Breaking News
AFGHANISTAN
Manija Mirzaie
Afghanistan appeared to be edging towards a total digital blackout as the Taliban cut internet access for two days in a move that disrupted services and rattled the aspirations of a younger generation that depends on access to learn, communicate, and stay connected.
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
UNITED KINGDOM
Nic Mitchell
GLOBAL
Nathan M Greenfield
Top Stories
UNITED STATES
Universities ‘fear vindictive and unreliable opponent’
John Aubrey Douglass
Given the blitzkrieg of attacks on higher education and research in the past nine months, what should we expect from the Trump administration going into a new federal fiscal year and leading up to the midterm elections, and could blue states fight back?
UNITED STATES-ASIA
Shuriah Niazi, Amber Wang and Yojana Sharma
AFGHANISTAN
Manija Mirzaie
AUSTRALIA
Kalinga Seneviratne
News
UNITED STATES-CHINA
Yojana Sharma
Academics at US universities with branch campuses in China that operate jointly with Chinese university partners are reporting nervousness among colleagues and ‘genuine fear’ about possible campus closures amid heightened scrutiny of the institutions by a congressional committee concerned about national security risks.
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
AUSTRALIA
Shadi Khan Saif
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
INDONESIA
Kafil Yamin
A Palestine research and study centre has been launched at the University of Indonesia amid a row over freedom of expression and academic neutrality after the university invited a pro-Israel activist and academic to speak at a postgraduate orientation event held in August.
ALGERIA
Wagdy Sawahel
Algeria plans to establish its own national information system to detect plagiarism and content generated by artificial intelligence in scientific publications and theses in an effort to combat academic fraud and protect academic integrity at universities and higher education institutions.
CHINA
Amber Wang
The ousting of a senior official at China’s leading Peking University, Beijing, is seen as the latest sign of the spread to higher education of the government’s nationwide anti-graft campaign, which has seen 50 university leaders being snared thus far in 2025.
DENMARK
Jan Petter Myklebust
Edtech, AI and Higher Education
GLOBAL
Saygi Ünlü
Looking ahead, the role of AI in accreditation is likely to grow because it can provide a more comprehensive and efficient analysis. Yet such analysis still requires human interpretation: faculty must ask why certain issues persist and how they can be addressed.
Global Innovators
GLOBAL
Dara Melnyk
Tidelines Institute in remote Alaska highlights the resource-intensiveness of the microcollege model but also the necessity of the model for any higher education landscape. Just like slow-food restaurants are necessary for the culinary scene, microcolleges remind you that you can savour knowledge.
World Blog
EUROPE
Thais França
There are ways that international student mobility researchers can ensure that the knowledge they generate does not get stuck in articles in academic journals, but instead travels – just like the students they choose to study – into the real world of policy and practice.
Changemakers II
GLOBAL
This University World News series looks at whole higher education institutions that have become champions of transforming society and planetary health. Here we look at IHE Delft, in the Netherlands, whose work in water education, research and capacity development greatly contributes to global sustainability.
GLOBAL
Karen MacGregor
Walking the sustainability talk, IHE Delft in the Netherlands – the world’s largest international graduate water education institution – has trained a network of more than 25,000 water experts, mostly from across the Global South. “We are part of creating sustainable development in countries for the long term,” says Rector Eddy Moors.
GLOBAL
Andreia Nogueira
AUDIO INTERVIEW: Fredrik Huthoff, a professor at IHE Delft and at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, bridges engineering, policy and practice to address urgent water challenges. “What I really like to do is to dig into complex problems, and work with advanced technologies, to find solutions that make a difference.”
MEXICO-GLOBAL
Karen MacGregor
SDGs
COLOMBIA
Nathan M Greenfield
Despite ongoing deadly attacks by violent dissidents that put strain on Colombia’s national peace process and mounting public pressure for a military solution, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Cali – a Jesuit university – remains steadfastly committed to peace through actively encouraging understanding and dialogue.
KENYA
Scovian Lillian
Kenyan horticulturist Professor Mary Abukutsa’s decades of work on indigenous African vegetables were recognised on the highest level when she won the 2025 Africa Food Prize at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Dakar, Senegal. The award recognises changemakers in Africa’s food systems.
AFRICA-UNITED STATES
Clemence Manyukwe
African higher education institutions and historically black colleges and universities in the United States are exploring ways to advance sustainable partnerships, a development that has resulted in a pledge to strengthen academic ties, joint and dual degree programmes and faculty exchanges.
Top Stories from Last Week
MALAYSIA
Kalinga Seneviratne
A political controversy over the sensitive issue of racial discrimination has erupted after a Malaysian Chinese student who sought to study accountancy was rejected by five of the country’s universities, even though he achieved an almost perfect score in the university entrance exams.
GLOBAL
James Yoonil Auh
GLOBAL
Graeme Atherton and Peter John
GLOBAL
Ignacio Sánchez
GLOBAL
Olivia Mair
Educators are experiencing frustration, fatigue and disorientation as they struggle to adapt to and cope with the new assessment landscape created by generative AI. Experience of oral assessment in other cultures and disciplines shows that it holds potential but is no simple panacea.
UKRAINE
Nathan M Greenfield
The bombing of the main library of the Sumy State University in northeast Ukraine by Russian military on the eve of talks between the United States and Ukrainian presidents was a devastating blow to the university’s librarians. But they are determined to continue their work.
NORTH AMERICA-CHINA
Sarah Bauman-Kaye and Sasha Lussaint
Despite policy uncertainty, trade tensions and a political climate increasingly hostile towards international students, Chinese high school seniors remain largely committed to pursuing university education in North America. But interviews show some are hedging their bets, placing deposits at multiple institutions across countries.
UNITED KINGDOM
Nic Mitchell
A new report in the United Kingdom shows that cuts to university funding have left thousands of students without access to humanities, social sciences or arts degrees in their region, raising concerns about the loss of skills vital to making sense of the world and its future.