Criza din UE, subiect de dezbatere într-o amplă conferinţă internaţională la Facultatea de Filosofie
La Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza“ va avea loc o conferinţă internaţională pe teme europene intitulată „Uniunea Europeană - crize şi graniţe în secolul XXI“, care a ajuns deja la ediţia a treia. Aceasta este organizată de Departamentul de Cercetare, Departamentul de Ştiinţe Politice, Relaţii Internaţionale şi Studii Europene de la Facultatea de Filosofie şi Ştiinţe Social Politice şi se va desfăşura pe 17 mai 2019.
Evenimentul nu este unul deschis exclusiv cercetătorilor, fiind invitaţi să participe studenţi, masteranzi sau doctoranzi, pe lângă cercetători, specialişti în ştiinţe politice, studii de securitate, relaţii internaţionale şi studii europene, drept, sociologie, istorie, studii culturale, jurnalism, antropologie politică, geografie socială sau politică etc. „Uniunea Europeană trece printr-o poli-criză de natura endogenă, dar care este accentuată de o serie de aspecte exogene, care se originează în noua arhitectură geostrategică a lumii contemporane. Astfel, criza economică suprapusă peste necesitatea unui nou contract social care să relegitimeze Uniunea Europeană în rândul propriilor săi cetăţeni trebuie să fie gestionată în contextul în care se produce o recalibrare a echilibrului internaţional al puterii“, au precizat organizatorii. Aceştia au mai precizat că această conferinţă îşi propune să identifice şi să analizeze care sunt provocările cu care se confruntă UE la 60 de ani de când au intrat în vigoare Tratatele de la Roma şi să ofere o imagine amplă a felului în care această uniune trebuie reformată. Pentru a se putea înscrie, participanţii trebuie să trimită un rezumat al lucrării de maximum 200 de cuvinte şi o scurtă biografie de maximum 100 de cuvinte până la 1 mai, iar autorii propunerilor vor fi anunţaţi până la data de 6 mai 2019.
Publicație : Ziarul de Iași
Mii de volume, unele chiar din Franţa, dăruite de profesori renumiţi către BCU Iaşi
Văduva de 100 de ani a unui regretat profesor universitar a donat 2.000 de volume Bibliotecii
Biblioteca Centrală Universitară „Mihai Eminescu“ din Iaşi s-a bucurat în ultimii ani de donaţii importante făcute de profesori universitari sau de diverşi intelectuali, o parte făcută de cei încă în viaţă, o altă parte de rudele acestora, însumând mii de volume preţioase care au fost adăugate patrimoniului BCU Iaşi, ce a ajuns deja la 2,5 milioane de volume.
Cea mai recentă este o donaţie de 2.000 de volume a venit luna trecută, în martie, din partea Elenei Străchinaru, văduva profesorului Ion Străchinaru, fostă profesoară de limbă română la Liceul „Alexandru Ioan Cuza“ din Iaşi, care a ajuns acum la vârsta de 100 de ani. Aceasta a donat Bibliotecii de Psiho-Pedagogice, Educaţie fizică şi Sport a BCU Iaşi volume din biblioteca profesorului care constau în cărţi valoroase din domeniilor ştiinţelor educaţiei şi psihologiei apărute în perioada 1965-1990, unele dintre ele fiind în limba franceză.
„Fondul Străchinaru“
„Profesorul Ion Străchinaru a fost un pedagog şi psiholog român, unul dintre primii specialişti în psihopedagogie specială din România. S-a născut în 1922, la Bohotin, şi a decedat la 95 de ani, în 2017, la Iaşi. A luptat în al doilea război mondial ca locotenent, fiind grav rănit în munţii Tatra. Fondul Străchinaru, constituit prin decizia conf. dr. Ioan Milică, directorul BCU Iaşi, şi prin concursul generos al doamnei Daniela Dimitriu, şef serviciu ştiinţe sociale, este o expresie a ataşamentului marelui cărturar dispărut în 2017 faţă de Alma Mater Iassiensis şi, cu siguranţă, o expresie a preocupării şi iubirii lui faţă de tânăra generaţie“, au precizat reprezentanţii BCU Iaşi. Acestea nu sunt singurele donaţii de amploare pe care le procesează acum angajaţii bibliotecii. Doar în ultimul an au mai fost cel puţin patru donaţii relevante, care însumează mii de cărţi valoroase. Din donaţia fostului director al BCU, Corneliu Ştefanache, au fost înregistrate deja şi pregătite pentru public peste 1.000 de titluri, spre exemplu, doar la Unitatea Centrală a BCU. La fel, tot la Unitatea Centrală se regăsesc 1.101 de titluri din domeniile istorie, literatură şi artă din colecţia personală donată de academicianul Ioan Caproşu, dar încă nu au fost procesate toate documentele donate. Un alt donator important din ultima perioadă este prof.dr. Marina Mureşeanu, de la Facultatea de Litere a UAIC, care vine zilnic la universitate să ajute la sortarea volumelor donate, în timp ce una dintre cele mai surprinzătoare donaţii din ultimul an a venit din Franţa.
