Universitatea "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" a intrat in Cartea Recordurilor

Universitatea "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" (UAIC) din Iasi a primit marti, 23 aprilie 2019, certificatul GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS pentru organizarea, împreuna cu Banca Comerciala Româna (BCR), a celei mai mari lectii de educatie financiara din lume.

UAIC a fost una dintre cele 59 de locatii în care 13.230 de români din toate colturile tarii au participat miercuri, 31 octombrie 2018, cu ocazia Zilei Internationale a Economisirii, la cea mai mare lectie de educatie financiara din lume.

Recordul a fost omologat joi, 1 noiembrie 2018, de reprezentantii GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, care au fost prezenti în România în vederea certificarii numarului de participanti. Pentru ca recordul sa fie validat era necesara participarea simultana a cel putin 5.624 de persoane, acesta fiind numarul de participanti înregistrat în 2013 de o initiativa similara înregistrata în Statele Unite.

"Evenimentul «Cea mai mare lectie de educatie financiara din lume» face parte din programul «Scoala de Bani», initiat de Banca Comerciala Româna, care îsi propune sa creasca încrederea românilor în deciziile lor financiare, sustinându-i cu educatie financiara gratuita. În cadrul celei mai mari lectii financiare din lume, profesori de educatie financiara i-au învatat pe cei prezenti cum sa îsi gestioneze veniturile, pentru ca independenta financiara se învata. Studiile arata ca românii sunt pe ultimul loc la educatie financiara în Europa Centrala si de Sud-Est, si pe locul 124 din 141 la nivel mondial", au precizat oficialii UAIC.

Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași

Spectaculos! Universitatea "Cuza" din Iasi a castigat doua milioane de lei. Este vizata si Gradina Botanica "Anastasie Fatu"

Universitatea "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" (UAIC) din Iasi a obtinut finantare de peste doua milioane de lei la competitia FDI (Fondul de Dezvoltare Institutionala) 2019, organizata de Ministerul Educatiei Nationale (MEN) prin Consiliul National pentru Finantarea Învatamântului Superior (CNFIS).

Cele sase proiecte ale universitatii care vor fi finantate sunt: "Experiente pentru o cariera de succes", "Dezvoltarea internationalizarii prin cercetare si parteneriate strategice 3", "Diversificarea resurselor de germoplasma colectate din medii de viata extreme pentru educatie ecologica în Gradina Botanica «Anastasie Fatu» din Iasi", "Studentii UAIC de azi - antreprenori pentru un viitor sustenabil", "Implementarea unor mecanisme moderne pentru evaluarea calitatii proceselor de predare si evaluare didactica din perspectiva principiilor sustenabilitatii în Universitatea «Alexandru Ioan Cuza» din Iasi" si "Cercetarea de Excelenta în Domeniul Substantelor Antimicrobiene".

"Ne bucuram sa înregistram o crestere cu 22 la suta a finantarii obtinute de UAIC la competitia Fondul de Dezvoltare Institutionala 2019, comparativ cu anul anterior. Faptul ca toate cele sase proiecte depuse de noi au fost aprobate, cu o finantare de peste 90 la suta din suma totala solicitata, reprezinta înca o recunoastere a profesionalismului cu care comunitatea noastra academica îsi îndeplineste misiunea", a transmis –prof. univ. dr. Mihaela Onofrei, rectorul de la "Cuza".

Competitia de proiecte finantate din Fondul de Dezvoltare Institutionala destinat universitatilor de stat - FDI 2019 s-a desfasurat în perioada 19 februarie - 28 martie 2019.

Consiliul National pentru Finantarea Învatamântului Superior a evaluat si selectat proiectele depuse de universitati pe sase domenii strategice: cresterea echitatii sociale, în vederea incluziunii sociale si sporirea accesului la învatamântul superior, corelarea ofertei educationale cu cererea pietei muncii - inclusiv cele privitoare la consilierea si orientarea în cariera; internationalizarea învatamântului superior din România; asigurarea functionarii în bune conditii a gradinilor botanice universitare, a statiunilor didactice, a bazelor de practica si a altor infrastructuri de sustinere a activitatilor didactice din cadrul universitatilor; sustinerea activitatilor societatilor antreprenoriale studentesti (SAS) din cadrul universitatilor; îmbunatatirea calitatii activitatii didactice, inclusiv a respectarii deontologiei si eticii academice; sustinerea cercetarii de excelenta din universitati. Suma maxima care putea fi obtinuta de o universitate pentru fiecare proiect a fost de 400.000 lei, cu urmatoarele exceptii: domeniul 3 (doar pentru gradini botanice) - 500.000 lei si domeniul 4 (societati antreprenoriale studentesti - SAS) - 250.000 lei.

La competitia din acest an au fost selectate pentru finantare 251 de proiecte. Universitatea "Cuza" a obtinut, prin cele sase proiecte aprobate, suma de 2.075.204 lei, cu 22 la suta mai mare decât cea obtinuta anul trecut.

Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași

Editie in Platoul emisiunii BZI LIVE despre domenii fascinante intr-un dialog interesant cu trei membri distinsi ai comunitatii academice de la Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza din Iasi

Joi, 25 aprilie 2019, incepand cu ora 15.00, in lumina reflectoarelorStudioului BZI LIVE este programata o editie speciala si extrem de interesanta din arealul a trei domenii spectaculoase, incitante si provocatoare! Astfel, alaturi de trei distinsi invitati ai comunitatii academice celei mai vechi institutii de invatamant superior din Romania - Alexandru Ioan Cuza (UAIC) din Iasi respectiv conf. univ. dr. Sebastian Popescu, decanul Facultatii de Fizica, conf. univ. dr. Ionel Humelnicu, prodecan al Facultatii de Chimie si conf. univ. dr. Catalin Gales, din cadrul Facultatii de Matematica si cadrul didactic care se ocupa de Observatorul Astronomic si Planetariu de la UAIC vor fi abordate, intr-o emisiune - dialog, tematici ce tin de aceste domenii fabuloase ale Stiintelor Exacte, proiectele didactice si de cercetare in care sunt implicati, rezultatele studentilor. De asemenea, repere ale productiei media vor fi si detalii despre laboratoarele celor trei facultati, rolul Cercetarii si impactul acesteia in societate! Despre promovarea programelor de studii, realitati educationale, colaborari stiintifice pe plan national si international se va mai dialoga.

Persoanele interesate pot adresa intrebari invitatilor accesand pagina de Facebook BZI si pagina de internet www.bzi.ro.

Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași

TOPUL CELOR MAI ÎMPRUMUTATE CĂRŢI din BCU Iaşi, din ultimii 10 ani:

- Cucoş Constantin, „Pedagogie", Polirom, Iaşi, 2006. Nr. împrumuturi: 1616

- Gherguţ, Alois; Ceobanu, Ciprian; Diac, Georgeta, „Introducere în managementul clasei de elevi", Editura Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza", Iaşi, 2010. Nr. împrumuturi: 1391

- Cucoş, Constantin, „Pedagogie", Polirom, Iaşi, 2002. Nr. împrumuturi: 1308

- Sălăvăstru, Dorina; Cucoş, Constantin, „Psihologia educaţiei", Polirom, Iaşi, 2004. Nr. împrumuturi: 1300

- Precupanu, Anca, „Bazele analizei matematice", Editura Universităţii Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Iaşi, 1993. Nr. împrumuturi: 1026

- Momanu, Mariana, „Introducere în teoria educaţiei", Polirom, Iaşi, 2002. Nr. împrumuturi: 942

- Popa, Gheorghe; Alexandroaei, Dumitru, „Îndrumar de lucrări practice pentru fizica plasmei", Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza", Iaşi, 1991. Nr. împrumuturi: 893

- Miroiu, Andrei; Ungureanu, Radu-Sebastian; Biró, Daniel, „Manual de relaţii internaţionale", Polirom, Iaşi, 2006. Nr. împrumuturi: 870

- Turliuc, Maria Nicoleta, „Psihologia cuplului si a familiei", Performantica, Iaşi, 2004. Nr. împrumuturi: 842

- Stoica-Constantin, Ana; Neculau, Adrian, „Conflictul interpersonal", Polirom, Iaşi, 2004. Nr. împrumuturi: 809.

Publicație : Ziarul de Iași

 Paradoxul studiilor medicale din Franţa: „România, eldorado al studenţilor francezi”?

Din ce în ce mai mulţi studenţi francezi aleg să facă studii medicale în România. Confruntaţi cu un sistem de admitere francez considerat draconian, tineri  determinaţi să-şi urmeze visul de a profesa în acest domeniu aleg să integreze filierele francofone propuse de universităţile din România.

