News/Opportunities from around the World

  UNESCO

  UNESCO: Access to Information; Open Access
UNESCO has released Policy Guidelines for the Development and Promotion of Open Access (OA) to facilitate knowledge-based decision making to adopt OA policies and strengthen national research systems. The publication comprises nine chapters dealing with the development of open access to scientific information and research; approaches to open access; the importance of open access; the benefits of open access; business models; copyright and licensing; strategies to promote open access; policy framework for open access; and a summary of suggested guidelines.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002158/215863e.pdf

UNESCO/Commonwealth of Learning (COL): OER
The presentations and/or conclusions of the Regional Policy Fora for Europe and North America (17 April 2012, Cambridge, UK); Asia-Pacific (23-24 April 2012, Bangkok, Thailand); and the Arab Region (7-8 May 2012, Muscat, Oman) in view of the World OER Congress are now available as well as the Draft Version 7a of the Paris Declaration. Deadline for comments on the draft Declaration: 15 June 2012.
http://oercongress.weebly.com/paris-declaration.html (Draft Declaration)
http://oercongress.weebly.com/index.html

UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC): Regional Cooperation; Educational Associations; Educational Policy
The 4th Meeting of University Networks and Councils of Rectors of Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by IESALC, took place from 5 to 6 May 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It analysed themes such as accreditation and evaluation in Latin America; mobility and internationalisation; recognition of degrees; and regional observatories.
http://www.iesalc.unesco.org.ve/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2718:
ponencias-iv-encuentro&catid=136&Itemid=699

UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC)/ Unión de Universidades de América Latina y el Caribe (UDUAL)/ Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior (ANUIES), México: Rankings
The Meeting organized at the Universidad National Autonoma de México, Mexico on Latin-American Universities and International Rankings: Impacts, Scope, and Limitations in May 2012 led to a Declaration on the topic.
http://www.encuentro-rankings.unam.mx/ (in Spanish)

UNESCO – German Commission: Sustainable Development
The Bonn Recommendations on ESD beyond 2014 was developed during the Horizon 2015 Workshop organized by the German Commission for UNESCO. They offer 17 recommendations to continue the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) efforts after the end of the UN DESD in 2014.
http://www.bne-portal.de/coremedia/generator/unesco/en/07__International_20Workshop_202012/
International_20Workshop.html

  Other international initiatives

  Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF): Prize; Young Researcher; Call for Participation
AUF has launched a call for candidacies to the Francophone Prize for Young Researchers (under 40 years of age) in Science and Medicine or Humanities and Social Sciences. Deadline: 15 July 2012.
http://www.auf.org/actualites/prix-de-la-francophonie-pour-jeunes-chercheurs-6em/

Associação das Universidades de Língua Portuguesa (AULP): Awards; Theses; Call for Participation
The Fernão Mendes Pinto Prize, awarded by AULP in partnership with the Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP), will reward every year a Master’s or a doctoral thesis that contributes to closening links between Portuguese-speaking communities. Deadline: 31 July 2012.
http://aulp.org/parcerias/premios (in Portuguese)

Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU): Researcher; Career Development; Africa
ACU and the British Academy have published Foundations for the Future. Supporting the Early Careers of African Researchers. As a follow-up to The Nairobi Report, published in 2009, it identifies the key areas in which further support needs to be provided and suggests ways in which new collaborative mechanisms might be designed in order to do this.
http://www.acu.ac.uk/publication/download?id=429
Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)/ London International Development Centre (LIDC): Education and Development
The documents of the International Conference on Measuring Impact of Higher Education for Development co-organised by LIDC and ACU from 19 to 20 March 2012, in London, UK include a baseline study, the conference summary and recommendations, the presentations and audio recordings of the 3 sessions (What should be the development intention of higher education (HE) interventions?; Approaches to impact evaluations for HE interventions; and Towards a “perfect” impact evaluation).
http://www.lidc.org.uk/news_detail.php?news_id=149

International Association for Education in Ethics (IAEE): Ethics
The first International Conference in Education on Ethics, whose theme was: Ethics Education in a Global Perspective, took place in Pittsburgh, USA, from 1 to 3 May 2012.
http://www.duq.edu/healthcare-ethics/international-conference/

International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE): Quality Assessment; Call for Participation
ICDE is looking for individuals wishing to conduct institutional quality assessment reviews. Deadline: 29 June 2012.
http://www.icde.org/en/icde_news/Quality+reviews+-+call+for+reviewers.b7C_wJzG0_.ips

International Federation of University Women (IFUW): Human Rights; Women; Call for Participation
IFUW has launched the Conchita Poncini Jimenez Human Rights Fellowship. The competition is open to women scholars and social scientists with a demonstrated commitment to the advancement of women and girls and the attainment of their human rights. Deadline: 30 June 2012.
http://www.ifuw.org/what/fellowships/poncini/

Institute of International Education (IIE): International Education
The IIE 2012 International Education Summit on International Education: A Global Economic Engine, organised from 2 to 3 May 2012 on the occasion of the G8, discussed: National priorities in the promotion of internationalisation of higher education; The economic impact of international education; Academic Mobility; and Institutional cooperation. It brought together the delegations of 15 countries and culminated with the adoption of a Call to Action.
http://www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Events/2012/G8-Conference-2012/Multimedia