Un francez îndrăgostit de Iaşi
Prof.dr. Ilinca Barthouil Ionescu, soţia profesorului Georges Barthouil de la Universitatea din Avignon, Franţa, a trimis 75 de colete cu peste 600 de cărţi şi albume din domenii precum literatura, arta şi turismul. „Încă de la începuturile ei, Biblioteca Centrală Universitară a fost onorată să fie gazda unor donaţii de carte importante făcute de profesorii Universităţii din Iaşi. Sunt şi astăzi cunoscute fonduri celebre lăsate de profesorii noştri, precum fondul Ibrăileanu, care conţine şi documentele personale ale profesorului. Înainte existau colecţii cu numele donatorului, dar fiindcă s-a mărit foarte mult numărul de volume aflate în gestiune, ele se integrează în colecţiile curente, iar documentele personale, scrisorile, manuscrisele, se integrează în colecţiile speciale. Donaţiile ocupă un loc distinct şi important în tezaurul de documente aflat în gestiunea bibliotecii, iar povestea donatorilor importanţi pentru constituirea şi dezvoltarea colecţiilor noastre este o poveste emoţionantă şi frumoasă“, a precizat conf.dr. Ioan Milică, directorul BCU Iaşi.
Publicație : Ziarul de Iași
Una dintre cele mai importante figuri ale Bisericii Catolice, Cardinalul Luis F. Ladaria S.I., prezent ASTAZI la Universitatea "Cuza" din Iasi
Astazi, 3 aprilie 2019, Universitatea "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" (UAIC) din Iasi ii confera titlul de Doctor Honoris Causa (DHC) Eminentei Sale Cardinalul Luis F. Ladaria, prefect al Congregatiei pentru Doctrina Credintei si presedinte al Comisiei Pontificale "Ecclesia Dei" si al Comisiei Pontificale Biblice din Vatican. Acesta este una dintre cele mai importante figuri ale Bisericii Catolice.
Evenimentul este programat în Aula Magna "Mihai Eminescu", începând cu ora 11:00. Motivul pentru care Consiliul Facultatii de Teologie Romano-Catolica l-a propus pe profesorul si cardinalul Ladaria Senatului Universitatii "Cuza" în vederea acordarii titlului de Doctor Honoris Causa este dublu.
"Primul consta în recunoasterea realizarilor pe care Eminenta Sa le-a adunat în cei peste 30 de ani de activitate didactica si de cercetare teologica la UniversitateaPontificala Comillas din Spania si la Universitatea Pontificala Gregoriana din Roma. Al doilea motiv se refera la ceea ce Eminenta Sa reprezinta pentru comunitatea noastra locala, academica si ecleziala, ca membru al Societatii lui Isus si ca prefect al Congregatiei pentru Doctrina Credintei din Vatican", au motivat reprezentantii Universitatii "Cuza".
De remarcat ca Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer s-a nascut la Manacor (Insulele Baleare - Mallorca), la 19 aprilie 1944. Prima etapa a formarii sale academice a avut loc în orasul natal, în colegiul iezuitilor din Palma de Mallorca, dupa care si-a continuat studiile superioare la Universitatea Nationala din Madrid, unde a obtinut licenta în Drept, în anul 1966. Putin timp dupa aceea, la 17 octombrie 1966, a intrat în Societatea lui Isus, unde începe a doua etapa a formarii sale, cea în domeniul teologiei. A urmat studiile de Filosofie în cadrul Universitatii Pontificale Comillas din Madrid, iar pe cele de teologie la Facultatea Filosofico-Teologica Sankt Georgen din Frankfurt, condusa de parintii iezuiti, unde a obtinut licenta în Teologie.
La 1 iulie 2017, a fost numit, de Papa Francisc, prefect al Congregatiei pentru Doctrina Credintei si presedinte al Comisiei Pontificale "Ecclesia Dei" si al Comisiei Pontificale Biblice din Vatican. A fost creat cardinal în cadrul consistoriului din 28 iunie 2018.
Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași
Universities spending millions on marketing to attract students
Guardian investigation reveals growing ad budgets among lower and middle ranking institutions
A limited resource: universities are hiring marketing firms and billboards in increasingly competitive recruitment campaigns to attract undergraduates. Photograph: Chris Ison/PA
Universities are spending millions of pounds on marketing in a battle to recruit students as competition intensifies in the higher education sector, a Guardian investigation can reveal.