O mare parte dintre ei şi-ar dori să revină în Franţa după obţinerea diplomei româneşti, însă rigiditatea unui cadru normativ obsolet în context european le împiedică uneori accesul la o carieră în Hexagon.

Stereotipurile faţă de parcursul universitar românesc de care se lovesc aceşti studenţi, care în mare parte au eşuat concursul de admitere la universităţi franceze, nu împiedică totuşi campaniile de recrutare din Franţa a medicilor români, ceea ce generează o serie de paradoxuri ; dar şi tensiuni care ilustrează necesitatea unor reforme la nivel naţional şi al unei cooperări mai aprofundate între cele două state, aceste incidenţe fiind provocate de măsuri adoptate în cadrul instituţional european,  precum şi de experienţele concrete ale studenţilor în cauză.

Lipsa medicilor în anumite zone calificate drept „deşerturi medicale” din Franţa răspunde disperării unor medici români dezgustaţi de neregulile din sistemul de sănătate românesc şi care decid să plece. Pe de altă parte, concursurile injust de selective la universităţile franceze determină pe mulţi tineri francezi să vină în România, unde sunt nevoiţi să şi rămână în unele cazuri. Astfel, disfuncţionalităţi ale sistemului educaţional şi de sănătate în România şi Franţa par a fi complementare, iar punctele acestor intersecţii întrezăresc soluţii odată cu asumarea efectivă a paradigmei europene.  Acest lucru ar scuti mai ales pe studenţii din ambele ţări de angoase şi incertitudini care conduc la depresii şi uneori suiciduri.

Odată cu aderarea României la UE, valurile de studenţi internaţionali, în special francezi, au integrat filiere de cele mai multe ori francofone propuse de universităţi din ţară. Potrivit unei fişe statistice publicată de Campus France, România a găzduit în anul 2016 peste 2000 de studenţi francezi, aceştia ocupând al treilea loc în clasamentul studenţilor internaţionali, imediat după studenţii israelieni şi  moldoveni care vin în număr cel mai mare.

Marea majoritate, în jur de 1800 de studenţi francezi, au optat pentru filiere medicale( medicină generală, veterinară, dentară sau farmacie), iar mai mult de jumătate dintre aceştia urmează cursurile Universităţii de Medicină şi Farmacie din Cluj. Restul optează pentru universităţi din Iaşi, Timisoara,  Arad sau Oradea.

Numărate reportaje şi articole au prezentat motivaţiile acestor tineri, cauza principală fiind stresul de nesuportat provocat de examene şi de concursurile de admitere franceze din cadrul studiilor de medicină.

„Dar de ce e atât de oribil  primul an de medicină ?” se întrebau în luna septembrie, al anului trecut, jurnalişti francezi  ai publicaţiei Marianne : "Un abator, pentru Sophie, când i sa cerut să-şi amintească anul ei de PACES („Première année commune aux études de santé”). Iadul, anxietatea, concurenţa, singurătatea te năpădesc în acelaşi timp, mai spune Sophie. La cinci ani după ce a părăsit "această lume mică", aşa cum o numeşte, vocea ei încă mai tremură la evocarea anumitor amintiri. Iar pronunţarea frazelor se accelerează uneori brusc, ca şi cum ar trăi şi ar simţi din nou acest ritm infernal care tinde să-i  zdrobească pe aceşti tineri", relata Marianne la acea vreme.

Declaraţii de acest tip au fost frecvent raportate, evocând sentimentul de eşec, dar şi de rezilienţă a studenţilor care fac alegerea de a urma studiile medicale cu orice preţ, chiar şi în altă ţară, pentru a-şi urma visul.

Un alt motiv este metoda „numerus clausus” care limitează numărul de studenţi admişi în universităţile de medicină şi farmacie din Franţa. Termenul de „numerus clausus” aminteşte de măsurile rasiste adoptate de state din Europa şi SUA cu privire la accesul la educaţie al străinilor, indezirabililor,  în special al evreilor, încă de la începutul secolului XX. Chiar dacă în Franţa de astăzi, „numerus clausus” are o altă semnificaţie, trista sonoritate a termenului persistă, aşa cum explică articolul „Une xénophobie d'État ? Les « médecins étrangers » en France (1945-2006)” (n.r. Xenofobie de stat? "Medicii străini" din Franţa 1945-2006) publicat de cercetătorul Marc-Olivier Déplaude pe site-ul cairn.info.

În domeniu studiilor medicale franceze, „numerus clausus” datează din anii 70. Astfel, în present, la sfârşitul primului an, studenţii trebuie să coboare în arena unei competiţii extrem de contestată, care are loc în două etape.

Pentru a continua studiile, nu este suficient ca aceştia să obţină o anumită notă. Ei ar trebui să se claseze printre cei 8.200 selectaţi în întreaga Franţă, „numerus clausus” stabilit pentru anul 2018-2019 de către guvern.  Cota este împărţită apoi între diferite regiuni şi universităţi în funcţie de nevoile medicilor din teritorii.

Cotidianul aspru al candidaţilor care aspiră la o carieră în acest domeniu în Franţa a căpătat o asemenea notorietate încât a făcut subiectul unui film apărut în 2018, „Première Année”, realizat de Thomas Lilti, şi care potrivit studenţilor, ilustrează perfect lupta unor adevăraţi războinici, pe care ei sunt nevoiţi să o ducă pentru a accesa acest univers.

Apariţia acestui film a coincis şi cu anunţarea făcută de către executiv, la jumătatea lunii septembrie, anul trecut, cu privire la adoptarea unor reforme în acest sens. Astfel, mult hulitul „numerus clausus” va urma să fie eliminat în anul 2020. Potrivit France Culture, Emmanuel Macron promitea încă din  timpul campaniei "sfârşitul acestui dispozitiv învechit" unde "în fiecare an, mii de vocaţii sunt sufocate în faşă”. Pe de altă parte, executivul mai sublinia că eliminarea „numerus clausus” nu este în nici un caz un răspuns la "deşerturile medicale"  din teritorii, deoarece această măsură va fi efectivă numai în zece sau cincisprezece ani, timpul necesar pentru formarea studenţilor. De unde şi frustrarea tinerilor care amintesc cum deficitul actual al medicilor necesită o soluţie imediată.

Mai mult, obstacolele nu se sfârşesc după obţinerea unei diplome la o universitate din spaţiul european. Studenţii francezi din România care ar vrea să se întoarcă în Franţa, să profeseze acasă, au însă de înfruntat o piedică în plus. Nefiind studenţi în Hexagon, acestora nu li se permite accesul la o platformă online de pregătire a examenului ECN( „Examen classant national”), echivalentul examenului de rezidentiat in Franta:

„Nu avem voie să accesăm platforma online pentru a ne pregăti pentru acest test, cel de la sfârşitul anului şase şi astfel există o diferenţă între studenţii de aici şi cei de la acolo, din Franţa. Suntem şi noi francezi şi nu mi se pare corect, dar acum avem discuţii cu organizaţii din Franţa pentru a rezolva această problemă”, explica Ralph Boutros, student francez în anul II, citat de DIGI24 într-un reportaj.

Publicație : Adevărul

Could Macron’s ENA move herald global shift against ‘elite’ HE?

Politicians seeking to quell discontent about inequality and pre-empt populists could turn on elite institutions, observers predict

“Elite” universities have been warned that they could be targeted by politicians seeking to quell public anger about inequality after France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, proposed abolishing an ultra-exclusive civil service training institute that he himself attended.

Moving to shut the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA), seen by critics as an unrepresentative stronghold of privilege that furnishes France with much of its political and business elite, has been described by commentators as an attempt by Mr Macron to dampen anger stirred up by “yellow vest” protesters, whose demonstrations have shaken the country.

“Elite universities will increasingly find themselves caught in the crossfire of populist politics,” said Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter. “They are easy targets as politicians try to claim the moral high ground in debates about social mobility.”

There are as yet few details about Mr Macron’s plans, only excerpts from the leaked text of a speech in which he says he wants to abolish ENA and “other organisations” to make the civil service more meritocratic and representative of French society. Delivery of the speech was reportedly cancelled in the wake of the fire at Notre-Dame cathedral.

“It seems like it’s going to be a significant move, but the devil will be in the detail,” said Julien Grenet, an expert on university admissions at the Paris School of Economics. One idea floated in the French media is to merge ENA with a similar training institute for judges, he said. A spokeswoman for ENA said the institution was not commenting on the reports.