International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE): Quality Assurance
The Regional Networks Meeting of INQAAHE Members' Forum 2012 on The Future of External Quality Assurance took place in Melbourne, Australia, from 17 to 18 April 2012. Topics addressed were: the new TEQSA Regulatory Agency for Australian Higher Education; the impact of external quality assurance of higher education, notably in Ibero-America; Developments in the methodology of external quality assurance (QA); Institutional diversity and QA; Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) and the development of an institutional quality culture; Changing Perceptions of the Independence of External Quality Assurance (EQA).
http://www.inqaahe.org/main/events-and-proceedings/inqaahe-2012-forum

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): OER
OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation has released the results of a survey conducted on the 34 OECD Members countries to collect information on today’s policy context related to OER
http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/content/workingpaper/5k990rjhvtlv-en

Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA): Agricultural Education; Africa
CTA has released the final report of the 2nd Partnership Workshop on Tertiary Agricultural Education (TAE) in Africa which took place in Wageningen, The Netherlands, in March 2012. The purpose of the workshop was to provide an opportunity for development partners and African stakeholders to stress the importance of TAE transformation for development and to outline concrete actions.
http://knowledge.cta.int/en/Dossiers/CTA-and-S-T/Selected-publications/2nd-Partnership-
workshop-on-tertiary-agricultural-education-in-Africa-final-report

Universitas 21: Rankings; Education Systems
Universitas 21’s ranking of national higher education systems measures and compares resources (public and private investment), environment (government policy and regulation, diversity and participation opportunities), connectivity (international networks and collaboration) and output (research and its impact, as well as the production of an educated workforce which meets labour market needs) of 48 countries and territories.
http://www.universitas21.com/collaboration/?parentID=48

World Association of Lasallian Universities (IALU): Educational Associations
44 Lasallian higher education institutions from 16 countries created IALU with headquarters in Paris, France. The De La Salle (Lasallian) institutions are founded after St. John Baptist De La Salle, founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and Patron of Christian Teachers.
http://www.lasalle.org/en/2012/04/france-the-creation-of-the-world-association-of-lasallian-universities-ialu/

World Universities Forum (WUF): Awards; Call for Participation
WUF is accepting nominations for its 3 Higher Education Awards (Best Press; Best Policy; and Best Practice). Recipients will be invited to attend the 2013 WUF. Deadline: 30 September 2012.
http://ontheuniversity.com/2012/05/08/now-accepting-nominations-for-2012-higher-education-awards/

  Regional initiatives

  Africa
African ::::::::union::::::::: Educational Policy; Regional Cooperation
The 5th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Ministers of Education of the African ::::::::union:::::::: took place in Abuja, Nigeria, from 23 to 27 April 2012. Ministers discussed whether Africa needed higher education and research and innovative strategies for financing higher education. The African ::::::::union:::::::: 2012 Outlook on Education Report was also presented at that session.
http://www.comedafv.com/

OER Africa: OER; Copyright; Toolkits
OER Africa, an initiative of the South African Institute for Distance Education, has released OER Copyright and Licensing Toolkit. The toolkit is designed to help higher education stakeholders when dealing with copyright and licensing of OER (basic concepts, types of licences, tools and techniques).
http://www.oerafrica.org/copyright/CopyrightandLicencingToolkit/tabid/1781/Default.aspx

Americas
Encontro de Mulheres Líderes das Instituições de Ensino Superior das Américas (EMULIES) : Women ; Leadership ; Educational Management
The 2nd Meeting of women leaders of higher education institutions in the Americas (EMULIES) took place in April in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its theme was 2nd Meeting: A decisive step. Participants discussed measures to improve women’s participation in education. The creation of a portal for the development of women’s leadership in the Americas was announced.
http://www.noticias.uff.br/noticias/2012/04/caei-encontro-mulheres.php (in Portuguese)

Organization of American States (OAS): Scholarships; Undergraduates; Call for Participation
The 2013-2014 OAS scholarships for undergraduate studies for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean Member States have been published. They are offered for full-time studies in any OAS Member State, with the exception of the candidate’s sponsoring country, for the last two years of study leading to an undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent).
http://www.oas.org/en/scholarships/specaf.asp

Asia
Asian Development Bank (ADB): Access to Education
ADB has published a report entitled Access without Equity? Finding a Better Balance in Higher Education in Asia, a regional study on the booming demand for higher education and private provision of higher education, the applications of ICTs in the delivery of higher education and issues raised, and strategies to widen participation and strengthen inclusiveness in higher education.
http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/pub/2012/access-without-equity.pdf
Asian Development Bank (ADB): Educational Strategies; Mongolia
Supporting skills development through higher education reform is one of the objectives of the new five-year country partnership strategy (CPS Mongolia 2012–2016) endorsed by the ADB and the Government of Mongolia. The strategy relies on two pillars: competitive, sustainable, and regionally-integrated growth; and inclusive social development.
http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/cps-mon-2012-2016.pdf

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC): Quality Assurance; Accreditation; Degree Recognition
Mutual recognition of professional degrees and achieving a common regional educational standard, quality assurance and accreditation mechanism were the themes discussed during the Seventh Meeting of the Committee of Heads of University Grants Commissions / Equivalent Bodies held in Thimphu, Bhutan, from 19 to 20 April 2012. Also on the agenda were the development of a credit transfer system within SAARC Universities, a web portal for best practices and expertise sharing on higher education between Member States and the identification of common research themes.
http://www.saarc-sec.org/press-releases/Seventh-Meeting-of-the-Committee-of-Heads-of-
University-Grants-Commissions--Equivalent-Bodies-Thimphu-19--20-April-2012/25/