Data obtained from freedom of informationrequests shows universities spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on digital advertising and social media in a direct appeal to 18-year-olds, as well as adverts on billboards, buses and the London underground.
The highest spending universities are those in the lower and middle ranks of the UK league tables, who invest huge sums to attract sufficient students to fill their courses and bring in vital income with their £9,250 annual tuition fees in an increasingly cut-throat recruitment climate.
Among the big spenders was the University of Central Lancashire with a total marketing spend of £3.4m for 2017-18. The University of the West of England’s annual marketing budget was £3m, Middlesex spent £2.6m and followed by Gloucestershire allocated £1.9m to its overall marketing spend.
Of the universities who broke down their marketing budgets to detail specifically their spend on recruiting new undergraduates, the highest spending institution was the University of East London, which invested more than £1.3m on marketing and advertising, not including expenditure on open days and publications.
Anglia Ruskin University was the next highest, spending just under £1.19m targeting prospective undergraduates in the UK, of which £515,000 went on advertising on search engines, £352,000 on social media and just £6,000 on print. The University of Bedfordshire spent £1.08m, which equates to £432 for every undergraduate enrolled.
The information obtained by the Guardian’s FoI revealed some universities employed large numbers of staff in their marketing teams. Anglia Ruskin said it employed 120 full-time equivalent members of staff; Warwick University, a member of the prestigious Russell group, said it employed 106 staff in a range of marketing roles across the institution.
The University and College Union, which represents higher education staff, accused universities of favouring style over substance. “It is clearly important that universities make potential students aware of the benefits of higher education,” said the union’s acting general secretary, Paul Cottrell, “but the spiralling growth in spending on marketing stands in direct contrast to the way the pay and conditions of those who deliver to students has been held down.
“Students pay record levels of fees, staff are not paid enough, yet millions are being spent on marketing as institutions appear to favour style over substance. This approach is at odds at what students actually say they want.”
Many of the 134 universities that were approached refused to divulge financial information, citing commercial sensitivity.
In England, the lifting of the cap on the number of students universities can recruit, together with a demographic fall in the number of 18-year-olds, has resulted in an aggressive new market in higher education. Higher-ranking universities are taking on students who would once have gone to mid and lower-ranking institutions.
Many universities are facing financial pressures, with nearly one in four in deficit in England last year and warnings of redundancies. Brexit and the looming Augar review into higher education funding, with the possibility of a cut in tuition fees, is also adding to the uncertainty engulfing universities.
Nicola Dandridge, the chief executive of the Office for Students higher education sector regulator, said: “It’s for universities to decide how they allocate their resources and it is, of course, understandable that they will want to market their courses to students.”
In Scotland, which does not have the same higher education market – there is still a cap on student numbers and no tuition fees – universities are spending significantly less on advertising than most of their English counterparts. Glasgow Caledonian University spent just £47,504 and the University of Strathclyde spent £117,028, which amounts to £8.22 for every undergraduate enrolled.
Of the 42 universities that supplied figures to the Guardian, the lowest spending institutions in England were Durham (£70,570) and Exeter (£171,766), both of which benefit from strong reputations. Cambridge said it did not have a marketing department, but spent £183,232 on open days, prospectuses and films.
The responses reveal that competition to recruit students is particularly ferocious during clearing after A-level results have been published, when students who fail to meet the requirements of their original offers can find places at other universities.
Essex University paid £119,169 to the marketing company McCann and the student marketing platform Net Natives received £105,970 from Heriot-Watt to run their respective clearing campaigns. Heriot-Watt spent over £100,000 more on advertising during clearing than on its original undergraduate recruitment campaign.
The National Union of Students said: “Increased marketisation of education has created wasteful competition that benefits neither students nor the public.”
A spokesperson for Universities UK, which represents 136 higher education providers, said: “Recent government policy, including the Higher Education and Research Act, has had the intention of creating a more vibrant market and a focus on student choice, so it’s not surprising that we have seen changes in behaviour and different marketing strategies across the sector.”
Anglia Ruskin said its £1.19m spend included all marketing costs with a significant proportion spent on working with schools and colleges to increase social mobility.
“The [120] staff in our marketing team cover a variety of responsibilities including admissions, schools outreach, alumni engagement and managing our website. Only a small proportion of the team have a traditional ‘marketing’ role. Significantly more are employed helping to fulfil our important widening participation mission,” it said.