It is “very common” for French politicians to suggest scrapping ENA – which had been the subject of repeated “inconclusive” reform attempts, including a partial move to Strasbourg – but this was the first time that a sitting president had “seriously” considered such a move, Professor Grenet said.

The complaints against ENA are myriad: most of its students come from the highest social strata, about half are from the Paris region and, although the proportion varies, significantly less than half of its students are female, Professor Grenet said. With many ENA graduates entering France’s bureaucracy, this leads to a civil service seen as “disconnected from the rest of society”.

ENA entrance exams are seen as “socially biased”, he explained, leaning heavily on the humanities and involving a grilling in front of a selection panel that advantages students who have gained a wide knowledge of “general culture” in more privileged households. There are a “lot of similarities” with the interview process at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Professor Grenet said.

Few commentators believe that scrapping ENA will do much to solve wider inequalities in the country’s education system or in society more generally, however. In French politics, it is “routine” to single out an institution and “publicly guillotine” it to “calm” public opinion “without touching the invisible power mechanisms that keep operating underneath”, said Juliette Torabian, a higher education researcher.

For example, she explained, only high schools with wealthy students tended to organise preparatory courses for entry into grandes écoles – such as ENA – which are far more selective and prestigious than the country’s universities. Mr Macron is still not “questioning the very conception of grandes écoles” or their role in “hindering social mobility and reproducing elites”, she argued.

Even so, observers believe that “elite” universities could come under increasing political pressure.

“One can imagine, given the global political and ideological context (see the election of Trump, Bolsonaro, populist governments in Europe and so on), that attacks against elite schools could increase,” said Pierre Clement, a lecturer in educational sociology at the University of Rouen Normandie. Such assaults could come from “populist” politicians themselves or from rivals trying to pre-empt them, he said.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds, a professor of law at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville who has repeatedly called for an end to tax deductibility for large university endowments, argued that in the US, Ivy League institutions “unofficially” serve the same role as France’s grandes écoles.

The “elimination” of the grandes écoles would be a “good start” in ending the power of an “unelected, but self-perpetuating and largely unaccountable” managerial class, he said. “Other nations should follow suit,” he added.

But Professor Grenet sees attacks on institutions such as ENA as a “cheap” and “symbolic” way for politicians to “please the masses” without actually doing the hard work of redistributing wealth, for example, through the tax system.

“Of course highly selective universities could be far more radical in opening up their doors to young people from all backgrounds,” added Professor Elliot Major, former head of the Sutton Trust, a UK social mobility foundation. “But the central reason that student intakes are so skewed towards the privileged classes is the extreme inequalities in society that shape life prospects long before academe,” he said.

Publicație : The Times

Brexit and post-18 review create ‘uncertainty in every direction’ for UK HE

Removal of UK universities from key European research project highlights financial impact of impasse over EU exit

UK universities face continued uncertainty as a consequence of the extension of the Brexit deadline and the delayed post-18 review, leaving them unable to plan ahead, warned sector leaders, who learned this week that British institutions have been forced out of a key European research project.

The European Union’s decision to allow the UK six more months to plan its departure from the bloc came as good news for those fearful of the country crashing out without a trade deal last month. But some academic leaders have expressed concerns over the impact that another six months of indecision could have on their institutions.

Researchers had previously warned of being purposely excluded from European projects on account of their EU partners viewing the UK as too risky to work with, and some have already decided to leave their UK institutions as a result. Times Higher Education has now learned that the 20 UK members of European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), an EU research network for large, interdisciplinary research projects funded under Horizon 2020, were recently told that they would no longer be able to lead on projects even though the UK has yet to leave the EU.

The nature and timing of Brexit also has huge potential impacts on the ability of UK universities to maintain their existing EU student recruitment.

Meanwhile, the government’s need to focus on the Brexit crisis has delayed publication of its post-18 review – whose panel, led by Philip Augar, is widely expected to recommend a cut in tuition fees, and thus a significant reduction in university funding.

Chris Husbands, vice-chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, said his own institution had been “scenario planning” for both the post-18 review and Brexit, “looking at different options for each outcome and being as cautious as we can”.

“There are uncertainties on the horizon in every direction,” he told Times Higher Education, adding that Brexit, the post-18 review and also rising pension costs had significantly dented the confidence of the sector.

“There is no doubt that Brexit is a catastrophic thing, and if the consequence of Augar is a significant diminution of income, that’s [additional] concern,” he said. “We don’t know what Augar will say or how the government will respond, but it’s important that we not panic as a result of that…[However] it’s clear that the next 10 years are not going to be as benign as the past 10 years of growth, wealth and expansion.”

Sir Anton Muscatelli, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said a delayed Brexit alongside the delayed post-18 review had combined to create one of the most troubling times for universities in recent memory. Any reduction of tuition fees in England will mean a lowering of the fees paid by rest-of-UK students in Scotland – prompting Scottish universities to warn that they face major cuts to an essential income stream as fallout from the English post-18 review.

“The Brexit extension does not attenuate the medium-term uncertainty faced by UK universities as a result of Brexit,” Sir Anton argued, adding that “clearly the coincidence of uncertainty around Brexit and the Augar review is not helpful”.

He continued: “If our departure date from the EU is delayed beyond the end of May, governments will need to decide on how to handle EU students applying to enter UK universities from 2020-21 onwards.”

Meanwhile, the Brexit delay does nothing to resolve the question of whether the UK will be able to join the EU’s next framework programme for research, Horizon Europe, as an associated country when the programme starts in 2021, or the question of whether the UK will join the next phase of the Erasmus+ student mobility programme post-Brexit.

“The flexible extension also reduces the negotiation time for the future framework, and there are concerns that this may impact on the negotiations for association to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+,” Sir Anton said.

Moreover, the post-18 review “cannot ignore the wider context that is impacting on UK universities, such as Brexit, and the potential impact on other funding streams” that this has, he argued.

Even before the initial scheduled Brexit date of 29 March, a number of institutions had been informed by COST administrators in Brussels that leadership of collaborative projects would be removed from UK institutions and transferred to other EU members funded under the scheme.

Colin Riordan, vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, confirmed that his institution was one of those affected. “We have been told that we can no longer lead on a big project, which seems premature because the UK hasn’t left [the EU] yet,” he said. “This came as a complete surprise.”

Stefan Bouzarovki, professor of geography at the University of Manchester and chair of the COST action group for European energy poverty, said: “I am shocked. COST grants are extremely difficult to win and highly complex to manage – massive resources will have been invested in ensuring that the proper administrative support is in place at each institution. This will now be entirely lost, and there will be real job cuts due to the discontinuation of administrative support contracts.”

A COST spokesperson said: “As long as there is a risk of a no-deal Brexit within a grant period, the UK grant holders will be asked to transfer their role to a new grant holder.”

Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, said: “Ongoing uncertainty around Brexit clearly makes it more difficult for universities to plan ahead. However, the latest extension is also helpful in several ways if it takes us further away from a no-deal scenario.”

Publicație : The Times

The youth’ in revolt? Sheffield’s open library too noisy for some

University sees valuable outreach in letting school pupils use library – but critics claim it is being used as a ‘play centre’

The University of Sheffield’s decision to open its library to local school pupils would be seen by most as a praiseworthy example of civic engagement – but a few library users are lamenting the behaviour of “the youth” and claiming that they treat the building as a “play centre”.

A recent strategic plan for the university’s libraries included a policy to “welcome students from local schools encouraging them to see the University Library as a place for them to learn and discover”.

However, one user of the Western Bank library contacted Times Higher Education to say that the policy has resulted in the building being “flooded with school students, the majority who use it as a play centre. Only a minority are studying.”

They claimed that the policy “was handed down without consultation”, further claiming that students, including under 16s who are not allowed in by the policy, often eat hot food or play loud music because “no system was put in place to manage the youth”.

The “Open Library is a great idea but it needs a system to support it and needs to be 18+”, the library user said.

One student wrote on Twitter that they were “disappointed by the lack of action taken against the large number of GCSE kids who use the library every day to chat, laugh, and play games, with zero regard for people who require a silent work space. Been distracted by a different group every day this week.”

Another student tweeted that there had “been a lot of complaints in our course chat about noise by visitors to Western Bank”.

In response, the library has said that from 13 April to 8 June access to the library is restricted to registered library users: “Our priority during this time is to ensure we have sufficient study space and a quiet study environment for our students.” However, the website states that local students in post-16 education are also able to register for use.

