HE News Brief 19.10.10

by Abby Chau

• The Browne report is still dominating headlines as ministers weigh in and the political line is delicately drawn around a leaked memo that says universities should brace themselves for a £4.2bn budget cut. The cut is more severe than universities were prepared for as degrees other than medicine, engineering, science, and modern languages would lose state subsidies. Browne's recommendation is also facing scrutiny from the Welsh Assembly Government which says they are poised to lose £55million if the tuition fee cap is lifted as there are approximately 16,000 Welsh undergraduates studying in England. Wales and Scotland's fate in England's higher education debacle is not entirely clear.Full Story: GuardianMore: Wales Online
• The London School of Economics has announced a collaboration with the Reliance Foundation, which is an arm of the Reliance Industries group, run by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani. The partnership will work on setting up a world class university in India, focusing on problems such as expanding education to all segments of the population. Ambani's wife and Foundation chair said they plan to open a university which is global and with \"Indian soul\".Full Story: Economic Times
• Sri Lanka is throwing its hat into internationalisation, hoping to attract foreign campuses which place in the world's top 1000 in league tables. The government is in talks with 23 institutions which include Beijing State University, the London School of Fashion, and Manifai Medical College. The government plans on enticing foreign universities with tax benefits and possibly free land or discounted leases. The move is aimed at retaining more Sri Lankan students who leave the country to study at a foreign campuses. Currently the Sri Lankan higher education system cannot accommodate the number of students who are eligible for degree programmes.Full Story: Colombo
• The Hong Kong (SAR) Chief Executive Donald Tsang announced last week that they are seeking to raise the percentage of people participating in higher education to 65%, from 30% in 2000. It is not clear when they want to achieve this by but Tsang was robust in declaring the government's dedication to the initiative by proposing the formation of a fund worth 322 million dollars to help promote the cause. Among other programmes, the fund will offer scholarships and support universities in areas such as teaching. Tsang also said that the government aims to develop stronger ties with mainland Chinese universities to promote learning exchanges.Full Story: FT
• China's investment in Africa has been heavily reported. It would come as no surprise then that the first EMBA programme from China is heading for Africa. The Ceibs Africa Programme, founded by Pedro Nueno, obtained sponsorship from Coca-Cola and Heineken to set up the initiative which seeks to mirror the academic curriculum of the China European International Business School (which Nueno chairs) in Shanghai. The EMBA costs $30,000 and 2010 class attracted 42 students.Full Story: People's Daily