The University of Central Lancashire said the £3.4m was the total marketing spend on undergraduate, postgraduate and research student activity, in the UK and internationally, adding that it represented “only 1.5% of our total turnover”.
Publicație : The Guardian
Universities must walk the talk on sustainable development
Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology has integrated sustainability into all parts of its business, says Göran Finnveden
The year 2015 was remarkable in many ways. Countries around the world agreed on the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and committed themselves to the Paris Agreement on climate change. Both initiatives require significant transformations of societies around the world.
It is obvious that higher education institutions have fundamental roles in these transformations. We are educating future leaders and citizens who will be responsible and should be able to contribute to sustainable development. We must develop new and more sustainable solutions, engage ourselves in evidence-based policymaking, provide platforms for societal learning and interactions, develop indicators and participate in the monitoring of development, and be a societal actor that takes a long-term perspective. We must also make sure that our own operations are in line with sustainable development.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology is committed to sustainable development. Our work on this area started before 2015, but the SDGs are now used as a framework for this activity. Looking backwards, we can see that we have used a double-track strategy in three different ways.
The first double-track strategy is to work on both core activities (education, research and collaboration) as well as on our own internal initiatives. We have learned that if we are going to be credible in education and research, we must “walk the talk” on sustainable development. This is relevant for environmental issues, but equally so for social aspects. We need to create good working environments and job security, promote gender equality and support innovations from students and faculty, to name a few examples. Innovation is vital, and we see more and more examples of innovations fundamentally contributing to the SDGs.
The second double-track strategy is integration and specialisation. We often get asked whether sustainable development should be integrated into normal activities, plans and programmes, or be a specialised activity. Our conclusion is that we need both, but integration is the overarching goal.
For example, sustainable development should be integrated into all our educational programmes at all levels so that our graduates can contribute to sustainable social development. Sustainable development should also be integrated into all everyday decisions, programmes and plans at the university, and we are currently working to incorporate it into our quality systems. However, we also need specialised knowledge in education and research as well as in administration. We have, therefore, created a sustainability office that can support administrators and academic departments with relevant specialised knowledge.
The third double-track strategy is to combine top-down and bottom-up approaches. It is important that senior management sets priorities and goals, provides necessary resources and makes sure that there are follow-up mechanisms. But in a complex organisation, top management cannot decide on how goals should be implemented in detail. For example, in education, programme directors and teachers know their programmes, students and faculty. They should decide on how sustainable development should be integrated into their courses.
This can be supported at the central level. KTH has, for example, developed a pedagogical course on learning for sustainable development that is open to all teachers. We have also developed a web-based toolbox with suggestions for learning activities and course literature as well as shorter course modules on topics such as social sustainable development and sustainable business development. It is also important to be able to support bottom-up initiatives for new courses or collaborations.
Sustainable development requires long-term commitment and a strategy to institutionalise the work. This can include educational programmes, faculty positions and institutional arrangements that have a long term-perspective as well as a certified environmental management system. Having implemented these arrangements, it is up to us to set the goals. Our stated goal is to be a leading technical university in sustainable development.
Publicație : The Times
German universities fear losing monopoly over doctorates
University leaders claim shift could water down standards, but applied sciences institutes think they are simply defending historic privileges
German higher education is bitterly divided over plans to strip universities of their monopoly over doctoral degrees and allow applied sciences institutes to award PhDs independently.
University leaders have warned that the changes could cause an “earthquake” that will disrupt the country’s finely balanced, specialised higher education system. But their critics accuse them of trying to preserve unjustified privileges.
Currently, only universities can award doctoral degrees in Germany. This has led to frustration among the country’s universities of applied sciences, which rely on the cooperation of full universities to train doctoral students.
The issue has come to a head with a proposed law in North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous state, which wants to create a centralised doctoral college that could award its own qualifications without needing a university.
“It’s a kind of earthquake in the whole German scientific system,” warned Lambert Koch, rector of the University of Wuppertal.
Universities have attacked the plans, questioning whether the universities of applied sciences have the quality of research needed to deliver doctorates. They fear that the change could dent their importance and shrink their budgets, said Professor Koch, despite federal government attempts to improve their reputation through the country’s multibillion-euro excellence strategy.
The plans could also divert universities of applied sciences from their mission to provide practically focused education because not all students “need this high standard of education and a very theoretical background”, Professor Koch said. If the law passes, “there would be, in the long run, a convergence of the different types of university”, he warned.
The doctorate debate has a particular intensity in Germany, where they are more common than in the rest of Europe and are seen as more of a prerequisite for promotion in politics and business. Germany had close to 200,000 doctoral students in 2016, outnumbering those in the UK by more than 80,000 and about triple the total for France.
