Skepticism has long reigned about Chinese universities and the publications of their researchers. But, over the past twenty years, the situation has changed dramatically. The Chinese state has invested in universities, reformed them to make them world leaders. What is the current state of affairs? Chinese universities are part of a system that may have been inspired by that of the […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Some benchmarks on Chinese universities
From 13 unis to 1: why Australia needs to reverse the loss of South Asian studies
South Asia is crucial to the future of Australia. But Australia has just one (small) program focused on South Asian studies across its many universities. This has not always been the case. In the mid-1970s, 13 of Australia’s universities offered undergraduate subjects on South Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and the […] … learn more→
Make a poster – it may also help you write a paper
Academic posters. They are a thing. You can find academic posters at a lot of conferences. Ah, conferences. Remember when we had face to face conferences? Oh, that seems like a long time ago now – but when we had them, academic posters were often displayed in a separate conference room. Separate poster sessions may […] … learn more→
The Bachelor is it a Napoleonic inheritance?
Theology, law, medicine, mathematical and physical sciences, letters: in these five fields which structured the university at the beginning of the XIX E century, the degrees “conferred by the Faculties following examinations and public acts […] there will be three: the baccalaureate, the license and the doctorate ”, indicates the decree of March 17, 1808 signed by Napoleon. This […] … learn more→
Why do study permit applications get rejected?
If you are an international student who wants to study in Canada, then one of the steps you must take is to obtain a study visa or study permit. This may seem like an easy thing to do—much more manageable than securing admission to a Canadian university or college—but this isn’t the case. It can […] … learn more→
Social responsibility means recruiting more technicians locally
Technicians have long been a hidden workforce within universities. When people outside the academy have any idea what they do, their assumption is usually that they “just clean test tubes and put equipment away”. Yet throughout my technical career, I have never met anyone with such a limited job description. In fact, those working in […] … learn more→
Why too many recorded lecture videos may be bad for maths students’ learning
Screen-based devices have increasingly become part of our human experience – even more so since the pandemic began. This trend includes watching more and more videos. For example, before COVID-19, the average American watched about six hours of videos a day on devices ranging from televisions to desktop computers and mobile phones. By one estimate, this figure has “surged” more than 40% […] … learn more→
Academic writers as readers
Many academic writers are avid readers. That’s because there is a strong connection – not causal, but surely correlated, she says hastily – between reading and writing. Reading and writing are mutually beneficial, they feed each other. I was thinking about the read-write connection just this morning as I sat reading the books section of […] … learn more→
9 in 10 LGBTQ+ students say they hear homophobic language at school, and 1 in 3 hear it almost every day
Bills in the federal and New South Wales parliaments have sought to stop teachers talking about gender and sexuality diversity in the name of either religious freedom or parents’ rights. If passed in its current form, the NSW Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020 would prohibit teachers from discussing gender and sexuality diversity. It would also make offering targeted, requested […] … learn more→
In this ‘job-ready’ era, it’s worth looking at how a US-style broader education can benefit uni students
The Job-Ready Graduates Package is nearing the end of its first full semester of implementation. Its basic premise is that the main reason the modern Australian university exists is to train the next generation in areas of economic need. “Universities must teach Australians the skills needed to succeed in the jobs of the future,” said the then federal education […] … learn more→
