As Phil Baty’s recent blog makes clear, there is huge range of opinion in the UK higher education sector about the government’s wish to see more universities offering accelerated degrees. To their proponents, they provide students, particularly mature students with existing work experience, with an opportunity to save on living costs and enter the labour market […] … learn more→

France recently appointed a tech ambassador to the Silicon Valley. French President Emmanuel Macron named David Martinon as “ambassador for digital affairs”, with jurisdiction over the digital issues that the foreign affairs ministry deals with. This includes digital governance, international negotiations and support for digital companies’ export operations. The appointment is part of France’s international digital […] … learn more→

Our “leaders” in higher ed have focused on growth over all things, and many of our colleges have student bases to rival small towns. Now, concentrating tens of thousands of young people into a small area, funding them through the student loan scam, and not providing any sort of discipline or structure (since doing so […] … learn more→

When colleges and universities began to make the SAT an optional part of the admissions process, the hope was that it would expand access to the nation’s most selective institutions to groups that had historically been shut out. The reality is – at least at selective liberal arts colleges – the decision by a growing number of […] … learn more→

Making publication criteria a key requirement for academic promotion in Pakistan was always going to throw up problems. First, it took its inevitable toll on teaching, with ambitious scholars becoming more intent on churning out papers. The biggest rewards are reserved for those who publish in so-called high-impact international journals. Such a policy has well-known […] … learn more→

Imagine making one of the biggest purchases in your life and having no idea what the price is. You walk into a car dealership, for example, excited to purchase a new car. You test drive a few cars and select the one that you think is the best fit, but instead of then being told […] … learn more→

Students are normally considered to be among the most politically active sectors of society, often campaigning for such idealistic goals as equality and social justice. At the other end of the spectrum are the autocrats who sustain their regimes with the mantra of stability, whether that be linked to conservatism or modernisation. One of the […] … learn more→

How often do you, outside the requirements of an assignment, ponder things like the workings of a distant star, the innards of your phone camera, or the number and layout of petals on a flower? Maybe a little bit, maybe never. Too often, people regard science as sitting outside the general culture: A specialized, difficult […] … learn more→

Following our annual Christmas overindulgence, many of us have set ambitious goals for the year ahead. But eating healthy shouldn’t just mean cutting down on snacks; given the environmental impact of food production, a more sustainable diet should feature high on everyone’s list of New Year’s resolutions. Australians have one of the largest per capita dietary environmental […] … learn more→

Arguments about “screen time” are likely to crop up in many households with children these holidays. As one of the best-selling digital games of all time, Minecraft will be a likely culprit. In a recent survey of Australian adults, excessive “screen time” was rated as the top child health concern, but current time limit guidelines […] … learn more→