Europe
Baltic Sea Region University Network (BSRUN): Education and Innovation
The Baltic Seminar of University Administrators (BSUA) on Knowledge Triangle: Education, Research, Innovation was held at Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland from 10 to 11 May 2012. It discussed topics such as Education needs for innovation; The development of educational, research and innovation competences of economic universities; and Baltic cooperation in education, research and innovation – New perspectives.
http://www.bsrun.org/news/t/11885/

Bologna Process: Educational Policy; Regional Development
The eighth edition of the Bologna Ministerial Conference and third edition of the Bologna Policy Forum were held in Bucharest, Romania, from 26 to 27 April 2012 at the Palace of the Parliament. The theme of the third Bologna Policy forum was Beyond the Bologna process: Creating and connecting national, regional and global higher education spaces. The Bucharest Ministerial Communiqué, EHEA Mobility Strategy and the Third Bologna Policy Forum Statement were adopted.
http://www.ehea.info/news-details.aspx?ArticleId=266
See also The European Higher Education Area in 2012: Bologna Process Implementation Report prepared by Eurydice for the Ministerial Conference. It covers issues such as the demographic and funding context for higher education; degree structures and qualifications; quality assurance; the social dimension of higher education; outcomes and employability, as well as lifelong learning and mobility.
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/thematic_reports/138EN.pdf

EURODOC: Doctoral Students
Eurodoc’s Career Development workgroup has released a paper detailing how and why Eurodoc defines doctoral candidates as professionals since they are researchers rather than students.
http://www.eurodoc.net/news/2012/05/18/defining-doctoral-candidates-as-professionals

European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA): Quality Assurance
ENQA has published its Report to the Ministers Responsible for Higher Education in the EHEA. It was presented at the Bologna Ministerial Conference in Bucharest, Romania. It highlights features of the state of development of quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and ENQA’s contribution to developing quality assurance, as well as responses to remaining challenges.
http://www.enqa.eu/files/ENQA_report_EHEA_ministers.pdf

European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE): Lifelong Education; Social Policy
EURASHE held its 22nd Annual Conference on Responding to Challenges for European Higher Education: Lifelong Learning and the Welfare Society from 10 to 11 May in Riga, Latvia. Heads of institutions and programme directors exchanged opinions with experts in lifelong learning and debated on the place of continuous education in the welfare society.
http://www.eurashe.eu/conferences-and-events/eurashe-annual-conferences/22-annual-conference-riga/

European Commission: Student Mobility
More than 231,000 students received Erasmus grants to study or train abroad during the 2010-11 academic year, an 8.5% increase compared to the previous year. The three most popular destinations were Spain, France and Germany.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/454&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr

European Federation of National Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA): Open Access; Science
The ALLEA General Assembly was held at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome, Italy, in April 2012. It culminated with the release of a Declaration (Open Science for the 21st Century) which is a call to scientific communities and their institutions to make decisive steps towards open science and innovation as a means to accelerate the discovery of solutions for societal challenges.
http://www.allea.org/Pages/ALL/33/144.bGFuZz1FTkc.html

European Platform Higher Education Modernisation (MODERN): Leadership; Educational Management; Professional Training
MODERN conducted a survey on training needs for leadership and management professions in European higher education institutions. Mapping the Field: Report on the Needs and the Supply of Higher Education Leadership and Management Training in Europe has been published.
http://www.highereducationmanagement.eu/images/stories/report/modern%20updated%20mapping%20the%20field%20report.pdf

European ::::::::union:::::::: (EU): Educational Programme; Mobility
On 11 May 2012, the European Ministers for Education, led by the Danish EU Presidency, reached an agreement on the contents of EU’s new education and youth programme, Erasmus for All, which will start in 2014.
http://www.eng.uvm.dk/~/UVM-EN/Content/News/Eng/2012/120511-New-Opportunities-for-Education-in-Europe-Erasmus-for-All
European ::::::::union:::::::: (EU): Research; Quality
The EU Presidency organized the International Excellence 2012 Conference in April at Aarhus University, Denmark. Participants discussed excellence in research and higher education and strategies for Europe to stimulate excellence and exchanged ideas on how to ensure that Europe performed excellent research and transformed it into innovative solutions. The meeting culminated in the Aarhus Declaration.
http://www.excellence2012.dk/
European ::::::::union:::::::: (EU): Science and Society
The EU Presidency Conference Science in Dialogue took place in April in Odense, Denmark. It outlined perspectives on how to further develop the dialogue and interaction between science and society and discussed how researchers, innovators and key stakeholders in society could become more mutually responsive and improve cooperation.
http://scienceindialogue.dk/

