Category: Higher education

2023 predictions for UAE universities

“The higher education landscape in the UAE is on an exciting and dynamic journey and is now a destination of choice for many students”

The UAE has 11 universities featured in the rankings for the top 1,000.  It’s an impressive feat for a country that founded its first university, the United Arab Emirates University, in 1976, but how have they achieved this?

When you ask anyone working in higher education what 2023 looks like, the response is positive. Post-pandemic, the higher education landscape is filled with visions of a digital age and driving research to change the world.

This stems from what has been happening on college and university campuses for the last two years; fuelled by the pandemic, worldwide digital transformation, new learning formats and exploitation of the latest innovative technologies that can take educators and learners to another level beyond the zoom’ pandemic days. The UAE is no different.

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The UK digitisation process continues: the end of bio-metric residence permits

“Students with a course end date beyond 31 December 2024 have been left confused and panicked”

Since July 2015, the Bio-metric Residence Permit has been the main immigration status document held by those with a UK visa valid for longer than six months.

It is widely known that BRPs in circulation failed to incorporate next generation encryption technology, which was essential in order to meet specific EU requirements. At the time, the EU advised that BRPs can only be valid until 31 December 2024, and, although this notice has since been lifted by the EU, the UK has progressed with its plans to digitalise immigration status.

As part of the transition into the realms of digital status, individuals can prove their immigration status via the “View and Prove Your Immigration Status” online service.

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The prominence of non-STEM courses in the US

“The US offers a unique dual degree program that allows students to undertake two subjects of varied fields”

A recent study by the World Economic Forum revealed that creativity, originality and emotional intelligence are among the top 10 in-demand skills in 2023. And what’s interesting is that except for two, all are non-STEM skills, which means they do not fall under the purview of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

While researching the gradual shift towards non-STEM fields, I came across the McKinsey Global Institute trends report, which stated how the need for job skills will change between now and 2030. It emphasises on the demand for a person’s interpersonal skills, such as communication, empathy, and creativity. The report also states that the employees’ core performance areas are changing due to technological breakthroughs like automation and artificial intelligence.

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What has happened at the branch campus in Korea for the last 10 years?

“Korea’s ambition to bring in foreign branch campuses to Korea was viewed as a booster for the economic gains, with one important conditionality attached”

In 2012, the Korea established the  East Asian educational hub, Incheon Global Campus in a government-led efforts to promote globalisation in higher education. 10 years on, I want to investigate what has happened to US campuses in Korea over the past decade.

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Communicate with confidence when studying abroad

“New technology is making overseas learning experiences even easier”

Based on a recent survey conducted by Palaver, frustration (50%) and embarrassment (49%) are the top two emotions experienced when trying to speak local languages abroad.

As a result, we often rely on others to speak English instead. However, this restricts our conversations and ability to connect with others – particularly when studying abroad – as we depend on building new relationships to prevent loneliness.

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Complexities in the role of English in international students’ experiences in multilingual Hong Kong

“Simply stating English as the medium of instruction in the name of internationalisation leaves much room for disagreement and inconsistency”

Research over the past decade has unveiled the complexities of language issues both inside and outside the classroom. However, relatively few studies consider the experiences of students in non-Anglophone settings. My research fills this gap by examining the role of English in the multilingual context of Hong Kong.

Using interview data gathered from 24 full-time international students with little or no proficiency in Chinese, my research traces their experiences of using English in Hong Kong higher education. In particular, my work focuses on the ‘language ideologies’ of international students, especially what participants think should be the role of English in the university. The results offer food for thought.

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The value of the liberal arts through applied global learning

“The personal growth achieved via study abroad comes through intentional reflection on the challenges that arise from experiential education”

Crises inspire reflection. After suffering a loss or enduring catastrophe, it is only natural to reevaluate one’s choices and ask, “what is actually most important and valuable?”

Now, perhaps more than ever as students have returned to campus, they are questioning higher education’s return on investment. Students now look more intensely at the value of their experience through a different lens that includes both personal and professional growth to prepare for an uncertain future.

The Covid-19 pandemic changed a lot in college enrolment. The threat of contagion and subsequent necessity for isolation turned the traditional, in-person, campus-based approach on its head. Gone were the day-to-day experiential and social aspects of college that, for many, made the cost of matriculating worthwhile.

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The world needs a better understanding of the key role of education in sustainable development

“Different political, cultural and economic contexts across the world inevitably suggest that humanity may not share the same understanding of what  formal education should entail”

The Sustainable Development Goals were created by the United Nations to mobilise the world’s community in tackling a range of global problems.

‘Quality Education’ is the focus of Goal 4, but the remaining 16 SDGs also have links with education as an essential foundation of some of their targets.

However, there are apparent gaps in our knowledge around the definition and role of education in sustainable development; the links between the education goal and other goals; and the operationalisation of those links to help SDGs achieve their mission in sustainable development globally.

My recent research explores these gaps, highlighting the vague aspects of the definition of education and inconsistencies in the links between the education goal and other goals of the UN, their targets and indicators, which means that aspects of the process of utilising education to achieve sustainable development remain too vague.

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Higher-order thinking as a challenge facing Asian students at Western universities

“Despite having a reputation for being studious, Asian students often face uniquely complex challenges in developing key studying skills”

I studied 20 hours every day to enter medical school, believing that effort was the key to academic success and the concept of optimising my studying skills felt irrelevant.

However, after entering medical school where I faced more than double my previous workload, I realised that efficiency was crucial to manage the content, without compromising my mental health. For the last 10 years, I have worked as an educator with thousands of students around the world and have obtained extensive insights about how students approach learning.

These insights reinforce that developing efficient studying skills is crucial for academic success when students enter university. I have also noticed that Asian students, despite having a reputation for being studious, often face uniquely complex challenges in developing these studying skills.

This is especially true for higher-order thinking – a common expectation at Western universities – due to learning habits they carry from their home country.

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UK quality on the global stage

“While interest in UK higher education remains strong, the move away from international quality standards in English regulation poses significant risks”

Though it may not come to mind as an export in quite the same way as cars, oil or whisky, education contributes significantly to the UK’s international trade economy with higher education contributing 70% of the country’s total education revenue in 2019. The global reach of higher education yields numerous additional benefits including staff and student mobility, research collaboration and knowledge exchange. The UK Government’s latest international education strategy sets an ambitious target to increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year by 2030. The UK’s ability to meet this target will rely heavily on the global confidence currently enjoyed by UK higher education.

Reputation is not built overnight and the significant trust placed in the quality of UK higher education has been the result of a concerted effort by the sector over many decades, supported by a shared vision of what high-quality teaching and learning looks like.

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