Monika Gross, president of the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, said that universities were simply defending their current privileges. It was ironic that technical universities were now lobbying to prevent universities of applied sciences receiving doctoral powers, she said, because in the late 19th century they had fought and won the same battle in the face of resistance from more established universities.
Giving doctoral powers to universities of applied sciences should improve social justice, she argued. Many of their students come from families where no one has been to university before, Professor Gross said – at Beuth the figure is 60 per cent. “Give them a chance,” she said.
Over the past 15 years, universities and universities of applied sciences have invented what are called “cooperative doctorates”, explained Martin Steinberg, director of North Rhine-Westphalia’s Postgraduate Institute, which was set up to help professors from both types of institution supervise doctoral degrees.
Currently, research is undertaken at the university of applied sciences and is supervised primarily by one of its professors, he said, but ultimately it has to be a university that awards the doctorate.
Despite the efforts of his institute, he said, university professors were still often reluctant to cooperate. This is why the state wants the Postgraduate Institute to be able to award the degrees independently, he explained.
This proposed doctoral college is not completely unprecedented – a similar body already exists in Hesse, a much smaller German state. But strict quality rules mean that very few universities of applied sciences in Hesse had ended up awarding doctorates, said Professor Koch.
Yet if North Rhine-Westphalia introduces something similar, universities worry that it could trigger a domino effect across Germany. “The others are all looking at what happens here,” he said.
Publicație : The Times
Who will succeed Sally Hunt as UCU’s general secretary?
Jack Grove speaks to the three candidates vying to take over from the University and College’s long-time leader and assesses how they will approach sector’s challenges
The fight is on: the big issue for the union’s next general secretary – be it Jo Grady, Jo McNeill or Matt Waddup – will be the unresolved USS dispute
This month, the 120,000-plus members of the UK’s main higher education union, the University and College Union, will receive their ballot papers to elect a new general secretary following the departure of Sally Hunt after 12 years at the helm.
It seems that the contest will be the closest in the UCU’s history. As it stands, three candidates – Jo Grady, Jo McNeill and Matt Waddup – have entered the field.
Looming over all this is last year’s 14-day strike over pensions provided by the Universities Superannuation Scheme. The dispute, which swelled the union’s membership and is widely seen as having energised it, remains unresolved: in the absence of a deal, employee and employer contributions are increasing this month.
Ms McNeill, the candidate for the UCU Left movement, believes that members should go back on strike if contributions rise again – as is planned – in October.
“Our members know the USS dispute isn’t over; it was paused at a crucial point,” Ms McNeill told Times Higher Education. “Without the possibility of industrial action, there is often no meaningful collective bargaining,” she said. “Trade unions need to be ready, when necessary, to take industrial action in defence of members’ pensions, pay and working conditions.”
Ms McNeill’s position has been questioned by some UCU members given that vice-chancellors have signed up to the settlement proposed by an independent review group, the joint expert panel, and have indicated that they are willing to contribute more to protect existing benefits if staff do too. Reopening strike action would not make sense if the problem lies with the USS trustees, rather than employers, they state.
However, Ms McNeill, president of the University of Liverpool’s UCU branch, is a firm advocate of the “no detriment” position, which says that employers should shoulder any extra pension costs in their entirety, pointing to the “record levels of surplus” in the sector. In any case, the “UCU has demolished the argument that there is a deficit in the pension scheme”, she added, calling it an “artefact of accounting generated by USS”.
Dr Grady, senior lecturer in employment relations at the University of Sheffield, who won a seat on the union’s national executive committee in February, is also an advocate of the “no detriment” position. Dr Grady – a member of the USS Briefs activist group – told THE that “if the JEP’s recommendations are applied to a 2018 valuation, USS is not in deficit and no detrimental changes are needed”.
She also believes that further strike action may be necessary to help the UCU “take on the USS executive”. “Our dispute – despite the publication of the JEP – is still very much about the extent to which our employers are willing to stand with us and protect our scheme from its own managers,” she said. In a “ballot situation…I would hope Universities UK and our employers ask questions about decision-making by those within USS, and also consider calling for resignations”, she added on what might force a change of heart from the pension fund’s ruling body.
Having the “joint union- and employer-backed document” of the JEP has been vital, said Dr Grady, although both she and Ms McNeill voted in April against its formation, urging instead more strike action – a course rejected by voting members.
However, Dr Grady explained that she did so because she thought the UCU could “press for a better offer” with more strikes looming. “When I voted to stay on strike in April, I wasn’t voting against the JEP; I was voting to make our employers back up their words with meaningful actions,” she said.
Mr Waddup, the UCU’s head of policy and campaigns, backed the creation of the JEP at the time, and said that it was “absolutely the right decision”.