European University Association (EUA): Doctoral Education; Call for Participation
The EUA Council for Doctoral Education has published a Call for Presentations for its 5th Annual Meeting on Diversified funding of doctoral education to be held at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, from 25 to 26 September 2012. Presentations should address one or more of the following issues: Funding channels and models; Structural funds for the development of doctoral education; Collaboration of universities and the private sector in doctoral education; and Investment and allocation of funding for doctoral education. Deadline: 15 June 2012.
http://www.eua.be/Libraries/Doctoral_week_2012/Call_for_Presentations_5th_CDE_Annual_Meeting.sflb.ashx
European University Association (EUA): Quality Culture
The report Examining Quality Culture Part III: From self-reflection to enhancement summarises the final phase of the project and uses insights and questions to invite institutions to examine and understand the quality cultures already in force at their institution’s level as the foundation for future enhancements.
http://www.eua.be/News/12-04-27/New_publication_final_report_of_Examining_Quality_Culture_project.aspx
European University Association (EUA): Research Projects; Financing
Together with a group of expert practitioners from 21 universities, EUA has carried out an assessment of the proposed Rules for Participation in Horizon 2020. It involved an analysis of the impact of different funding models on different types of research projects in different university environments and led to the recommendation to promote full costing.
http://www.eua.be/News/12-05-11/EUA_promotes_full_costing_in_Horizon_2020_Rules_for_Participation.aspx

Euroscience: Young Researchers; Surveys; Call for Participation
Euroscience is running an online questionnaire for young researchers in order to better understand the challenges, opportunities, motivations and career paths they face. The results will feed into a statement to be addressed to the European Commission.
http://www.euroscience.org/survey.html

League of European Research Universities (LERU): Research Universities; Educational Forecasting
To celebrate its tenth anniversary, LERU held a special conference in Barcelona on 9 and 10 May 2012. Entitled European Research Universities – Guide and Engine for Europe 2050, it provided a unique forum for the leaders of some of Europe’s top research universities to exchange views with their counterparts from outside Europe and with high-level representatives from the government and business sectors. Topics included Research universities in 2012 – A global perspective; Reflections from an EU perspective; and The research university of the future.
http://10yearsleru.org/

Network of Experts on Social Aspects of Education and Training (NESET): Information Dissemination; Access to Education; Website
Cardiff School of Social Sciences has launched the European Commission-funded NESET website, an online resource aimed at supporting the development of better and fairer education across the European ::::::::union::::::::. The NESET website is available in English, French, German and Welsh. It contains links to the latest debates and evidence relating to social aspects of education and training and provides information about relevant news and events.
http://www.nesetweb.eu/news/neset-website-launched

Sachverständigenrat deutscher Stiftungen für Integration und Migration (SVR): Foreign Students
The Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) has published Mobile Talent? The staying intentions of international students in five EU countries. It studies international students in Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Sweden and shows a strong interest among students in staying on temporarily after graduation. The main motivation is to gain international work experience.
http://www.svr-migration.de/content/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Study_Mobile_Talent_Engl.pdf

Inter-Regional Cooperation
Asia/Europe: Inter-Regional Cooperation
The 19th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting took place in April in Brunei Darussalam. Ministers confirmed they would intensify cooperation in the social and cultural field and underlined their interest in higher education cooperation by expanding possibilities for joint degrees and mobility of students and academics under Erasmus Mundus and through closer links between the ASEAN University Network and EUA. The plan of action (2013-2017) highlights the aim to strengthen collaboration between international educational organisations in ASEAN Member States and the EU in order to enhance the quality of education in areas upgrading the standard of teaching, teaching and learning of languages and culture, and use of Information and Communication Technology in education.
http://www.eu-un.europa.eu/articles/fr/article_12122_fr.htm

Asia/Europe: International Education; Recruitment; Ethics
Education officials from the UK, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand have issued a joint statement of principles for ethical international student recruitment, following talks in London, UK, in March 2012 hosted by the British Council. The London Statement stresses the need for professionalism and ethical responsibility on the part of the agents who help schools, colleges and universities to recruit international students.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/press-office/press-releases/landmark-international-code-of-ethics-for-education-agents/

Canada/Brazil: Academic Staff Mobility; Student Mobility; University Cooperation
The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada’s (AUCC) Presidents’ Mission to Brazil has culminated with the signing of 75 new partnerships between Canadian and Brazilian universities. They concern scholarships, student and faculty bilateral mobility, research collaboration, and joint academic programmes.
http://www.aucc.ca/media-room/news-and-commentary/brazil-mission-creates-framework-for-acceleration-of-
university-collaboration
http://www.aucc.ca/media-room/news-and-commentary/presidents-discuss-transfer-of-university-research-to-
private-sector-with-partners-in-brazil

Brazil/Colombia: Student Mobility
The first meeting of Brazilian and Colombian rectors took place in April in Bogota, Colombia. The member universities of the Asociación Colombiana de Universidades (ASCUN) and the Coimbra Group of Brazilian Universities signed an agreement in view of the exchange of students (BRACOL).
http://www.ascun.org.co/index.php?idcategoria=4074

Europe/Africa: Scientific Cooperation; Surveys
The Promoting African-European Research Infrastructure Partnership project conducted a survey in May to see how to improve collaboration between European and African researchers in order to identify major factor hampering collaboration and assess the socio-economic impact of existing collaboration.
http://www.paerip.org/node/75

Europe/China: Education and Culture
On 18 April 2012, the European ::::::::union:::::::: (EU) and China held the first round of the EU-China High Level People-to-People Dialogue in Brussels, Belgium. The initiative covers activities in the fields of education, culture, youth, research, and multilingualism. A Joint Declaration was signed.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/381&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