Anne Horn, Sheffield’s director of library services, said: “The University of Sheffield has a long-standing commitment to outreach and welcomes students from local schools into the library, in particular through a valued pre-entry programme.

“We’re aware that there have been more school students visiting the library during the holidays, during which time the library is not at capacity and there are a variety of study spaces available. We have a recently refurbished community space that we are encouraging our school students to use.

“Ensuring our university students and staff are happy with the service we provide is important to us so we have invited some students who raised concerns about school visitors to a small focus group.”

Publicație : The Times

 India’s long road to higher education eminence

The quality of Indian higher education outside a few elite institutions is notoriously poor, and a slew of initiatives aimed at addressing it have made little impact so far. Simon Baker analyses the data to assess the scale of the challenge and asks what more could and should be done

The world’s largest general election is now in full swing, but higher education is well down the list of issues concerning the hundreds of millions of people voting.

India’s rates of unemployment, inflation and corruption are among the issues far outranking the state of its universities, according to polling in the country’s media, as voters decide whether to re-elect the ruling coalition led by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

But if unemployment is the main problem facing the country, higher education might well be argued to be one of the best solutions – particularly given that about half of India’s 1.3 billion people are under 25. But with more than 35 million students already enrolled in India’s patchwork of about 900 central, state and private universities, as well as 40,000 colleges and 10,000 other kinds of degree-awarding institutions, clearly questions need to be answered about whether the country’s higher education system is working as well as it could to equip that vast talent pool with the skills needed to drive the economy forward.

This makes it a little surprising that higher education is such a “non-issue” in the polls, says Pushkar, director of the International Centre Goa. “Unemployment is a bigger issue than ever before, and, in recent years, there has been a lot of news on educated unemployed or under-

However, the lack of attention paid to universities in the campaign is also predictable, he argues, as “higher education has never really made news during elections” and, by and large, the major parties such as the BJP and the opposition Indian National Congress still set the agenda.

There may also be good reasons why politicians in India do not want to draw too much attention to standards in the country’s universities. Compared with that other rapidly developing Asian giant, China, universities in India are still struggling to make their mark on the world stage. While China now has seven institutions in the top 200 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, India still has none, with only one – the Indian Institute of Science – in the top 300. Meanwhile, Indian students with the money to do so still appear to be voting with their feet on the quality of their own university system by heading abroad in increasing numbers, just as the growth in outbound student mobility from China appears to be slowing as its domestic system gets stronger.

A big part of the reason is that outside the few highly ranked institutions, India’s higher education system faces a multitude of issues. Chief among them is its complexity, which can make it difficult to see where policymakers should even start in making improvements. Is it best to focus on the few universities that have a chance to become world class, rather than undertaking the gargantuan task of addressing the system as a whole? Does the answer for India even lie in public education, or does the private sector – in which two-thirds of Indian students are educated – offer more promising possibilities? What level of funding and autonomy might be sufficient to raise Indian higher education up to world standards, and can the country afford it?

These questions may not be electoral issues, but the answers that politicians come up with (or don’t) will have a huge impact on India’s future.

There is no shortage of national initiatives that are probing some of these routes. However, even here, their number and complexity sometimes make it difficult to keep track. One, Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) (meaning National Higher Education Mission), has taken a broad approach and is credited with increasing participation since its launch in 2013. Another, the Graded Autonomy Programme, has focused on removing red tape, ironically through assigning levels of institutional autonomy via a complex set of criteria.

One of the most recent initiatives is the federal government’s Institutions of Eminence programme, which, in keeping with similar approaches in other developing systems, aims to grant extra investment and autonomy to a select group of universities in a bid to improve their world standing. Unlike other so-called excellence initiatives, such as those in China and Russia, it is still in the early stages of implementation and some confusion surrounds its final form. But, on paper, the rewards seem significant: up to 10 billion rupees (around £110 million) in investment for 20 institutions, as well as measures to vastly increase their freedom.

The selection process has been troubled, with just six institutions initially recommended for funding – including one that does not yet exist – after the government-commissioned selection committee failed to identify 10 suitable public institutions and 10 private ones. The committee has since created a shortlist of 30, but wrangling over the eligibility of some of these institutions reportedly continues, and no further announcements have yet been made: a delay probably caused by government attention focusing on other priorities during the run-up to the election.

Of the 30 shortlisted institutions, 18 feature in the THE World University Rankings, and 12 in the top 800. The data suggest that they are well placed to benefit from more attention. They score more highly for citation impact than other ranked universities in India, for instance. But the upper echelons of the Indian system in general seems to be on the right trajectory: India’s representation in the top 800 has grown from 17 to 21 universities in the past three years while the other BRIC nations (apart from China) have either stalled or lost ground. India’s improvement is also notable in comparison with some developed systems like Japan, whose representation in the top 800 has almost halved since 2016.

A detailed look at top-800 Indian universities reveals a diverse mix, both geographically and constitutionally. They include the specialist, centrally funded Indian Institutes of Technology, other centrally funded public universities such as the University of Delhi, state-run public institutions like Savitribai Phule Pune University in the western region of Maharashtra and private institutions like Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in the south-eastern province of Tamil Nadu. All of these have been recommended to be Institutions of Eminence.

Many observers of India’s system seem to be in broad agreement that some kind of initiative like the Eminence programme is needed to boost its number of world-class universities. But the same commentators are also quick to point out the potential flaws in its overall design, and the issues with its implementation. For instance, Antara Sengupta, a research fellow specialising in higher education at the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai, welcomes the “dedicated attention” and resources it offers, and acknowledges that autonomy measures such as more freedom to recruit overseas staff and students are “a first for Indian higher education”. But she adds that even if the envisaged 20 Institutions of Eminence are supported, this is still “too few” compared with China’s past excellence initiatives, such as Project 211, launched in 1995 to support more than 100 universities, and Project 985, launched in 1998 and ultimately supporting 39 institutions.

Sengupta also questions the narrowness of the six institutions selected so far: “Most are exclusively science and tech institutes,” she says. “No attention [has been] given to other streams, such as commerce and social sciences. This will only create more fragmentation in the system, resulting in less and less multidisciplinary institutes in the country.”

There has also been significant controversy over the inclusion on the shortlist of a total of three unbuilt “greenfield” universities. Philip Altbach, founding director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, says this exemplifies the “craziness” that can sometimes beset schemes in Indian higher education even when the “central idea is a good one”.

He also questions whether the money being put forward for the Eminence programme is really enough – particularly given modern India’s ability to invest in a large military – not to mention a fully fledged space programme. “If I was to name the biggest problems in India then one, two, three, four and five would be funding,” he says. “Higher education is consistently underfunded at all levels. If you’re thinking about research-orientated universities in particular, they are, by global standards, drastically unfunded. India can afford [to rectify] this now. It is not like they are proposing to change the whole system [but rather] to have a small number of universities that are world class.”

A look at the international data that exist on research appears to back up this point. According to Unesco figures, India’s per capita investment in R&D is woefully behind even other BRIC nations, at just $38 per person. It is a comparison that marginally improves when the smaller number of researchers in India is taken into account, but this in itself shows how weak the country’s research capacity is. Indeed, the Unesco data on researcher density show that China has more than five times as many researchers per head of population as India does.

India’s lack of research investment and intensity is likely to be one of the major explanations of why the country’s overall citation impact has remained flat over the past decade while that of comparator countries, such as China and Russia, has improved. It also reflects another major problem that India must resolve to move forwards: the brain drain of home-grown academic talent and the difficulty of attracting overseas-based researchers – both foreign-born and those originally from India – to the subcontinent.

World University Rankings data starkly show how far behind other major nations even the top institutions in India are in this area. The country’s average score for proportion of international staff is behind all the BRICS nations; its average level of international co-authorship is even further behind, and still losing ground. There have been attempts to attract overseas scholars, such as the Global Initiative of Academic Networks, the Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty Scheme and the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration, but critics point out that they sometimes only benefit a small number of institutions, while red tape can still prevent researchers staying longer term.

Then there is the major issue of academic pay in India simply being too low to attract people from abroad. Altbach points out that even for Indian PhD graduates who want to return to the country and help with its economic development, the far higher salaries available in commercial sectors such as IT and finance mean they are unlikely to choose a university career. He contrasts this with China’s Thousand Talents – recently expanded to “Ten Thousand Talents” – programme, which pays “Western salaries” to returning Chinese academics. “That is not part of Indian thinking,” Altbach says.

