The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 15 April 2013.
UK: Controversy over BBC’s use of academic trip to enter North Korea
The UK’s national broadcasting service, the BBC, is facing criticism over its use of an academic visit to gain entry to North Korea while filming a documentary, The Telegraph reports. Three BBC reporters gained entry to the country by joining a group of ten students from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on an eight-day trip. Foreign journalists cannot gain visas for North Korea, but academics and students can. It’s been alleged that the students and university were not made fully aware of the BBC’s intentions beforehand. LSE’s deputy director, George Gaskell, says the incident could put other travelling academics at risk, by undermining perceptions of their “independence and integrity”.
More higher education news from around the world >
Germany: Warnings over shortage of master’s program places
A German research group is warning that the country will soon be unable to meet demand for places on master’s programs, DW reports. In a recently released report, the Centre for Higher Education says the worst case scenario could see 36,000 students unable to find a place on a master’s degree course in 2016. Sina Prasse, a member of the student council at the Free University of Berlin, says they are already seeing too many master’s applicants rejected. She also predicts that if the shortage continues, foreign students may suffer most, as the application process is already lengthier for them.
Australia: Anger over cuts to university funding
Politicians and university representatives are voicing anger over the Australian government’s plan to cut more than A$2 billion (more than US$2bn) from higher education funding, ABC News reports. The funding taken from the higher education budget will be used to help pay for large-scale reforms to the country’s primary and secondary education systems – known as the ‘Gonski’ reforms, after review leader David Gonski. Jade Tyrell, president of the National Union of Students, said, “Rearranging [the budget] in this way - robbing Peter to pay Paul - is a really irresponsible move."
Europe: Report highlights power and limits of university rankings
The impact of university rankings, and their limitations, are highlighted in a new report from the European University Association (EUA), titled Global Universities and their Impact – Report II. The report concludes that rankings are having a growing impact on decision-making both within universities and also in public policy, University World News reports. Among the limitations of rankings, it points out the difficulties of measuring factors such as teaching quality, and of doing justice to arts, humanities and social sciences when measuring research.
How the QS World University Rankings are created >
US: Universities to build world’s biggest telescope in Hawaii
Approval has been granted to start work on what will be the world’s largest telescope, at the top of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii, The Huffington Post reports. The project is being led by universities based in California and Canada, with partners in China, India and Japan, and on land leased by the University of Hawaii. The location has been selected for the height of the peak, and Hawaii’s relatively low light pollution. Costing upwards of US$1 billion, the telescope will be the world’s largest, though perhaps not for long – a planned European project is set to be even bigger.