France/Haiti: Research
The Agence inter-Etablissements de Recherche pour le Développement (AIRD) has released the communiqué of its Seminar on the development and strengthening of research capacities in Haiti which took place in Port au Prince, Haiti, from 19 to 20 April 2012.
http://www.aird.fr/haiti/seminaire-avril2012.html (in French)

Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (OEI): Regional Educational Bodies; ICT
OEI has created the Instituto Iberoamericano de TIC y Educación (IBERTIC), a regional initiative which will serve as a referent as far as ICT and education are concerned. Its aim is to contribute to advance social inclusion. Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, it will focus on research, training and evaluation.
http://www.oei.org.ar/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66:creacion-del-ibertic&catid=1:noticias (in Spanish)

Spain/Algeria: Educational Cooperation; Industry and Education
The first Spanish-Algerian Meeting of Universities took place at the University of Alicante, Spain, in April. It discussed topics such as international cooperation tools; the educational systems of Spain and Algeria; and university-business relations in both countries.
http://www.reuni.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Conclusions.es_.pdf

Universia: Education and Employment
Universia launched the Plan for Employability 2012-2013 for 25,000 academics to find employment at the 12th Summit of the Accionistas de Universia in Murcia, Spain, which took place in May 2012. The Plan is based on knowledge, cooperation, employment and mobility.
http://noticias.universia.net.co/en-portada/noticia/2012/05/11/930027/universia-lanza-plan-bianual-25-000-
universitarios-encuentren-empleo.html (in Spanish)

US/South Africa: Access to Education; Academic Achievement; Grants
The Kresge Foundation, a US Foundation with headquarters in Detroit, US, is renewing its commitment to South African higher education until 2018. The support will improve access to higher education especially for underrepresented populations and help students succeed academically by building the fund-raising capacity of universities so that they can provide more resources to improve graduation rates.
http://www.kresge.org/news/kresge-foundation-makes-multi-year-commitment-bolster-higher-education-south-africa

  National and institutional initiatives

  Australia : International Education; Educational Strategies; Call for Participation
Australian Education International (AEI) has published a Discussion Paper for the Development of an International Education Strategy for Australia that outlines the background to contemporary international education and the internationalization of Australian education and raises a number of themes and questions for consideration to help inform the development of a five-year international education strategy. These are: educational opportunities and outcomes; student experience; sustainability; offshore education delivery; collaboration with the Asian region; the changing global and economic environment; international linkages for science and research collaboration; the impact of international cooperation and promotion on the reputation for quality education. Deadline: 8 June 2012.
https://aei.gov.au/IEAC2/Consultation%28IEAC%29/Documents/InternationalEducationAdvisoryCouncilDiscussionPaper.pdf

Austria: Quality Assurance; Educational Organizations
Through the new Act on Quality Assurance in Higher Education, the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria (AQ Austria) has been established as the single body for external quality assurance. It includes the competences and activities of the Österreichischer Akkreditierungsrat (Austrian Accreditation Council – ÖAR), the Fachhochschulrat (FH Council - FHR), and the Austrian Agency for Quality Assurance (AQA).
http://www.enqa.eu/newsitem.lasso?id=436

Azerbaijan: Curriculum; Educational Autonomy
The Ministry of Education has made the two following announcements:
- Revised minimum state requirements for content and level of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees will be implemented as of next academic year. Skills and learning outcomes will be identified to introduce competency testing and prepare relevant separate education programmes.
http://portal.edu.az/index.php?r=article/item&id=504&mid=0&lang=en
- Universities are to be granted autonomy in determining the choice of subjects to be taught.
http://portal.edu.az/index.php?r=article/item&id=501&mid=0&lang=en

Bahrain: Research; Science Policy
The Higher Education Council organised a meeting to discuss the development of a national strategy in the Kingdom of Bahrain and compile a strategic roadmap for academic research. The aim is to promote socio-economic development and the transfer of technical know-how to the industry and services sectors while turning the Kingdom into an internationally recognized player and switching to a knowledge-based economy.
http://www.moe.gov.bh/en/ShowNews.aspx?record_no=4566

Brazil: Educational Planning
The Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Brasileiras (CRUB) and the Higher Education Secretariat of the Ministry of Education (SESu/MEC) organised a seminar in April 2012 on the State of the Art of the National Education Plan 2011-2020: The point of view of the universities. It was stated that public investment in education should progressively reach 7% of the GNP.
http://www.crub.org.br/destaque_detalhar.php?id_destaque=127 (in Portuguese)

Chile: Doctorate Education
An International Workshop on Doctorates in a University of Excellence, organised by the Chilean Rectors’ Conference, was held at the University of Concepcion in April 2012.
http://www.consejoderectores.cl/site/publicaciones_publicaciones_destacadas.php (in Spanish)

China: Educational Reform
The Seminar China Higher Education Reform was co-organised by Center for China and Globalization (CCG) on 21 April 2012 in order to present and discuss the results of a survey on the progress of China's higher education reform and challenges met. Sessions broached the Philosophy of Chinese education; Chinese higher education governance; Chinese higher education institutions' knowledge innovation system; and Chinese higher education institutions' talents cultivation system.
http://www.ccg.org.cn/ccg/ccgen/2012/0427/989.html