Sengupta suggests that more funding is also needed at early career level. “The Indian government and institutes need to provide favourable pay and conditions to PhD and postdoctoral candidates to help them produce quality research in the country,” she says. It would also be “pertinent to link research with industry and society needs, so that students feel it worthwhile to come back to the country and contribute to national causes”. And she suggests that the government offer to help fund Indian students’ studies abroad, on the proviso that they return to India to work for a set period.

A further potential route to building academic capacity in India might be to boost the number of students coming the other way. This is the aim of the recently launched Study in India initiative, which aims to double the nation’s share of the world’s international students from 1 to 2 per cent by 2023. But this will involve quadrupling the current total of less than 50,000: a huge ask in a system that, in contrast to China’s (which has seen its share of international students grow sharply in recent years), domestic students are still fleeing in increasing numbers. Many observers suggest that India would be better to focus on wholesale domestic reform.

According to Craig Jeffrey, director of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne, it is important to remember that the vast majority of Indian students study not at centrally funded universities but at regional institutions. Specifically, millions are enrolled at thousands of teaching-only colleges affiliated to public universities funded by India’s 36 states and union territories. “This means that the vast majority of undergraduates in India are not taught by scholars who are research-active in the sense in which this phrase is typically used globally”, he says, adding that the condition of regional institutions, especially those in the north, can be poor.

Attempts to keep the most talented students in India, and so build academic capacity from the ground up, would be helped by trying “to identify ‘key universities’ from among state-run universities…rather than focusing always on central universities and institutions”, Jeffrey adds. And the true test of the success of the Eminence programme, he adds, will be the extent to which it becomes a “catalyst” for regional improvement.

Sengupta adds that the affiliated colleges system in particular is a major issue hampering higher education in India – not least by being a huge administrative burden on state universities. But the only effective way to quickly deal with that situation would be to abolish the system – perhaps by offering “absolute autonomy to select well-performing colleges”, freeing them from “the archaic regulations under the numerous regulating agencies” in India.

But while Altbach agrees that many of the solutions to India’s woes lie at the regional level, where funding is most scant, local politics makes him pessimistic that the affiliated colleges system can be reformed.

“A lot of them are run by politicians and other folk who don’t know anything about higher education,” he says, adding that these figures’ involvement is motivated solely by the opportunity afforded by running a college to obtain “votes and influence”. Therefore, such colleges require “a heavy hand of supervision. So I don’t think there is a short-term solution to this really ridiculous system.”

But Altbach is more optimistic about the growing number of new private not-for-profit universities, such as O.P. Jindal Global University and Ashoka University, which have the potential to be more innovative without being weighed down so much by regulation. “They can pay higher salaries, and some are doing so. They have attracted back some Indians from abroad who are idealistic and who go to these places [un]burdened by the bureaucracy and with some interesting educational ideas,” he says.

However, he adds that currently such institutions are primarily focused on teaching undergraduates: to become research orientated, they would need much more investment. Establishing partnerships with overseas universities might ordinarily be a solution, but restrictions on foreign investment that still prevent Western universities from setting up in India make that difficult.

So, once again, money is the sticking point; perhaps real reform in India will only take place when politicians at both the federal and regional level believe that they will win votes if they pledge major investment across the system and not just concentrated in a clutch of elite institutions.

For Pushkar, the concerns about unemployment, combined with the vast size of India’s youth vote, offer rich pickings for any political party that did make such pledges.

“It’s a puzzle, really, why India’s politicians don’t do more to connect with large numbers of young people...by placing education to the forefront [of their electoral platforms],” he says. “Politicians will pay more attention…only when there is demand from below.”

Publicație : The Times

Chinese students are not Australia’s enemy within

Opponents should learn from Chinese candidates’ successful and potentially formative forays into democratic politics, says Salvatore Babones

Chinese international students are a huge presence on Australian university campuses, and nowhere more so than at the University of Sydney. Their exact number is hard to pin down; the university is very proud that it draws students “from over 130 countries” but quite coy about the distribution of their nationalities. However, estimates suggest that Chinese students make up nearly one-quarter of Sydney’s student body.

The institution’s reticence is perhaps unsurprising at a time when Australia's main public broadcaster is reporting on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence on campuses – not to mention the country’s parliament holding hearings into CCP infiltration of student organisations and its newspapers screaming that Australian sovereignty is “under threat” from CCP influence.

The publication in 2018 of Clive Hamilton's Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia stoked the moral panic to fever pitch. It didn’t help that Hamilton’s original publisher, Allen & Unwin, apparently got cold feet because of fears of Chinese government retaliation; the book was picked up by boutique publisher Hardie Grant Books instead.

Among Hamilton’s warnings is the suggestion that Australian universities’ dependence on Chinese international student tuition fees threatens Western values, such as freedom and democracy. For example, some Chinese students hold jingoistically patriotic views and object when lecturers depict Taiwan as an independent country or reference the teaching of the Dalai Lama. Hamilton argues that Australian universities may self-censor to avoid offending such sensibilities.

At Sydney, warnings about Chinese students have focused on their engagement in student politics. Commentator Nick Cater of the centre-right thinktank the Menzies Research Centre singles out Chinese-born Jacky He, the newly elected president of the university’s Students’ Representative Council, for running on a “Panda Warriors” ticket pitched specifically at Chinese students.

But the reality is that He won by focusing on bread-and-butter student concerns. His campaign focused on reducing textbook costs, making the council’s expenditures “more transparent”, holding more events catering to international students and lobbying for international students to have access to the same reduced-price transit cards as local students.

The same is true of Weihong Liang, the Chinese doctoral student elected last June to lead the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association. Liang stood on a platform of prioritising spending on student needs, increasing services for master’s students, and recruiting new members to the association (membership is free but voluntary).

This focus on issues that directly affect students is a popular departure from the habit of Sydney student politicians to campaign on national and international issues, such as refugee policy and climate change. Not that the locals have taken the hint. Instead of responding to the Chinese challenge head-on, local politicos (both students and professionals) have turned instead to implying that Chinese student politicians are really front-running for the CCP.

It seems to have escaped everyone’s attention that there’s no good reason why a Chinese student politician in Australia shouldn’t be a member of the CCP. After all, these students aren’t running for Australian political office. Still, it’s bad optics, and the Chinese students themselves routinely deny the charge.

Their critics also object to their links to Sydney’s China Development Society, a student organisation set up in 2016 by Ye Xue, an international relations PhD student, and modelled on the society of the same name at the London School of Economics. Recognised as an official student society by the University of Sydney Union in 2017, the 600-member organisation is constitutionally non-political, but is accused by Cater of promoting “Beijing’s official interpretation of China, free from discussion of the three Ts: Taiwan, Tiananmen and Tibet”. Most of the current crop of successful Chinese student politicians got their first experience of community organising through volunteering with it.

The society’s major annual event is a forum, whose 2018 iteration featured an array of Australia-based academics (including myself) and attracted some 150 attendees. The forum’s critics might learn a thing or two by comparing it with the recent School Strike 4 Climate. When students take a Friday off school to protest climate change, with no penalty and the encouragement of their teachers, you might question how committed they really are. But when students give up a Saturday late in the semester, just when papers are coming due, to participate in discussions about the future of their country, you can be sure that they mean it.

The China Development Society gives Chinese students a space to engage in frank discussions that would likely be prohibited (or at least carefully stage-managed) in China itself. These students are gracious enough to conduct their discussions in English and invite the rest of us to participate.

The best way to learn democracy is to live it, and they are living it. It’s no wonder that the development society’s alumni are winning campus elections. One can only dream that some day they will be winning elections in China, too.

Publicație : The Times

Australia must resist the siren call for greater involvement with China

Australia’s vice-chancellors must wake up: China's munificence is all motivated by its vast geopolitical ambition, says Nick Forster

In recent years, the idea that Australian universities should engage more closely with China has become an unquestioned mantra among most of the country’s vice-chancellors. We are told repeatedly that not only should we continue to welcome thousands of Chinese students to Australia (on which much recurrent university funding now depends), we must also encourage large-scale Chinese funding and investment in our tertiary sector.

The problem is that China is fashioning a new world order in its own interests. Despite all its denials, its domestic and international strategies represent the biggest piece of geo-economic, geopolitical and geo-military engineering ever attempted by a nation state. Moreover, the Chinese regime is not remotely concerned about the values of the countries it seeks to exert control over, having loaned large sums of money to both left- and right-wing governments, and to dictatorships and democracies alike. Nor does it care about corruption, political repression, violence against ethnic minorities, systemic abuses of human rights, or poor employment and environmental standards.

