HE News Brief 10.5.10

by Abby Chau

From industrial strikes to Sri Lankan higher education reforms, this week boasts an interesting variety of news stories:

• Protests on Election Day from members of the University and College Union and universities like Middlesex and Sussex rocked campuses in the UK as students and faculty members lamented proposed cuts to higher education. Sending a strong message, protestors argued that cuts which may total 1 billion pounds, should be carefully considered, especially as universities like King's is spending money on projects such as a £20 million acquisition of the East Wing of Somerset.Full Story: The GuardianMore: The Independent
• The National Research Council announced that they will be changing the methodology for their much anticipated doctoral programme rankings. Using both implicit and explicit criteria to measure a university's performance, this new set of rankings should prove interesting especially as they are proposing to use broader confidence levels instead of the more traditional method of ranking by concrete places. Full Story: Inside Higher Education
• The first foreign funded university is planned to open in North Korea with the help of US citizen and now the founding President of the Pyongyang University James Kim. Raising 35 million dollars to establish the university, Kim will lead this enormous project with plans to build a sophisticated IT infrastructure.Full Story: University World News
• During a two-day workshop in Accra to promote higher education inter-change between Europe and Africa, the Ghanaian Minister of Education Alex Tettey-Enyo called upon African universities to work together in order to develop academic mobility. Intimating that their colonial past is a reason behind the deterioration of African universities, Tettey-Enyo stated that in order to build world class universities, academic exchange must be a priority.Full Story: Modern Ghana
• First India announced plans for foreign universities to set up shop to allow more Indian students to study in their home country. Now Sri Lanka may be implementing a similar plan according to the Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake. In order to curb a possible \"brain drain\", the Minister is proposing talks with foreign universities to establish higher education institutions in the country.Full Story: Colombo PageMore: Telegraph