Colombia: Cultural Policy; Education and Culture
The 4th national Meeting of University Cultural Policies took place at the Universidad de Antioquia in April 2012. Its aim was to reflect on a cultural policy for higher education in Colombia.
http://www.ascun.org.co/?idcategoria=4186 (in Spanish)

Finland: International Coauthorship
The number of international co-publications has increased from 25% to 49% in the last 20 years in Finland. There has also been an increase in the share of national cooperation between research organisations. During this timeframe, international co-publications were on average cited more times than publications produced through national cooperation. This information is based on a study titled International Co-authorship in Finland.
http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2012/liitteet/okm19.pdf_1924203533.pdf

France: Digital Libraries
Istex is a programme headed by the University of Lorraine to acquire scientific archives in order to create a digital library that will be available to all universities.
http://www.cpu.fr/fileadmin/fichiers/communiques/Projet_ISTEX.pdf (in French)
France: ICT
The fourth edition of the International Colloquium on the University in the Digital Age took place at the University of Lyons in April 2012. It studied the following themes: learning to teach with digital tools; digital life on the campus; lifelong training; and building a digital strategy: from the local to the international.
http://www2012.org/proceedings/html/ciuen.html
France: Research; Educational Forecasting
A seminar on Research at University for 2025 was organised in Paris in April 2012 in the framework of the cycle of seminars on Which university landscape in 2025 in France? The opening session was devoted to the trends in higher education in OECD countries and the place of France on the international scene. This was followed by an analysis of the knowledge society.
http://www.aeres-evaluation.fr/Actualites/Actualites-de-l-agence/Seminaire-La-recherche-a-l-Universite-a-l-horizon-2025 (in French)

Gambia: Educational Policy
The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and other stakeholders met to review the country’s higher education policy. It defines the coverage of higher education which encompasses technical, vocational, and research education; the quality assurance procedure with the establishment of a Higher Education Observatory and a National Training Authority; and means for monitoring the implementation of the policy.
http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/higher-education-policy-reviewed

Germany: Doctoral Education; Quality Assurance
The Executive Board of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) has adopted eleven guidelines for the quality assurance of doctoral examinations. They were put forward at the HRK Annual General Meeting in Hamburg. Doctoral study and exam regulations should be designed and applied in such a way as to be transparent at every stage and to guarantee integrity in the practice of science and research.
http://www.hrk.de/de/beschluesse/109_6791.php?datum=Empfehlung+des+Pr%26auml%3
Bsidiums+der+HRK+vom+23.4.2012+an+die+promotionsberechtigten+Hochschulen
Germany: Quality Assurance; Management Audit
On 24 April 2012, the General Meeting of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) put forward proposals to establish an “institutional quality audit”. A quality audit evaluates whether a university’s structures and procedures are fit for purpose to achieve the standards of teaching and study as defined by the university itself.
http://www.hrk.de/de/beschluesse/109_6843.php?datum=12.+Mitgliederversammlung+der+HRK+am+24.4.2012

India: Higher Education Institutions; Research and Development; Industry and Education
In a speech given at the India-UK Round Table Conference on Innovation and Skill Development on 20 April 2012, the Minister for Human Resource presented future initiatives for knowledge creation and dissemination. They included the setting up of ‘Innovation Universities’, which are fully autonomous institutions specialized by areas; the creation of ‘Cluster Innovation Centers’ for research and development in higher education institutions which strengthen industry-academia links; the creation of the first ‘Global Meta university’, an international ICT-based network of universities collaborating to offer cross-discipline courses.
http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Rel20042012_1.pdf

Japan: Private Education; Private Universities; Educational Associations
The Association of Private Universities of Japan (AJAP)’s major priorities and projects for 2012 are: the establishment of a new infrastructure for the promotion of private schools; the revitalization and enhancement of education and research; the promotion of international exchange and cooperation; the enhancement of private university fiscal fundamentals; the enhancement of academic administration and management; and the promotion of public relations activities.
http://www.shidaikyo.or.jp/englishsite/apuj/projects.html

New Zealand: Academic Libraries
The country’s eight University libraries have decided to mutualize and reduce to a single copy their collection of low-use print journals that will be transferred to a commercial storage provider - the Crown Records Manager Company - in order to free space and cut costs.
http://www.universitiesnz.ac.nz/node/683
New Zealand: Academic Teaching Personnel; Wages
Universities New Zealand – Te Pokai Tara has released the report University Staff Academic Salaries and Remuneration 2012 that studies New Zealand’s academic staff salaries and non-salary benefits compared to that of Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the U.S.A.
http://www.universitiesnz.ac.nz/files/University%20Staff%20Academic%20Salaries%20and%20Remuneration%20-%20Final.pdf

Nicaragua: Digital Libraries
A workshop on the Development of Consortia was held in May 2012. It was the second meeting in the framework of the Strategic Plan of Action 2012-2016 to improve access to on-line databases. It stressed the need for a Consortium of libraries.
http://www.cnu.edu.ni/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=232:a-fortalecer-las-bibliotecas&catid=31:notas-2012&Itemid=38

Niger: Academic Teaching Personnel; Educational Legislation
In May 2012, the National Assembly adopted new autonomous statutes for teachers/researchers of public universities to modernize and enhance the quality of higher education training and research.
http://www.nigeronline.info/actualites/archives.php?id=723 (in French)