China’s activities in Australia’s university sector are merely the continuation of state business as usual overseas. Clive Hamilton’s 2018 book, Silent Invasion: China’s Influence in Australia, describes “the insidious silencing effect of the research money pouring into Australian universities” from state-sanctioned Chinese sources; the demands for apologies from lecturers who have questioned the legitimacy of Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea; and the verbal and cyber-threats made against Australian-Chinese students and academics who speak out against China.

It also documents how, more than a decade ago, the Chinese government targeted universities in Australia, as well as the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, for infiltration by its agents. It identifies “at least 17” scientists with links to the Chinese military working on sensitive military projects in Australian universities.

But vice-chancellors have not learned the lessons of Hamilton’s book. Last September, for instance, Melbourne’s Victoria University cancelled the screening of a documentary, In the Name of Confucius, which claims that Confucius Institutes promote Chinese influence. The decision was reportedly made under pressure from the Chinese Consulate, the director of the university’s Confucius Institute and the dean of its business faculty. While the excuse was that the screening “would take place in the same building” as the Confucius Institute, it is easy to surmise that the real reason was the risk of offending China and losing valuable income from Chinese students.

Readers of Times Higher Education will be well aware of growing concerns about the activities of the 516 Confucius Institutes that operate at universities outside China, and several countries, including the US, have announced inquiries into their activities.

In Australia, the Chinese businessman Huang Xiangmo had his Australian passport cancelled and was banned from returning to Australia in February for allegedly using donations to buy political influence for the Chinese Communist Party. Huang had also provided the bulk of the start-up funding for the pro-Beijing Australia China Research Institute at the University of Technology Sydney in 2014. The remainder was donated by another Chinese businessman, Zhou Chulong, a close associate of Huang. Both were previously involved with the Beijing-controlled Australia Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China. Is this the kind of funding we want to bring into our university sector?

Another publisher, Cambridge University Press, came under fire in 2017 for removing articles and book reviews from its China Quarterly website after China’s education ministry threatened to block access to the site (although the publisher later reversed this decision). A third, Springer Press, was criticised for its decision in 2018 to remove 1,000 articles from its website that contained sensitive words, such as “Tiananmen Square”, “Tibet” and “human rights”. Further pressure was applied to Western publishers in January when several were informed that any publications critical of China would be banned and they needed “to employ better self-censorship” in the future.

Do we really need to remind ourselves that the Chinese Communist Party does not believe that academics should be free to criticise those in power? On several occasions, Xi Jinping has declared that the Communist Party is “waging a war against Western values” and Enlightenment ideals, and it is now engaged in a systematic and repressive campaign to curb freedom of expression among both academics and students in its domestic university sector. A recent example was the suspension by Tsinghua University of the liberal law professor, Xu Zhangrun, for writing articles critical of Xi Jinping’s economic and social policies.

Taking these facts into account, it is reasonable to conclude that it would be an act of supreme folly for Australian universities to engage more closely with China. If it isn’t, our vice-chancellors have a duty to explain why not.

Publicație : The Times

Teaching intelligence: digital literacy in the ‘alternative facts’ era

Today’s students have access to vast amounts of information, so how can academics teach them to critically assess what they read online?

The advent of the internet and social media has put a wealth of information – and other people’s opinions – at students’ fingertips. Twenty years ago, students would be expected to spend hours in the library digging through journals. While the internet has removed that obstacle to learning, more than just peer-reviewed articles can be found online.

A special issue of the journal Teaching in Higher Education has focused on the contribution made by higher education to expertise and knowledge in the age of “alternative facts”.

“We are now in a ‘post-truth’ era where conventional forms of knowledge and methods for validating knowledge claims are downplayed by those in power and where expertise – and the experts who hold it – are under attack,” write the issue’s editors, Neil Harrison, deputy director of the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford, and Kathy Luckett, director of the humanities education development unit at the University of Cape Town, in their editorial.

According to Professor Harrison, “the task of being a student has changed: from one of finding information to one of dealing with and assessing information”.

The guiding rationale of the special issue was that universities are still too slow to recognise this change and address it, he told Times Higher Education.

“It is a mistake to believe that just because today’s students grew up in a digital world they have all the skills they need to assess information; that assumption is part of the problem,” he said.

The other issue is how social media has changed the dynamic of information in our society, Professor Harrison added. “We've moved away from the idea of experts who assess information to one where the validity of a statement is based on the likes, retweets and shares it gets, rather than whether the information is valid.”

The first task of universities is to go back to basics and “help students to understand the difference between knowledge and information, and how knowledge is created, which is separate to how information is created”, Professor Harrison said. “Within [each] discipline, what are the skills needed to assess that?”

Many assume that schools or colleges are teaching this, but that is not the case, he added. “Academics should also be wary of the extent to which they themselves understand the new paradigms of knowledge creation,” Professor Harrison warned. They tend not to be digital natives, and may interact with social media in a different way from students.

Practically, students need to understand the different forms of information available – the difference between journal articles, books, blog posts and social media – and their differing credibility and authenticity.

“Students often mistakenly believe that because it’s in a book it must be credible, but anyone can write a book if they get a publisher for it,” Professor Harrison pointed out. “There is often very little checking of what’s in a book because it’s a commercial enterprise, rather than an academic one, unlike a journal article where you know it has been through a peer review process.”

Alison MacKenzie, a lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast and author of another article in the issue, on “digital literacy and the epistemology of ignorance”, agreed.

“For academics, it’s teaching students digital literacy: to know what a trustworthy article is, what makes it reliable and how you assess that. Teach them that a journal has gone through the peer review system,” she said.

“And students need to be taught to avoid using Google when doing academic work,” she said. Students have a lot of misplaced trust in Google, believing that the top five results in a Google search, or the articles that appear the most, are the most trustworthy, she added – but an algorithm that has nothing to do with academic merit creates the list.

“It’s because [students] are used to using [Google] and it’s so much quicker,” Dr MacKenzie said. “But they should be using the library; we need to encourage them to use library services instead.”

Professor Harrison added that another element is how to teach students the nature of an academic argument and constructing an argument, “helping them to navigate that line between opinion and knowledge”.

Professor Harrison highlighted a paper in the special issue by Jake Wright, a senior lecturer at the University of Minnesota Rochester, which, he said, showed that many students believe “there are two sides to every story, and everybody has equally valid opinions” and says that dismantling such an attitude is part of the solution.

“Take climate change: 99 per cent of scientists say climate change is a fact but 1 per cent of the fringe don’t. The danger is that they are given equal time and equal voice,” Professor Harrison said.

Publicație : The Times

 The Shadow of Unfairness: A Plebeian Theory of Liberal Democracy, by Jeffrey Edward Green

Lincoln Allison is unimpressed by an attempt to promote plebeianism as a political philosophy

As a young adult, my principal activities were the learning and teaching of political philosophy. The subject had been prominently declared “dead” but was able to continue in the forms of biography and autopsy. Then came John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice (1971). I abandoned the subject, but it revived as a kind of Rawlsian theology.

Jeffrey Green’s book is located securely within this genre. The first two footnotes in the text proper refer to Rawls and Jürgen Habermas and define contemporary political theory as concerned primarily with the ideal of “a free and equal society”. (The phrase is from Rawls, but it is virtually identical to one used by Habermas.) Immediately, I must confess, my lip curls and I assume the book will be an exercise in squaring circles and avoiding issues. Free and equal? As an individual, you need a private income to be meaningfully free, and collectively the freedom that allows excellence seems to thrive best under feudal power: think of Vienna 1900 and compare it with the squalid little republics that replaced Habsburg rule. Green freely concedes that private property and family are the chief obstacles to equality, but many would argue that they are also the necessary conditions of liberty.

To deal with this, we have plebeianism, a concept that arises out of Green’s reflections on the late Roman Republic. In both that society and ours, the majority class have only a small share of wealth and power. But “with plebeianism the differentiation between the Few and the Many is meant to problematize, regulate and contest – and not merely instantiate – the superior power of the superrich”. This obviously distinguishes plebeianism from socialism, and one of its clearest prescriptions is greater regulation of the very rich. (I admit to being tempted by greater regulation for the Trumps and Mike Ashley, but would rather leave Bill Gates and the Duke of Northumberland to get on with it.)

