1 October 2020  Issue No: 285

The shift, amid COVID-19, to engaging students through social networks speaks volumes to the call for transformation in pedagogy and learning practices but are we doing the right thing by adopting social networks in lieu of course or learning management systems?

SOUTH AFRICA Online as the ‘new normative’ will damage public interests David Walwyn There seems little question that the present model for higher education in which public institutions fulfil multiple mandates will be significantly challenged by post-pandemic online education, delivered by private companies less encumbered by historical responsibilities and more able to provide cost-effective education.

AFRICA-GLOBAL ‘Homecoming’ celebrates vast potential of academic diaspora Francis Kokutse Tertiary education institutions across the African continent can benefit by tapping into the vast experience of the African diaspora through various means, including the exchange of teachers, research, public service and mentorship programmes, Ghana President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.

International students can now join the nearly 245,650 or 40% of South African contact students who have already obtained permits to return to their university campuses.

NIGERIA Staff resistance threatens reopening of universities Tunde Fatunde

ZIMBABWE Universities to reopen, but staff ‘cannot afford to work’ Kudzai Mashininga

RWANDA Government announces partial reopening of universities Jean d’Amour Mbonyinshuti

AFRICA Seven new science academies for least-developed countries Tonderayi Mukeredzi

BURKINA FASO Research funding committee examines COVID-19 projects

CONGO Preparations for Congolese students to study in Côte d’Ivoire

Steps taken towards the establishment of a differentiated higher education system in Ethiopia should be seen as a major achievement. However, the successful implementation of such a system requires much more than merely identifying institutions in terms of new institutional categories.

AFRICA Higher education – The driving force of human development Fredrick Muyia Nafukho

SOUTH AFRICA National PhD review ‘shortcomings’– A response Francis Faller

GHANA Learning from criticism and listening to student feedback Eric Fredua-Kwarteng

AFRICA Quo vadis internationalisation in Southern Africa? Cornelius Hagenmeier, Corli Witthuhn, Nico Jooste and Lynette Jacobs

Universities have been challenged to be more responsive to the diverse needs of students, adapt their teaching methods and sharpen their research focus to contribute to the solving of global problems.

India has the talent necessary to develop world-class research universities and there are some promising initiatives from the government. The challenge is not a lack of ideas, it is the absence of sustained support and effective implementation, and in India these are formidable obstacles.

GLOBAL Opportunities and barriers to the reimagined university Marguerite J Dennis

GLOBAL Addressing research inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19 Hans de Wit and Philip G Altbach

European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has announced a sweeping range of initiatives designed to ensure that higher education and research play a central role in the European Union’s recovery plans from COVID-19. But politicians fear European budget cuts could derail plans to strengthen research.

Education needs to end the “corrosive culture” of vast student debt and stop servicing league tables and competitive metrics which force universities and staff to compete rather than collaborate, according to Professor Jo Littler of City, University of London in the Worldviews 2020 lecture.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented spurt in global research collaboration in the quest to find a vaccine. Over three weeks, University World News examines the phenomenon that has so far allowed for more than 200 clinical trials to be launched within months of the virus spreading across borders.

GLOBAL Multilateralism vs nationalism in race to provide vaccine Robin Knight

GLOBAL AI acceleration of vaccine research hinges on data quality Liane Siu Slaughter

INDIA India becomes testing ground for global vaccine candidates Shuriah Niazi

BANGLADESH Concerns about late-stage trials of Chinese vaccine Mushfique Wadud