Breaking News
UNITED KINGDOM
Nic Mitchell
As the universities of Greenwich and Kent press the accelerator towards creating a new ‘super-university’ through a federation model in the South East of England, a new report provides important lessons from the UK’s most significant university merger in more than a decade.
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
UNITED KINGDOM
Brendan O’Malley
Top Stories
GLOBAL
The Western-dominated era in general and in HE is passing
Simon Marginson
The Western-dominated era, in general and in higher education, is passing. If we are not to fragment into warring cultures controlled by corporate overlords, the denizens of ‘end times fascism’ and survivalist capitalism, what will be the content of the next tending-to-universal knowledge?
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
INDIA
Shuriah Niazi
UNITED KINGDOM
Nic Mitchell
News
AFRICA-EUROPE
Desmond Thompson
The European Union has launched Africa Initiative IV, a substantial new package of Africa-focused research and innovation calls under Horizon Europe worth just over €600 million (US$707 million) for the next two years. The initiative forms part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-27.
AUSTRALIA
Shadi Khan Saif
SAUDI ARABIA
Wagdy Sawahel
A new study examining retraction patterns in Saudi Arabian research from 2014 to 2023 shows that in 2022 – a peak year for retractions – over 88% of them stemmed from international collaborations. Its authors make some suggestions for reforms to Saudi’s incentive-driven research policies.
KAZAKHSTAN
Yojana Sharma
After four years of rapid growth in new international branch campuses in Kazakhstan, the focus is set to shift to quality across the entire sector, even if it means some institutions will go to the wall, the country’s science and education minister said.
NETHERLANDS
Jan Petter Myklebust
A coalition deal has raised hopes that the new minority government in the Netherlands will show a more supportive attitude on the issue of internationalisation and scrap the pending ‘Internationalisation in Balance bill’, which still threatens to cap international student numbers if approved by parliament.
NORWAY
Jan Petter Myklebust
AFRICA-CHINA
Clemence Manyukwe
Edtech, AI and Higher Education
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
A study of 31,000 course syllabi by the University of California, Berkeley’s Dr Igor Chirikov has found that in the three years since ChatGPT, higher education instructors have moved from knee-jerk restrictions to a more permissive attitude towards generative AI use – but largely in a controlled manner linked to specific tasks.
World Blog
UNITED KINGDOM
Louise Nicol
If, as the UK’s International Education Strategy suggests, success in international education is no longer to be measured primarily by student headcount, the sector must demonstrate value in other ways. Graduate outcomes are the obvious candidate, yet they remain weakly articulated and inconsistently measured.
Special Report: Educational Innovation
LATIN AMERICA
University World News reports from the IFE Conference, one of the leading educational innovation gatherings in the Spanish-speaking world, attracting 5,500 academics, students, industry representatives and policy-makers from 46 countries, which this year focused on lifelong learning, AI, social inequality, working with industry and internationalisation.
LATIN AMERICA
Mandy Garner
MEXICO-UNITED STATES
Mandy Garner
LATIN AMERICA
Mandy Garner
SDGs
UNITED STATES
Andrew Walker
Business schools in the United States have an opportunity to expand and integrate sustainability education across both MBA and business masters programmes, equipping future leaders with the capabilities needed in a complex global environment – while sustaining the innovative edge that has long defined American business education.
AFRICA
Mkhululi Chimoio
In several African countries emerging from decades of conflict, restoring agriculture is both an economic necessity and a foundation for social stability. Across the continent, universities are increasingly playing a central role in the agricultural recovery, while redefining higher education’s role beyond the classroom.
AFRICA
Wilson Odhiambo
In their continuous efforts to help address Africa’s societal challenges through training and research, two universities have officially been confirmed as World Health Organization Africa Region, or WHO AFRO, partners in strengthening Africa’s health workforce. They will focus on building sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Top Stories from Last Week
GLOBAL
Min Bahadur Bista
Public scepticism of higher education deserves serious attention, but it must be interpreted carefully. What people say about higher education often diverges sharply from what they do: despite rising criticism, enrolment, credential demand and family investment in higher education remain resilient around the world.
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
NIGERIA
Olabisi Deji-Folutile
UNITED STATES
Nathan M Greenfield
UNITED KINGDOM
Nic Mitchell
International student numbers were down for the second year in a row in the United Kingdom, driven by another dramatic fall in overseas students enrolling in postgraduate taught courses, but transnational education, or TNE, students studying overseas for UK qualifications increased by 8% for the second year running.
LATIN AMERICA
Mandy Garner
A prestigious Mexican university has agreed to work with UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning to extend a drive to expand lifelong learning across Latin America and is leading two bold initiatives on preparing universities for the future and building skills ecosystems across the region.
INDIA
Shuriah Niazi
New regulations by India’s higher education regulator aimed at preventing caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions have been put on hold by the Supreme Court following opposition from students and politicians who argue the new rules could lead to discrimination against general category students.
AFRICA-UNITED STATES
Eve Ruwoko
The formal withdrawal of the United States from major United Nations bodies such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has raised concerns among African scientists about the long-term stability of climate research, early-warning systems and international scientific cooperation.