“Ending the strike when we did effectively took [the removal of guaranteed payouts and their replacement with more variable] defined contributions off the table and established the JEP,” he said.
On the future of the USS, Mr Waddup, too, asserted that “if USS were to implement the JEP now, it would not mean any increases [in contributions] at all”. However, he seemed more open to splitting additional costs between USS members and employers if required. “My own view is that the priority is to protect members’ benefits while keeping costs as low as possible,” he said.
Mr Waddup, vilified in The Times during the 2018 strike as a firebrand leftist, added that he was bemused by recent claims that he would be reluctant to call for strike action. “I make no apology about being militant on issues around casualisation and precarity,” he said. “If we want USS-style success [on such issues], we need USS-style planning [for industrial action], though people do accept that there will be a negotiated process.”
In the event that none of the three candidates wins an overall majority, the result will be decided on the transfer of second-choice votes. As such, an informal alliance between Ms McNeill and Dr Grady – who was backed by UCU Left in the NEC elections – could swing the vote away from Mr Waddup towards one of them.
Equally, a candidate who can engage a decent proportion of the membership – Ms Hunt won in 2017 with just over 8,000 votes on a 13.7 per cent turnout – might squeak over the line. Ballots will open on 29 April and close on 23 May – with the winner declared on the eve of the UCU’s congress.
Publicație : The Times
Theresa May’s exit adds to uncertainty over English review
Suggestions that review could yet be published before PM’s departure come as AoC says it will push DfE to ‘publish and implement’
Leaving: but Theresa May might wish first to cement higher education reforms
Theresa May’s plan to stand down before the next phase of Brexit negotiations could affect prospects for her review of post-18 education in England – but some think it could yet be published before she leaves office in order to cement its agenda.
Ms May personally announced the review in her October 2017 Conservative Party conference speech, and she removed Justine Greening and Jo Johnson from their posts as education secretary and universities minister, respectively, after they opposed it. Scepticism about the review remains strong in quarters of the Department for Education.
The report from the review’s independent panel, led by Philip Augar, is expected to recommend lowering the tuition fee cap from £9,250 and shifting funding away from universities to further education colleges.
The publication of the panel’s report has been delayed repeatedly – most recently while the whole of government wrestles with the Brexit crisis.
One former government adviser said: “Clearly the review is something the PM and some of her advisers at No 10 are very personally invested in. It’s quite possible a lot of the people who might be the next PM are not so invested in the idea that we need to shift resources from higher education to further education or that there’s such a political imperative to cut the fee cap.”
But, the former adviser continued, “on the other hand if the Augar review is published while Theresa May is still prime minister, one thing that’s very likely to happen is No 10 will quickly make its own response…potentially without reference to the DfE or HM Treasury.”
If there were recommendations to lower the fee cap or transfer resources from higher education to further education, No 10 “might immediately endorse that even before there’s been a formal government response”, the former adviser suggested.
They added: “If that happens, I think it’s very difficult for a Conservative government in the future to fully row back even if the prime minister is differently minded.”
Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said that although the review was initiated under Ms May, “there is cross-party and cross-departmental interest in the outcome, including at the Treasury as they’re increasingly looking into value for money, especially in light of the recent [Office for National Statistics] decision on loans” – which will reclassify a portion of student loan outlay as public spending, adding about £12 billion to the deficit.
“I’m sure they will continue to be interested in the costings exercise [on costs of provision across different subjects] Augar has undertaken as part of his review, as well as officials at the Department for Education who we expect to publish and implement it,” continued Mr Gravatt. “We will certainly be continuing to push them to.”
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said it was “hard to imagine a scenario in which the prime minister leaving office doesn’t impact to some degree on Augar. The review is much more linked to her personally than earlier reviews – like Dearing and Browne – were linked to any single politician.
“I still think…that the review will be published, but the timing and eventual response are likely to be affected.”
Publicație : The Times
Chinese returnee scholars ‘lag behind expats on research quality’
But study authors stress that research environment at Chinese universities is quickly catching up with US
Chinese academics based in the US publish in more prestigious journals and are more highly cited than their colleagues who have been lured back home through the nation’s Young Thousand Talents programme, but the differences are small, a new study says.
The paper, published in International Higher Education, compares the research performance of Chinese academics at research-intensive universities in the US and those who had been based abroad but returned to China through the national Young Thousand Talents programme in 2011 and 2012.
The scheme, established in 2011, is an initiative aimed at recruiting early and mid-career researchers from overseas, the majority of whom are Chinese expatriates. Around 4,000 researchers have been supported by the programme.