The plebeian life thus prescribed is one of expressing resentments and demanding regulations. That doesn’t sound much fun, but Green has the sense (and the scholarship) to complement it with a modernised form of Epicureanism in his final chapter. This is not, obviously, as anti-political as the classical version, but it does insist on the propriety of a private sphere of life. We must learn “to care and not care” (the phrase is T. S. Eliot’s) and cultivate for ourselves a world of friends, gardens (literal and metaphorical) and, bless the author, drink. The argument is a necessary addition, but also stands alone.

However, I do find it extremely irritating to see how this intellectual tradition treats the concept of justice/fairness. To return to Rome, the legal definition of justice was suum cuique, to each his desert. But we can determine what we deserve in myriad contradictory ways, basing it on theories of reward, of equality or of natural rights – or, of course, we could base claims, as we normally do, on the particular conventions and obligations formed in a given context. Thus justice is a concept that works well enough within well-defined systems of rules, but social justice only denotes an area of essential and irresoluble contest. It is jolly unfair that some people have much more money than others, but it is also jolly unfair – and in a much more common sense – to take people’s money off them if they have acquired it within existing rules. The intellectual tradition that this book embraces assumes that there are knowable and universal forms of justice derived from abstractions. Which is why I call it Rawlsian theology rather than philosophy.

Publicație : The Times

Entrepreneurship is ‘21st-century heroism’, students told

Analysis of nine European universities finds the ‘innovation’ agenda has taken root – often pushed by students who want to solve the world’s problems

Universities are teaching their students to view entrepreneurship as a kind of “21st-century heroism”, according to a new Europe-wide analysis that uncovers how deeply some institutions have taken on a new role to promote “innovation” in the economy and wider society.

This so-called third mission has sometimes been seen as suffering from neglect compared with the university’s traditional goals of teaching and research. But a new report, based on more than 100 interviews at nine universities across Europe, suggests that in at least some institutions, that might be changing.

Sybille Reichert, the report’s author and former chancellor of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, said that she was “struck” by how the third mission had moved from a “marginalised space” in universities to become central to teaching and research.

It is no longer seen as a “special extra function once you’ve done the core of teaching and research”, she said.

The report, The Role of Universities in Regional Ecosystems, was commissioned by the European University Association and presented at its recent annual conference.

The findings show not just changes in policy to ensure that academics work outside their disciplines and universities, but a reshaping of students’ worldviews to make them more “entrepreneurial”.

“Innovation is staged as a new form of 21st-century heroism in which the entrepreneur, with unmitigated energy and faith in his – or more rarely her – success, meets a near-impossible challenge and, with the help of loyal supporters, defies all adversities to win success,” the report finds.

At universities including Aalto University in Finland, Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, and the Technical University of Munich, students are being encouraged to think of themselves as “innovators” who “find or adapt to disruptive innovations”.

“I was struck by how hyped the whole start-up scene was,” Dr Reichert said.

But this shift in mindset was only in part being pushed by universities – much of the impetus is coming from students themselves, she added.

“There’s this sense of urgency in wanting to address the big challenges of our time,” she said. On the whole, an enthusiasm for entrepreneurship was not being driven by dreams of Silicon Valley fortunes, Dr Reichert explained; rather, many surveyed student start-ups tackled environmental problems. “The money question is actually subordinate,” she said.

The report also found widespread concern about a “dependence” on research funding from industry as public support dwindled in several countries.

Even corporate representatives said that they were concerned that the balance had tipped too far away from blue-sky, “unplanned” research with unclear outcomes, Dr Reichert warned. Cutbacks in curiosity-driven research were seen as “undermining innovation in the long term” she said.

She also discovered a big uptick in the hiring of so-called professors of practice, part-time teachers who also work in industry, hired to bring real-life problems to the lecture hall, or act as student mentors. At some universities, “it’s not one or two, it’s hundreds”, she explained.

This desire to use lecture hall knowledge in the real world had transformed how students view what university is for, Dr Reichert said, perhaps because of greater awareness of the pressing environmental, social and economic challenges facing the world.

“The sense of urgency is different,” she said, adding that there was a feeling among students that “if we don’t solve these problems, they will solve us.”

Publicație : The Times

Chinese Thought from Confucius to Cook Ding, by Roel Sterckx

Jonathan Mirsky applauds an analysis that links age-old traditions of thought with politics today

In this remarkable book, Roel Sterckx – Joseph Needham professor of Chinese history, science and civilisation at the University of Cambridge – considers ancient ideas that will surprise and please China scholars, while writing in an everyday style to inform those new to Chinese history. His striking achievement is to show how some of the most ancient Chinese ideas, ideals and propositions, reaching back millennia, were embraced in the 20th century by Mao Zedong and remain alive and potent in how the country is governed today.

The introduction alone is invaluable, learned and accessible. After this, Sterckx explores subjects such as the individual and the collective, behaving well, work and wealth, and the art of government, all of which extend far back in time but echo or remain prescriptive today.

I began studying Chinese history in 1955, taught by leading historians. I now realise how disconnected their teaching of traditional periods was from contemporary “political science”.

Here is Sterckx’s most valuable and convincing proposition: “Ancient China produced a chain of ideas that was to inform the way in which the Chinese have viewed the world ever since.” I recall examining the piles of books next to Mao’s bed after he died, impressed by their variety and often antiquity. Sterckx observes that he drew on the image of ancient China’s roaming debaters to launch his Hundred Flowers campaign in 1955, only to abort this short-lived movement when he concluded “that the criticism offered was unhealthy and damaging to his authority”. So too “the notion that power should issue from and reside in one individual or institution reverberates up until today” – a fact hammered home by Xi Jinping, who has had himself proclaimed president for life, the single all-powerful leader who is the traditional and contemporary political ideal.

Another ancient conviction, carried down into today’s China, is that prominent officials are not averse to publicly practising calligraphy, poetry and landscape painting. Those of us studying China in the late 1950s and visiting the country while Mao was still smashing much of the cultural past admired his skills with a brush and in ancient forms of poetry.

Yet another ancient idea, proclaimed at enormous gatherings of the Communist Party elite, is the conviction that China is a series “of concentric circles in which the centre is seen to radiate influence into the periphery, at home and then abroad, materially, physically, and ethically”. This is plain as China extends its influence into the wider Pacific zone and then as a friend in regions as far away as Africa, with a world outside viewed as a graded zone of waning degrees of civilisation. Such expansion was accompanied by the conviction, Sterckx explains, that “those who refuse to be transformed by the civilizing influence of Chinese power are bound ‘to fall off the map’”.

“Cooking provides a perfect metaphor for governance,” notes Sterckx, plunging into the traditional past. In an ancient text, a ruler discusses skill and harmony with Cook Ding, who was adeptly chopping up an ox with little effort. Today Xi, who imprisons dissidents and sweeps up hundreds of thousands of Muslims, contends that “good politics resembles the art of mixing a stew into a harmonious blend so as to ‘eliminate contradictions and divergence’”

Publicație : The Times

Des étudiants ont voulu refuser l’entrée de Sciences Po à Alain Finkielkraut

La conférence de l’académicien, qui avait été annulée puis délocalisée, a finalement été reprogrammée dans les locaux de la prestigieuse école parisienne, sous haute protection policière.

Un philosophe, des élèves, une école. Dans les faits, quoi de plus commun? Pourtant, la conférence intitulée «Modernité, héritage et progrès» donnée par Alain Finkielkraut mardi 23 avril à Sciences Po Paris a failli tourner court. Un groupe militant nommé «Sciences Po en lutte - Institut Clément Méric» (du nom d’un jeune militant d’extrême gauche décédé après une rixe entre deux groupes ndlr), se réclamant de l’«antiracisme politique» a appelé à un «rassemblement général» de protestation devant l’école pour ne pas que l’académicien puisse y donner sa conférence.

«Il ne peut pas exister de ‘dialogue’ lorsque des individus aussi profondément réactionnaires qu’Alain Finkielkraut, par leurs propos et leurs idées, mettent nos vies et nos existences en danger, et justifient la montée d’un climat de violences», dénonçait le communiqué au vitriol publié par ces étudiants de Sciences Po le mardi 23 avril.

La conférence d’Alain Finkielkraut a finalement eu lieu

Alain Finkielkraut, philosophe et essayiste, intervient régulièrement dans le champ médiatique sur divers sujets d’actualité. Cette fois-ci, il avait été invité par «Critique de la raison européenne», une association souverainiste de Sciences Po Paris. Après avoir annulé la venue de l’essayiste pour des raisons de sécurité, les organisateurs ont ensuite décidé de délocaliser la rencontre dans les locaux de l’Ipag, école de commerce située à quelques pas de Sciences Po. Puis, la conférence a finalement de nouveau été déplacée à Sciences Po, au 13 rue de l’université, sous haute protection policière.