Norway: Science Facilities; Science Policy
The Research Council of Norway has updated its national strategy for research infrastructure and drawn up a new roadmap for strategically important infrastructures. The new versions of Tools for research – Part I and Part II set out the Research Council’s vision for Norway’s research infrastructure landscape and present the strategic foundation for the approach to and prioritisation of activities relating to research infrastructure.
http://www.forskningsradet.no/en/Newsarticle/Updated_national_strategy_and_roadmap/1253976753949
Norway: Science Finance
The report Evaluation of the Norwegian Scheme for Independent Research Project (FRIPRO) published by the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education concludes that FRIPRO supports basic research of high scientific quality. FRIPRO also seems to be having an important impact on research recruitment and on opportunities for female researchers. Results are mixed concerning scientific renewal.
http://www.nifu.no/Norway/Publications/2012/NIFU%20Webrapport%20-%2010%20April%202012.pdf
Norway: University and Society
The University of Oslo working paper Internal Transformation and External Engagement: Building a New University maps out the structural and cultural changes brought by changes in legal status; the role of the university in the context of its immediate geographic surroundings; and the prevalence of global models for organizing activities, including their impact on external engagement processes.
http://www.uv.uio.no/english/research/groups/heik/heik-working-paper-series/docs/HEIKwp201202_pinheiro.pdf

Pakistan: Educational Fees; Access to Education
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is developing a fee-refund policy for all public sector universities on request of the Islamabad High Court that recently declared the non-refund policy practised by educational institutions illegal. HEC is also working on the formulation of a consolidated and uniform admission test policy for students.
http://beta.hec.gov.pk/MediaPublication/PressReleases/Pages/HEC%20to%20Formulate%20Fee%20Refund%20Policy%20%2804-05-2012%29.aspx

Saudi Arabia: Educational Quality; Teaching Universities
The 3rd International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education on World Class Teaching Universities was organized by the Ministry of Higher Education on 17 and 18 April in Riyadh. It discussed topics such as World Class University System; Higher Education in a Knowledge Based Economy; and Global Competition in Higher Education.
http://ieche.com.sa/web/index.php?lang=en

South Africa: Sustainable Development; Green Campus
The Minister of Higher Education and Training launched the Green Campus Initiative (AGCI) on 21 April 2012. It aims to promote environmental sustainability and climate change interventions at higher education campuses in the country.
http://www.info.gov.za/speech/DynamicAction?pageid=461&sid=26756&tid=65053

Spain: Educational Finance
The Council of Ministers has approved the Law on urgent measures to rationalise public expenditure on education. They include incorporating the principle of budget stability; rationalizing the number of graduates and limiting the number of staff recruitments.
http://www.educacion.gob.es/horizontales/prensa/notas/2012/04/20120420-consejo-ministros.html (in Spanish)
Spain: Entrepreneurship; Call for Participation
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya launched an Ideas Competition on 23 April 2012. It is to run for 17 weeks and is designed to catalyse creativity as an antidote to the crisis. The university is looking to support the values of talent and open collaboration in order to drive entrepreneurship and generate opportunities.
http://www.uoc.edu/portal/english/sala-de-premsa/actualitat/noticies/2012/noticia_058/noticia_058.html

Sweden: Quality Assurance
The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education (HSV): Review of ENQA Membership reviews the extent to which the Agency complies with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) for external quality assurance agencies and with the membership criteria of the European Association for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (ENQA).
http://www.hsv.se/download/18.1c6d4396136bbbed2bd80002238/HSV_review-ENQA-Criteria-Report-April2012.pdf

Switzerland: Educational Policy; Monitoring
The Swiss Rectors’ Conference (CRUS) has published its 2nd intermediate monitoring report on Bologna in which it describes the reformed programmes in Swiss universities for the years 2010 and 2011. It believes that the Bologna structural reform has been successful.
http://www.crus.ch/index.php?id=3081&L=1 (in French)
Switzerland: Educational Systems
The brochure Studying in Switzerland : Universities, 2012 has just been published.
http://www.crus.ch/news/news/vue-detaillee.html?L=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=659&cHash=b661fb92c582b3e0dfef1b5b3adcadd8

Thailand: Higher Education Institutions
The Ministry of Education has announced that, following approval of a plan to upgrade leading vocational schools into universities, 161 schools will merge into 19 regional undergraduate institutions specialized in industrial arts and applied science. With the emergence of these new vocational universities, the study period for undergraduate degree completion will drop from two-and-a-half years to two years.
http://www.en.moe.go.th/index.php?view=article&catid=1%3Anews&id=591%3A161-vocational-
schools-to-get-upgrade-to-universities&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=42
Thailand: Research Universities
The 1st Thailand National Research Universities Summit was held on 29 April 2012. It allowed 9 Thai research universities to present their work and build a network amongst them.
http://www.en.moe.go.th/index.php?view=article&catid=1%3Anews&id=577%3A1st-thailand-
national-research-universities-summit&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=42

Tunisia: Academic Teaching Personnel
Tunisia has launched two calls for candidacies in order to recruit 2.359 assistant and associate professors. Candidates must hold a Doctorate degree.
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/printable/201204220257.html (in French)

Ukraine: Educational Reform
A conference on Higher Education in Ukraine: Internationalization, Reform, Innovation took place in Kyiv from 20 to 21 April 2012. It broached topics such as University governance and educational policy; From teaching universities to research universities; National qualifications framework; and Employers’ involvement in higher education.
http://www.educationconferenceua2012.org.ua/