The study reveals that the two groups have a similar research output, with Chinese-based scholars publishing an average of 39 publications by 2018, compared to 39.4 for their US-based counterparts.
However, those based in the US outperform their colleagues who have returned to China on proxies for research quality.
The average citation count per publication for the Chinese-based scholars was 12.2, compared with 15.9 for the US-based researchers, while those recruited through the talent programme also “tend to publish in less prestigious journals”, according to the paper.
The research also finds an “evident decrease in international collaboration rate after their return to China”.
Before going back to their homeland, 56 per cent of publications by those who later signed up to the Thousand Talents group involved international collaborations. But this dropped to 44.8 per cent after their recruitment under the scheme. In contrast, the US-based researchers maintained a high level of collaboration: 66.2 per cent before 2011 and 65.6 per cent afterwards.
The research was based on data on 546 researchers, 183 of whom were scholars who returned to China through the Young Thousand Talents programme and all of whom received their doctoral degrees in around 2006.
Lili Yang, a doctoral student at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Global Higher Education and co-author of the paper, said that the Chinese returnees may lag on indicators of research quality because “the research assessment system in China tends to pursue short-term goals” and the researchers themselves must adjust to working in a Chinese university.
However, she stressed that there were only “very slight differences” between the two groups.
Giulio Marini, a CGHE research associate at the UCL Institute of Education and co-author of the research, agreed. “China is offering almost the same research conditions as good American research-intensive universities,” he said.
Publicație : The Times
Entre numérique et écologie, les jeunes diplômés ont trouvé le bon compromis
L’avènement du numérique a conféré une image plus novatrice aux entreprises sociales, auparavant jugées trop peu dynamiques.
Les étudiants sont tiraillés. Ils veulent à la fois lutter contre l’exclusion sociale et travailler dans le numérique. Ou rallier la cause écologique en bénéficiant de reconnaissance dans le monde du travail. Pour répondre à cette équation aux inconnues multiples, beaucoup ont trouvé une solution: l’entrepreneuriat social. D’après l’enquête dévoilée début 2019 par Convergences, groupe de réflexion dédié au développement durable et à la lutte contre la pauvreté, 43 % des 18-24 ans sont en effet attirés par cette nouvelle forme d’engagement. Un chiffre en augmentation de… 11 points en un an.
«Avant, l’engagement dans le social était cantonné aux associations, jugées trop peu dynamiques voire trop “gentilles” par nos diplômés», explique Manuelle Malot, directrice Carrières et prospective à l’Edhec Business School. Aujourd’hui, le milieu est devenu «sexy», d’après Thibault Larose, le directeur exécutif de Convergences, avec l’apparition d’une prise de conscience écologique forte, marquée notamment par Le Manifeste pour un réveil écologique publié en octobre 2018 par des étudiants de grandes écoles et les manifestations pour le climat des lycéens et étudiants cette année.
Ce thème du développement durable est en effet porteur: il est à la fois attrayant pour les jeunes et rassurant pour les investisseurs, qui prennent de moins en moins ceux qui veulent s’y lancer pour de doux rêveurs. «Depuis un ou deux ans, il n’y a pas un matin sans qu’on ait une création de start-up dans le développement durable d’un diplômé de l’Edhec!» assure Manuelle Malot. Autre élément clé qui attire les étudiants, l’avènement du numérique, qui «a conféré une image plus novatrice à ces entreprises sociales», selon Thibault Larose. De fait, 69 % des entrepreneurs sociaux associent aujourd’hui le numérique à l’entrepreneuriat social.
«L’entrepreneuriat social est quasiment devenu une mode !»Félix de Monts, diplômé de Sciences Po et fondateur de Vendredi
Côté business, ces jeunes diplômés délaissent donc les associations à but non lucratif au profit de ces «start-up for good», comme on les appelle. «On a réfléchi à créer une association, reconnaît Marguerite Dorangeon, diplômée d’AgroParisTech et cofondatrice de Clothparency, qui aide à choisir des vêtements écoresponsables. Mais on a préféré monétiser notre idée, pour créer de la valeur, de l’emploi et une entreprise viable qui ne dépende pas de subventions.» Comme 78 % des entrepreneurs sociaux qui tirent moins de la moitié de leurs revenus des recettes de leur activité, la jeune femme ne s’est pas versé de salaire lors de sa première année d’activité, et vient juste de trouver son modèle économique.
