HE News Brief 21.4.10

by Abby Chau

The volcanic ash no doubt dominated headlines this past week. However a few higher education newsworthy pieces also managed to generate some heat:

• UK students threaten politicians with rebuke if they back raising tuition fees. The Head of the National Union for Students have identified 20 \"student battlegrounds\", including Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Reading, Cambridge, London, Southampton, Bristol, Leeds and Oxford.Full Story: BBC News
• Ecuador seeks to transform their higher education system, starting with issuing higher standards for professors. Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa said that it is crucial to have first rate professors and that rectors must play an important role in support this new legislation.Full Story: Inside Costa Rica
• Libyan leader Mouammar Kadhafi calls for a scientific revolution in Arab universities. According to a speech he gave at the General Congress of Arab universities recently, Kadhafi says that Arab society must produce and create more things in order to prevent the exodus of young Arab talent looking for a brighter future in the West.Full Story: Afrique en ligne
• Chaos erupted recently when Taiwanese lawmakers tried to stop the discussion of a new law that would allow wider accessibility for Chinese students to study in Taiwan. Some say that they are trying to protect Taiwanese students from the potential influx of Chinese students while others call for an easing of educational exchange.Full Story: My Sinchew
• Yale President Richard Levin pens an Op-Ed for the New York Times regarding the rise of Asia's universities. Focussing on China and India in particular, Levin points out that both countries are heavily investing in higher education. However, he says that building a first class university takes much more than research capacity and top-notch facilities as high levels of critical thinking and freedom of expression must also be part of the equation.Full Story: New York Times