The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest university news from around the world, on 3 June 2013.
UK: Study reveals most expensive cities for students
Research from estate agents haart reveals that both Cambridge and Bristol are more expensive places to study than UK capital London, The Telegraph reports. The study focused on the locations of the 24 Russell Group universities, and considered rental costs, tuition fees and the cost of a pint of beer. Overall, London emerged as the third most expensive destination, while Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Nottingham were all identified as more affordable choices.
Africa: World Bank leading project to strengthen African universities
The World Bank is leading a project to strengthen Africa’s universities, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation reports. The project will focusing on creating 15 Africa Centers of Excellence, based at universities in West and Central Africa. Each will receive US$8 million with the aim of strengthening research and teaching in key areas within health sciences, agriculture, science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Australia: Macquarie University to launch graduate degree in data science
Amidst the growing number of universities offering programs in data science, Australia’s Macquarie University has announced a new graduate course in the subject, IT News reports. The university’s director of information, Neil Fraser, says the program was inspired by similar courses at leading US universities such as Princeton, and that it will be based on “the high-end stuff; the machine learning, the stats, the focus on data tech.” Deakin University also recently announced a new master’s in business analytics.
Global: ‘COIL’ – the next stage of MOOCs?
In an article published by University World News, Hans de Wit argues that the next stage for massive open online courses (MOOCs) is ‘COIL’ – collaborative online international learning. While many MOOCs continue to teach in a fairly traditional way, he says, the COIL approach means using technology to develop “a more interactive and collaborative way of international teaching and learning.” He believes it has the potential to provide students with a taste of what it would be like to study abroad (in some cases actually including a short trip abroad), and also encourages closer collaboration between students and teachers.