Outre ces difficultés financières, un autre frein au développement concerne 19 % des entrepreneurs sociaux: le manque de reconnaissance. «J’ai vu une vraie transformation sur la perception des entrepreneurs sociaux ces dernières années, nuance toutefois Félix de Monts, diplômé de Sciences Po et fondateur de Vendredi, plate-forme qui propose des emplois partagés entre entreprise et association. En 2014, lorsque je me suis lancé alors que j’étais étudiant, le concept de start-up sociale était méconnu alors que l’univers de la start-up était déjà bien implanté. J’avais du mal à expliquer la démarche sans paraître idéaliste. Depuis, l’entrepreneuriat social est quasiment devenu une mode!»
Quoi qu’il arrive, cette nouvelle vague fait déjà bouger les lignes dans certaines écoles. À HEC, la directrice de la chaire «social business», Bénédicte Faivre-Tavignot, explique qu’elle va créer «un nouveau certificat à valider obligatoirement pour les étudiants en année de césure, avec des thèmes basés sur l’économie et le développement durable». Des cours obligatoires sur le climat vont également faire leur apparition. Quant à l’Edhec, un certificat en innovation sociale a également été lancé en 2017 pour «favoriser le développement durable, social et environnemental».
Publicație : Le Figaro
Les universités belges sont saturées d’étudiants français
Médecine, beaux-arts, orthophonie, psychologie… les facultés, qui espèrent une aide financière de l’UE, gèrent l’urgence comme elles le peuvent.
« Sans rire maintenant, qu’est-ce que vous êtes venus faire chez nous ? » interroge le chef Gueuselambix, lorsque débarque, dans son plat pays, une bande de Gaulois. La scène se déroule dans Astérix chez les Belges, publié en 1979. Quarante ans après la parution de l’album, les Belges posent la même question aux plus de 21 000 jeunes Français qui étudient aujourd’hui en Wallonie et à Bruxelles.
En médecine, dentaire, vétérinaire, orthophonie, beaux-arts, psychologie… Les étudiants français sont de plus en plus nombreux à investir les grandes écoles et les universités belges. Selon les derniers chiffres de l’Unesco, entre 2010 et 2015, leur nombre a bondi de 228 % dans les établissements de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
Pour Auriane Marminat, 22 ans, étudiante en master d’orthophonie à l’Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), faire ses études en Belgique n’était pas un premier choix, ni un deuxième… « Je suis ici à 1 000 km de ma famille », souligne cette jeune Provençale. Elle obtient son bac S avec une mention assez bien à Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône), suit ensuite une classe préparatoire à 3 000 euros pour pouvoir intégrer l’une des dix-huit écoles d’orthophonie françaises, et postule à neuf d’entre elles. Elle est recalée neuf fois…
« Les concours français d’orthophonie c’est “Koh-Lanta” », Auriane, Française en master d’orthophonie à l’Université libre de Bruxelles
En France, la sélection pour entrer dans un centre de formation en orthophonie (bac + 5) est drastique ; entre 5 et 10 % seulement des candidats y parviennent. A titre de comparaison, la sélectivité pour intégrer Sciences Po est de 21 %. Du coup, le nombre de places en première année d’études préparatoires au certificat de capacité d’orthophoniste est limité par un numerus clausus. Pour l’année 2018-2019, 874 places ont été ouvertes. « Dans ces conditions, les concours français ne cherchent pas à sélectionner les meilleurs », témoigne Laurine Slabolepszy, 21 ans, Valenciennoise, également en master d’orthophonie à l’ULB. « Les élus sont ceux qui s’accrochent, les concours d’orthophonie c’est“Koh-Lanta” », regrette Auriane. D’où le choix de la Belgique pour les deux jeunes filles, qui ont donc réussi à intégrer l’ULB belge, malgré la mise en place de quotas dans la filière orthophonie.
Autres cursus, même sélectivité, même recours à un système d’enseignement supérieur plus ouvert : étudiant à l’Ecole nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre, à Bruxelles, Alexandre Lorgnier, Francilien de 23 ans, a été recalé aux concours de plusieurs écoles des beaux-arts françaises avant de candidater outre-Quiévrain, où il a été retenu. Idem pour Estelle Hervot, 24 ans, titulaire d’un master 1 de psychologie à Montpellier, recalée à l’entrée du master 2 de psychologue clinicienne en France. « Il y avait 25 places pour 300 candidatures », indique-t-elle. Ses tentatives pour rejoindre d’autres universités françaises ne rencontrent pas plus de succès. « Un master 1 ne suffit pas à intégrer le marché de l’emploi, et une réorientation, après quatre ans d’études, c’est recommencer un cycle de trois années supplémentaires », observe-t-elle. Elle candidate aux universités de Mons et Bruxelles, et se voit acceptée dans les deux établissements. Mais s’interroge : « Pourquoi les enseignants belges estiment-ils que je peux devenir psychologue et pas les Français ? »
Publicație : Le Monde
|
