian Ministry of Education has had three ministers in five years, which forms part of rapid changes in its governance structure, focus areas and staffing. The manner in which these reforms have unfolded are undermining the implementation of plans for the education sector, including those aimed at higher education.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231121204951750" style="color:#000;">War against women: Collective action against GBV is urgent</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Ruby-Ann Levendal</div>South Africa’s dubious status as one of the worst-ranked countries for high rates of gender-based violence or GBV – and recent senseless assaults on university campuses in the country – have brought into sharp focus the urgency of addressing this scourge within the higher education sector and beyond.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">EUROPE-AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231114131253502" style="color:#000;">Universities a key part of the EU’s Global Gateway</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Jan Palmowski</div>At the European Union’s first Global Gateway Forum, research and higher education underpinned almost all the points made by the group of leaders – a massive opportunity for universities. But they need to make the argument about their role loud and clear, to their governments, and to their supranational blocs, starting with the European Union and the African Union.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231110062114210" style="color:#000;">Council has to show leadership to avoid dysfunction – Expert</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Jonathan Jansen</div>Universities become dysfunctional, not because there are no rules, but because they defy their own rules. This has been highlighted during the ongoing appointment process of a new vice-chancellor at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, writes higher education expert Professor Jonathan Jansen.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231108163801572" style="color:#000;">Planning can build resilience in HE amid disasters, conflict</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>Ethiopia’s vulnerability to human-made and natural disasters as well as climate change has led to various forms of internal displacement, which is impacting the education sector. So far, the government’s interventions have neglected the higher education sector, which is also affected by these challenges.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">ETHIOPIA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231031142112683" style="color:#000;">Postgraduate admission restriction undermines national plans</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Wondwosen Tamrat</div>The Ethiopian Ministry of Education’s recent decision to set a new admission standard for postgraduate students has set in motion unprecedented restriction on access to the postgraduate programmes of many public and private universities. It is not clear what the purpose of the standard is.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">MALAWI</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231101074113623" style="color:#000;">Steadying the edifice: Rebuilding Malawi’s education sector</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Steve Sharra</div>Malawi aims to become a lower middle-income country by 2030, which means a tertiary enrolment rate of 25% or 1.2 million people in the 18-24 age cohort studying in higher education institutions. At present, the enrolment rate is 3%. What should be done?</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">SOUTH AFRICA</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231031052111687" style="color:#000;">Budget cuts? HE funding is moving in the wrong direction</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Sioux McKenna</div>Budget cuts are the talking point at universities in South Africa at present. It comes in a context in which the government, in 2024, will be allocating more funds to student financial aid than to the block grants used for the running of the entire public higher education sector.</div> <div style="padding-bottom:12px;border-top: 1px solid #a2b6c9;padding-top:10px;"><div class="byline-country countries">AFRICA-EUROPE</div><div style="padding-bottom:4px"><h1><a href="post.php?story=20231017150732838" style="color:#000;">A groundbreaking South-North research pact has taken off</a></h1></div><div class="byline-country botmar2">Ernest Aryeetey</div>The development of Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence, the yields of a process that started at a meeting of the African Research Universities Alliance and the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities in Brussels, Belgium, in 2018, has ushered in a new era of South-North scientific collaboration.</div> <div style="width:715px;height:0px"></div></td> <td style="width:261px;margin-left:10px;border-left:1px solid #999;padding-left:10px" valign="top"> <div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerclick.php?id=abetsympoct2024"><img src="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerview.php?id=abetsympoct2024" style="" alt="abetsympoct2024"></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerclick.php?id=stelunijul2023"><img src="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerview.php?id=stelunijul2023" style="width:250px;height:400px" alt="stelunijul2023"></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerclick.php?id=uukconfnov2024"><img src="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerview.php?id=uukconfnov2024" style="" alt="uukconfnov2024"></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerclick.php?id=uaeuoct2024"><img src="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerview.php?id=uaeuoct2024" style="" alt="uaeuoct2024"></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerclick.php?id=iauaug2024"><img src="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerview.php?id=iauaug2024" style="" alt="iauaug2024"></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerclick.php?id=gulfconftlfnov2024"><img src="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerview.php?id=gulfconftlfnov2024" style="" alt="gulfconftlfnov2024"></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerclick.php?id=nafsanov2024"><img src="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerview.php?id=nafsanov2024" style="" alt="nafsanov2024"></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerclick.php?id=hetl"><img src="https://ads.universityworldnews.com/bannerview.php?id=hetl" style="width:250px;height:250px" alt="hetl"></a></div></div> <div></div> <div></div> </td> </tr></table> </div> <div id="footer" class="wdiv p8px" style="font-size:16px;line-height:24px;background:#000;color:#fff"> <a href="page.php?page=UW_Main">Global</a> | <a href="page.php?page=Africa_Edition">Africa</a> | <a href="page.php?page=Asia_Hub">Asia</a> | <a href="page.php?page=SDGs_Hub">SDGs</a> | <a href="page.php?page=Edtech_AI_Hub">Edtech/AI</a> | <a href="page.php?page=Commentary_Hub">Commentary</a> | <a href="topic-page.php?topic=World_Blog">World Blog</a> | <a href="special-report.php?publication=global">Special Reports</a> | <a href="page.php?page=subscribe">Subscribe</a> | <a href="page.php?page=Careers_at_UWN">Careers at UWN</a> <br> <a href="bookmarks.php">Bookmarks</a> | <a href="page.php?page=About_Us">About Us</a> | <a href="page.php?page=Advertising">Advertise</a> | <a href="page.php?page=sponsor-partner-profservices">Sponsorship</a> | <a href="page.php?page=Terms_Conditions">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="page.php?page=Contact_Us_Intro">Contact</a> | <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/fb/">Facebook</a> | <a href="version-force.php?ver=mobile">Mobile Site</a> </div> <div id="footer" class="wdiv p8px" style="font-size:12px;background:#000;color:#fff;border-top:1px solid #444">Copyright 2024 University World News</div> </div> </div> </div> <script> </script> <script> var bb = new BankersBox(1); 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