Although it has been a major actor in international relations , the country is now experiencing various challenges in dealing with contemporary issues – such as the climate crisis, pandemics, terrorism, to economic inequality – because it is often inefficient or even corrupt . This led to the emergence of a number of non-state actors. For example, terrorist groups such […] … learn more→

  The “leaky pipeline” of research talent has been much debated in recent years, but I fear we need a better metaphor to discuss the crisis we now face thanks to coronavirus. “Not waving but drowning” springs to mind. Or perhaps “water through a sieve”, as we contemplate the potential loss of a whole generation […] … learn more→

Across the world, international students are making last minute decisions about whether to enrol in university courses this September or defer until 2021. But study destination countries are responding differently to this challenge. Australian universities have indicated that they will allow international students to enter the country before all internal state borders have opened. Meanwhile, […] … learn more→

One of the emerging phenomena in this century is the progressive consolidation of international consensus on educational policies. This is the case, for example, of the redesign of the curriculum and its focus on competencies , understanding as such knowledge, skills, and attitudes and values. This orientation is the result, on the one hand, of the digital revolution […] … learn more→

The way that teachers assess students has been under scrutiny since the UK government announced that this would be one element of a range of evidence used to replace GCSE and A Level exams this year. Teacher assessment is a key part of university study, too. University educators play a pivotal role in judging and grading written and non-written […] … learn more→

Very few aspects of our lives escape numerical evaluation for comparative purposes. Humanity’s current challenge is to keep Covid-19’s reproduction number, or R0, as low as possible to prevent its spread. This numerical fixation is certainly true of university research. Many measures of research output, quality and impact are used to guide recruitment, funding and […] … learn more→

Every day, women are subjected to sexist remarks and behaviors: sexist harassment in the public space, sexist remarks at work, unwanted sexual invitations … No area is spared, no place. Launched in 2017 to collect testimonials from students, doctoral students and young researchers, the “Paye ta fac” site had shown that the academic world was no exception. Faced […] … learn more→

Safely resuming in-person instruction at U.S. public schools is important for the academic, physical, emotional and social well-being of children and their families. It’s also a key factor for the nation’s economic recovery. But in mid-July, despite considerable pressure from the Trump administration, many school systems around the nation had announced that they didn’t yet believe that anything close to […] … learn more→

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s announcement last week that international students should go home if their US campuses are unable to provide on-campus instruction in the autumn always looked arbitrary. Hence, it is no surprise that the government has backed down in the face of a widespread outcry and legal threats from some […] … learn more→

At the end of a school year turned upside down by the Covid-19, one can only be struck by the importance of the progression of success in exams. The phenomenon affects both secondary and higher education. At the end of the first year of university, the success rates in the baccalaureate are “exceptional”. There is an increase of 10 to 12% compared […] … learn more→