Regarder sur Figaro Live

«Nous avons un peu joué au chat et à la souris pour que cette conférence ait bien lieu, explique Étienne Campion, l’un des organisateurs et journaliste au Figaro. Nous n’avons pas annoncé que la conférence aurait finalement lieu à Sciences Po, la vingtaine de jeunes mobilisés contre la venue d’Alain Finkielkraut s’est donc rassemblée devant l’Ipag», relate-t-il.

«C’est vous les fascistes, c’est vous les années 30»

Finalement, les militants se rendent compte de la supercherie et se regroupent au coin de la rue de l’Université voisine. À l’arrivée de l’essayiste, ils l’insultent copieusement, selon plusieurs témoins. Et celui-ci leur répond: «C’est vous les fascistes, c’est vous les années 30, c’est vous qui faites des autodafés».

Avec plusieurs dizaines de minutes de retard, la conférence a finalement pu se dérouler dans des conditions normales. «Nous n’étions pas beaucoup, à cause du changement de lieu. Alain Finkielkraut nous a remerciés d’avoir eu le courage de venir malgré les événements», raconte une spectatrice.

«On est passé du politiquement correct à la censure pure et simple»

Dans un communiqué publié plus tard dans la soirée, le groupe «Sciences Po en lutte - Institut Clément Méric» a dénoncé la «complicité de Sciences Po avec l’extrême droite, et leur choix de faire appel aux forces de l’ordre contre ses étudiants». De son côté, l’association souverainiste se félicite que cette rencontre ait finalement pu avoir lieu. «On est passé du politiquement correct à la censure pure et simple, condamne Étienne Campion. C’est affligeant, mais c’est plutôt ridicule que vraiment menaçant».

Alain Finkielkraut avait également été pris à partie il y a quelques semaines par des «gilets jaunes» proférant notamment des injures antisémites à son encontre. Une scène d’une grande violence que n’avait pas manqué de dénoncer une grande majorité de la classe politique française.

Publicație : Le Figaro

Médecine: le numerus clausus augmente de 10% en 2019

 À l’université, le numerus clausus qui limite le nombre d’étudiants admis en deuxième année de médecine, va être relevé de 10% en 2019, avant d’être supprimé en 2020.

Les étudiants en médecine vont ressentir un certain soulagement, à quelques semaines du concours de fin de première année commune des études de santé (Paces). Le «numerus clausus» ou limitation du nombre d’étudiants admis en deuxième année de médecine, va en effet être relevé de 10% en 2019, avant d’être supprimé en 2020.

Un arrêté, paru au Journal officiel durant le week-end de Pâques, explique en effet que le nombre d’étudiants qui seront admis en deuxième année de médecine, pharmacie, dentaire et sage-femme à la rentrée de septembre augmentera de 10%, par rapport à l’an dernier.

«Le numerus clausus» a été institué par la loi du 30 juin 1971. Il signifie en latin «nombre fermé» et permet de fixer une limite au nombre d’étudiants admis en deuxième année de médecine, de pharmacie, de kiné et de sages-femmes. Les étudiants sont ainsi soumis à un concours pour accéder en deuxième année d’études et entrent en concurrence avec leurs camarades. Le numerus clausus est fixé par profession. Il n’y a donc pas de note minimale à atteindre pour valider son année. Ce chiffre a pour objet de réguler le nombre de professionnels de santé exerçant ces métiers.

Voici un tableau récapitulant le nombre d’étudiants de Paces autorisés à poursuivre leurs études en deuxième année de médecine à la rentrée 2019, en comparaison à ceux autorisés à poursuivre leurs études en 2018.

Pour la filière médecine, 606 places supplémentaires vont être ouvertes en 2019 par rapport à 2018.

14.928 places seront ouvertes

Pour les quatre filières, médecine, pharmacie, dentaire et sage-femme, 14.928 places seront ouvertes, toutes voies d’accès confondues, soit 1.405 de plus qu’en 2018, selon l’arrêté publié dimanche.

La hausse sera plus visible en médecine (9.314 places, soit 1.109 places de plus) et en dentaire (1.320 places, soit 117 places de plus), mais elle sera tout de même sensible en pharmacie (3.261 places, soit 137 de plus) et en maïeutique-sages-femmes- (1.033 places, soit 42 de plus).

Cet arrêté de la ministre de la Santé, Agnès Buzyn, précède de quelques semaines à peine le concours de fin de première année commune des études de santé (Paces).

Cette augmentation devrait aboutir à la suppression de la Paces et du «numerus clausus» à partir de la rentrée 2020, dans le cadre de la loi santé adoptée à l’Assemblée nationale et dont l’examen au Sénat est prévu en juin. Ce texte prévoit que les quotas d’étudiants admis en 2e ou 3e année seront à l’avenir déterminés par les universités, en accord avec les agences régionales de santé, selon les capacités et les besoins du territoire.

Agnès Buzyn affirmait en février que cette réforme avait notamment pour but «d’augmenter de 20% à peu près le nombre de médecins formés». Emmanuel Macron avait qualifié «d’absurdité» ce quota d’étudiants admis en deuxième année de médecine.

Publicație : Le Figaro

« J’ai failli tout abandonner » : examens et rupture amoureuse, un périlleux cocktail

Traverser une séparation avant un concours ou des partiels, c’est faire face à une double épreuve. Témoignages d’étudiants pris entre la tentation d’abandonner leurs révisions ou de se consoler dans le travail.

La période d’examens, avec le stress qu’elle génère, est un moment de vulnérabilité pour les étudiants et leur couple. Neil Webb/Ikon Images / Photononstop

Deux âmes qui errent, mortes d’ennuis, dans une boîte de nuit se retrouvent forcément au coin fumeur. Il est une heure du matin et il fait un peu froid. Marie et Brice* sont deux étudiants strasbourgeois, et ils ont tous deux égaré leurs amis dans ce night-club de Kehl. Les jeunes de 20 ans entament une discussion qui s’étire sur plus de trois heures. Après cette soirée d’octobre 2015, commencent trois années de relation. Leur couple file, puis s’effile. Brice est passionné de sport, qu’il exerce à un haut niveau, quand Marie ne parle que d’actualité et de culture générale depuis qu’elle prépare les concours des écoles de journalisme. En avril 2018, le jeune homme décide de rompre. Marie, en licence 3 de langues, littératures et civilisations étrangères à la fac de Strasbourg, est à la veille de sa semaine de partiels. C’est la douche froide. « La première nuit, j’ai pleuré toutes les larmes de mon corps. J’ai cessé de manger, je ne dormais presque plus. Chaque matin, au réveil, j’avais l’impression d’avoir vécu un cauchemar. »

Difficile de garder la tête haute lorsqu’on fait face à une rupture amoureuse pendant une période d’examen ou de révision de concours. Une situation moins exceptionnelle qu’il n’y parait : les semaines qui précèdent d’importantes échéances sont des moments de vulnérabilité pour les jeunes couples. Moins de temps à consacrer à l’autre, focalisation sur son travail, stress… « La tension y est importante et on peut y devenir plus fragile : on est moins patient, on s’énerve à la moindre remarque, note Didier Lauru, psychiatre et psychanalyste, auteur de Folies d’amour (Calmann-Lévy, 2003) et conseiller clinique à l’association Fil santé jeunes. Dans des relations amoureuses ambivalentes ou peu stables, c’est un moment propice à des séparations. » Des ruptures qui surgissent avec leur lot de remises en question profondes. « C’est une période de la vie où on a du mal à se situer, à savoir qui on est. La relation amoureuse – avec les séparations qui peuvent l’accompagner – fait partie des angoisses existentielles », analyse Didier Lauru.

Entre ses nuits hachées et ses crises de larmes, Marie sentait bien qu’elle « tirait sur la corde de la fatigue » pour réussir à la fois ses partiels et ses concours. Seule la perspective d’intégrer une école de journalisme et de réaliser son rêve d’enfant la faisait tenir. Les échéances passées, alors qu’elle n’est admise dans aucune des écoles qu’elle convoitait, Marie constate que sa relation a été fragilisée, dans ce moment particulier où elle était absorbée par son avenir. Et que son compagnon n’avait sans doute pas été d’un grand soutien. « Sur le moment, je me suis dit que j’avais tout donné dans mes études, et que j’avais tout perdu », souffle l’étudiante de 24 ans, qui s’envolera l’année prochaine « changer d’air » aux Etats-Unis.

Publicație : Le Monde

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