It’s tempting to think that the PhD thesis is the place you get to display every single thing you’ve read. To peacock-like spread out a significant dazzle of texts. Look how much I’ve done. See how well I can summarise it all. Just imagine how good my notes are and how impressive my (Endnote, Zotero […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
A thesis is not just a display
University rankings are unscientific and bad for education: experts point out the flaws
We rank almost everything. The top 10 restaurants in our vicinity, the best cities to visit, the best movies to watch. To understand whether the rankings were any good you’d want know who was doing the ranking. And what it was they were looking for. These are exactly the same questions that are worth asking […] … learn more→
Why international students are taking the ‘back door’ route into England’s top universities
In January, England’s university leaders had their weekend breakfasts disturbed by an undercover investigation in the Sunday Times. Using secret film of recruitment agents, the newspaper reported on a “back door” route which lets international students into Russell Group universities with “far lower grades” than students from the UK. Like the Ivy League in USA and Australia’s Group of […] … learn more→
Teaching writing goes beyond writing and essay exercises
“The times are bad, children have stopped obeying their parents and everyone is writing books,” lamented Cicero in one of his most epic harangues. And many today would be tempted to adopt this phrase from the famous Roman orator as their own. It is a phenomenon that repeats itself throughout history: each generation tends to neglect or […] … learn more→
How entrepreneurship education can be more inclusive
Organizations with resources to support entrepreneurs often overlook their own organizational roles in amplifying stereotypes of entrepreneurs as primarily masculine, white and technology-focused. Globally, women are less likely to benefit from entrepreneurship education and training, particularly in programs supporting high-growth enterprises. When entrepreneurship programs do consider inclusion, most focus on gender without considering age, ethnicity, race or other identity […] … learn more→
Peer review isn’t perfect − I know because I teach others how to do it and I’ve seen firsthand how it comes up short
When I teach research methods, a major focus is peer review. As a process, peer review evaluates academic papers for their quality, integrity and impact on a field, largely shaping what scientists accept as “knowledge.” By instinct, any academic follows up a new idea with the question, “Was that peer reviewed?” Although I believe in the […] … learn more→
Amid growing legalization, cannabis in culture and politics is the focus of this anthropology course
Title of course: Anthropology of Cannabis What prompted the idea for the course? Whenever I taught my medical anthropology course, I noticed that students were most curious about the section of the course that deals with the uses of plants, fungi and other species for a range of medical purposes. Those purposes included healing, psychological […] … learn more→
Simulations with actors prepare journalism students to interview trauma survivors
It’s a phone call most journalists dread to make. A woman in her 20s has died after she was struck by a car while riding her bicycle. “What is your favourite memory of Eleanor?” a journalist asks the woman’s father in an interview. The man’s voice quivers. “I don’t have a favourite,” he says. “Every […] … learn more→
Kenyan universities are very short of professors: why it matters and what to do about it
A Kenyan vice-chancellor recently went public about the scarcity of university professors. There are fewer than 1,000 professors for the country’s 68 universities and 562,925 students. That is an average of around 563 students per professor. South Africa has around 4,034 professors and 1,112,439 students – around 275 students per professor. Professors occupy the highest teaching rank in the university. They […] … learn more→
From elitist to diverse: the long road to the inclusive university
In recent decades, studies on inclusive education and diversity in universities have multiplied. To evaluate the ease of access and permanence of vulnerable or underrepresented groups in higher education, these studies analyze three key factors: presence, participation and progress. Regarding the presence or existence of diversity among students, faculty and technical staff, the university is inclusive […] … learn more→
