Worldwide News Coverage

The United Kingdom has reached agreement with the European Union to rejoin the Erasmus+ programme from 2027. More than 100,000 people in the UK could benefit from the scheme in the first year alone for students and staff to study and train abroad.

The number of Indian students pursuing higher studies abroad has declined for the first time in three years, according to Indian government data, pointing to significant shifts in expectations, global opportunities, and constraints that are changing the pattern of overseas study among Indian students.

Employer confidence in higher education in the United States is relatively high among both Democrats and Republicans – in sharp contrast to the Trump administration’s narrative and recent polls targeting the general population which suggest that public trust in university education is waning.

Strikes calling for more investment in Dutch universities took place this week in Amsterdam, despite indications that the new coalition government may be planning to reverse over €1 million (US$1.17 million) in budget cuts and other measures proposed for higher education by the previous government.

Nepal’s interim government is taking new measures to limit political interference in higher education, often cited as affecting academic quality.

The Danish government has received a mixed response to its announcement that it will allocate DKK68 million (US$10.6 million) to universities for the purpose of sharpening students’ European language skills and equipping them for regional cooperation in a new world order.

Members of the Association of Commonwealth Universities met in Nairobi for ACU Congress 2025 to discuss the challenges universities face in a period of unprecedented instability globally and the critical role universities must play in preparing students for a future made uncertain by geopolitics, climate change and AI.

Two University World News journalists were honoured at the Africa Science Journalism Awards during the World Conference of Science Journalists, hosted in Tshwane, South Africa.

While digitalisation of higher education institutions alone cannot guarantee the fulfilment of the right to science, strengthening digital maturity is becoming central to higher education’s mission to expand access to knowledge.

Universities in the United Kingdom are increasingly using generative AI to ease the heavy workload of the national research assessment exercise.

Higher education institutions face a choice between allowing technological changes and AI to perpetuate existing inequities or using this moment to create systems that expand human potential.

We need to promote different levels of support for the arts and humanities, including an institutional culture that recognises the intrinsic value of critical thinking, intellectual freedom and creativity.

Collaboration between African and European universities may be moving in the right direction – but barriers to mobility for African academics and students continue to hold back equal cooperation between the two continents.

Universities can serve as the critical conscience of development, challenging orthodoxies, restoring knowledge sovereignty and co-creating locally grounded solutions.

The World Conference of Science Journalists opened in Pretoria, South Africa, marking a significant shift for the profession. It is the first time in the event’s 33-year history that the flagship gathering has taken place on African soil.

The challenge of developing and recognising micro-credentials cannot be met by providers and their organisations alone. Public authorities must accept an overarching responsibility for micro-credentials.