Protest at rise of 'missile Monika'
Students are protesting at the election of Monika Auweter-Kurtz as president of the University of Hamburg after accusing her of being an armaments researcher. The university's council elected the 55-...
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Strewth! They don't talk Strine
Foreign students arriving in Australia are struggling with "Strine". They fail to understand the truncated words that render sentences meaningless to outsiders. A survey of foreign students found...
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Call for investigation as activist dies in prison
An Iranian student activist arrested in a clampdown after student demonstrations in 1999 has died in prison. Amnesty International and the New York-based academic rights network Scholars at Risk (Sar...
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US rage at textbook price hike
The spiralling cost of university textbooks since multinational companies gained near-monopolies on the business has begun to anger not only students and their parents but also state legislatures and...
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Student unrest unnerves the Chinese
China's rising tide of civil unrest has mainly involved workers and peasants, but the Government is acutely aware of the danger of student discontent. Student anger has historically been a forerunner...
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Loans fail to aid the poor
Canada's desire to make university tuition fees more affordable is diverting money from targeted programmes that could better attract low-income students, a financial aid think-tank says. The Toronto...
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Euro superpower is our launch pad for success
UK science needs more investment and close links with our near neighbours, says Martin Rees. This country still punches above its weight in science - but the global competition is strengthening fast...
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'Universities, first and foremost, promote the "free pursuit of rational inquiry" as the route to understanding'
At a recent seminar I got into an argument with the chief executive of an organisation that awards vocational qualifications. It was about which certificates had value in today's labour market, and...
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Rui Baptista-Gonçalves: Fit for purpose
Competing in a triathlon It was only as I made my way through the crowded cavern of the ExCel Centre's hall that I realised the sheer size of this year's Michelob Ultra London Triathlon. Thousands of...
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An offer they can't refuse
Readers are recommended to follow the example of Dr Smith (not his real name) who had one too many rejection letters. In a letter to a university head of department, he writes: "Thank you for your...
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I think, therefore I am - away
Golly, Oxford University must be generous with its sabbaticals. In his out-of-office e-mail, Ralph Walker, a doctor of philosophy based at Magdalen College, writes: "I will be out of the office...
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More than just a cold shoulder
Rumour has it that senior civil servants, as well as vice-chancellors, are on the shortlist for the post of director-general of higher education at the Department for Education and Skills. This may...
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Satisfaction not guaranteed
As admissions officers prepare for this month's rush to fill degree places in clearing, they'll be delighted to hear that the Higher Education Funding Council for England has decided to publish the...
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l'm an MP, get me into the red-tops
From entertainer-with-a-cause to politician-turned-media star, the worlds of politics and celebrity are merging, writes Ellis Cashmore. So you want to be a politician, eh? Let's see: what...
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An instrument too blunt to judge sharp minds
Metrics may appeal to the RAE-weary but, warns Claire Donovan, Australians fear the numbers do not add up. I am quite partial to pointing out the injustices of using science-friendly metrics to...