Monthly Archives: October 2017

Will universities become a redundant archipelago?

Will universities become a redundant archipelago?

In the early days of the World Wide Web, management author Peter Drucker predicted that long-distance learning would end higher education as we know it. Quoted in Forbes, Drucker predicted: “Universities won’t survive. The future is outside the traditional campus, outside the traditional classroom. Distance learning is coming on fast.” It is a message that is […] … learn more→

5 things to buy online in 2018

5 things to buy online in 2018

Are you interested in spending more time shopping online? Are you ready to change your ways in the new year? Are you wondering what you can purchase via the internet over the months to come? As the calendar changes to a new year, you’ll find yourself wanting to make some changes for the better. For […] … learn more→

Tackling the reproducibility crisis requires universal standards

Tackling the reproducibility crisis requires universal standards

Reproducibility is the conduit through which scientific discoveries become future innovations, cures and commercial opportunities. It is also the central pillar of scientific integrity: the barometer by which future generations can independently validate all the progress that came before them. But, as is now widely acknowledged, reproducibility is in crisis. A 2016 Nature survey, for instance, found […] … learn more→

The university must be the site of the next Reformation – here’s why

The university must be the site of the next Reformation – here’s why

Legend has it that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg Castle on October 31 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation. Regardless of whether the event itself actually happened, the target was clear: the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. As we commemorate the 500th anniversary of Luther’s protest, there is a comparable institution whose practices […] … learn more→

Performance funding is not the way to improve university teaching

Performance funding is not the way to improve university teaching

A week after the Nick Xenophon Team called for a new review of higher education, the Productivity Commission has provided one, of sorts. The report, titled “Shifting the Dial”, covers higher education as well as health care, schools, cities, government and energy. It is part of much broader five-year productivity review and covers topics from recent policy debate on higher […] … learn more→

5 Startups disrupting major industries

5 Startups disrupting major industries

We talk a lot about the big innovators of the world: the Apples, the Googles, and the Amazons. These companies have all been leaders in innovation, producing incredible technology and changing the way we communicate, shop, and work. However, they weren’t always huge and respected—they all started off small. What’s really impressive is when a […] … learn more→

The predatory MFA

The predatory MFA

“I’m going to be an engineer! I get free tuition for taking the classes!” –So many female students walk on campus saying something like this. I have no problem with scholarship, but there’s a trap here many “female engineering students” fall into… Every year, students come to campus, and many are clever enough to understand: […] … learn more→

Money woes force South Africa to revisit how it rewards researchers

Money woes force South Africa to revisit how it rewards researchers

It’s been 30 years since South Africa first introduced a rating system to incentivise the country’s academics and scientists. This system was built on the principle that funding should be awarded to those researchers with a proven track record of scientific excellence. This is a unique approach among global rating systems: it rewards individual researchers […] … learn more→

Explainer: preparing to be professionally edited

Explainer: preparing to be professionally edited

Every document deserves an extra set of eyes! Some students ask a friend or relative to proofread their thesis for them, some cross their fingers and hope for the best, and some use a professional editor. Most of the students who use my editing services are from non-English language backgrounds, and in some cases the […] … learn more→