United Kingdom: Educational Decentralization
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has published Universities and Constitutional Change in the UK: The impact of devolution on the higher education sector. This report considers whether the process of devolution in the UK has encouraged the development of more distinctive higher education (HE) policies and assesses the impact of devolution on the HE sectors in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since 1999.
http://www.hepi.ac.uk/455-2053/Universities-and-constitutional-change-in-the-UK--the-impact-
of-devolution-on-the-higher-education-sector.html
United Kingdom: Educational Strategies
The Minister of Employment and Learning launched the Northern Ireland's first higher education strategy: Graduating to Success on 24 April 2012. The strategy details the direction for higher education policy between 2012 and 2020 and focuses on responsiveness, quality, accessibility, and flexibility.
http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/press-releases/press-releases-april-to-june-2012/graduating-to-
success-minister-launches-higher-education-strategy-for-northern-ireland.htm
United Kingdom: ePortfolio
Two online resources providing guidance on large-scale implementation of e-portfolio tools in UK further and higher education are available to supplement the 2008 JISC publication, Effective Practice with e-Portfolios. The online resources, five video case-studies and an online toolkit for managers and practitioners, explore the issues, challenges and benefits of scaling up e-portfolio use across a university or college, and offer opportunities to explore the pros and cons of different approaches and methodologies.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/eportimplement
United Kingdom: Postgraduate Education; Academic Achievement
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has published Rates of Qualification from Postgraduate Research Degrees. Projected study outcomes of full-time students starting postgraduate research degrees in 2008-09 and 2009-10. The data show that around two-thirds of the students who started research degrees in English higher education institutions in 2009-10 are projected to qualify within seven years, and around three-quarters will qualify over a longer period.
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2012/201210/2012-10.pdf
United Kingdom: Quality Assurance
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has launched a consultation on the introduction of a risk-based approach to quality assurance in higher education in England which proposes that the frequency, nature and intensity of external quality assurance will be guided by each higher education provider’s record in assuring the quality of its provision, as well as the nature of that provision. Deadline: 31 July 2012.
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2012/201211/2012-11.pdf
United Kingdom: Student Mobility
The report Recommendations to Support UK Outward Student Mobility examines the incentives and obstacles to students studying and working abroad and makes recommendations to ensure that their numbers increase in the future. It notes that obstacles include inflexibility in the curriculum and the lack of recognition students receive for their time abroad. It recommends making it easier for students to spend time abroad via shorter placements and calls for the experience to be recognised academically so that time abroad counts towards a British degree.
http://www.international.ac.uk/media/1515947/Recommendations%20to%20Support%20UK%20Outward%20Student%20Mobility.pdf
United Kingdom: Critical Thinking; Call for Participation
Contributions are invited for a book on the topic of Critical Thinking in Higher Education to be edited by Emeritus Professor Ronald Barnett (Institute of Education, University of London), Emeritus Professor Robert H. Ennis (University of Illinois), and Associate Professor Martin Davies (University of Melbourne). Contributions can cover, but are not limited to, the following areas: Philosophical Issues; Educational Practices, Pedagogy; New technologies and the sciences; and Critical Thinking as a part of Professional Education. Deadline for abstracts: 1 July 2012.
http://philevents.org/event/show/2375

United States of America: Access to Education; Education and Employment
The Lumina Foundation has released the report A Stronger Nation through Higher Education that features statistics and analyses on the levels of education and attainment rates nationally and per state. Highlighting the relationship between higher education attainment and the nation’s economic future - particularly job growth and employment - it takes stock of progress made and calls for action to reach the 60% goal by 2025.
http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/A_Stronger_Nation-2012.pdf
United States of America: Access to Education
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has published the report Reclaiming the American Dream Community Colleges and the Nation’s Future that deal with the necessary transformations of community colleges to ensure national progress and that the overall goal of educating an additional 5 million students graduates by 2020 is reached.
http://www.aacc.nche.edu/AboutCC/21stcenturyreport/21stCenturyReport.pdf
United States of America: Educational Grants
Brookings has released a report on Beyond Need and Merit: Strengthening State Grant Programs that discusses the importance of student aid at a time of tuition increase, cuts in funding and shrinking household budgets. It examines the State grant programmes currently available and makes policy recommendations to improve aid to students with financial need; consolidate and simplify aid programmes; design programmes that encourage timely completion; and improve State grant programmes in a difficult financial context.
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2012/5/08%20grants%20chingos%20
whitehurst/0508_state_grant_chingos_whitehurst.pdf
United States of America: ICT
EDUCAUSE has released The Game Changers: Education and Information Technologies, a compilation of contributions from higher education institutions’ administrators, faculty and other stakeholders that discusses challenges faced by the sector and demonstrates through case studies how information technology and new models or approaches can help to overcome these challenges and improve the quality, flexibility, and scalability of postsecondary education.
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7203.pdf
United States of America: Internationalization
The National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA) has published a paper on Measuring and Assessing Internationalization that presents and discusses performance of institutions and student learning outcomes as the two distinct but complementary frameworks for evaluating the results of internationalization.
http://www.nafsa.org/uploadedFiles/NAFSA_Home/Resource_Library_Assets/Publications_Library/
Measuring%20and%20Assessing%20Internationalization.pdf