THE Awards 2008: shortlist It is four years since the launch of the Times Higher Education Awards.For the 2008 Awards, more than 130 institutions have submitted an impressive 500-plus entries. As always, shortlisting has been a difficult task, but the entries in the 18 categories paint a picture of a higher education sector that is innovative, imaginative and inspirational
Howdy partners As state funding for public education plummets, US universities are forging mutually beneficial alliances at local level. Jon Marcus reports
SPECIAL SERIES: How universities help fight crime Keith Nuthall
It's the mother of clichés: crime pays. But, happily for many of the world's top universities, this is sometimes true. With commercial and financial crime becoming ever more complex, academics are responding to demand and becoming experts on a subject that the private and public sectors want to understand. In the first of an occasional series of articles, University World News this week takes a look at some of the better-known North American academics in a cutting edge and developing field.
US: Experts tackle commercial criminals Monica Dobie
Companies fighting commercial crime are always on the lookout for new resources and tools to deal with the problem. Where better to look than the world's best universities in America?
EUROPE: EIT starts work with first board meeting Keith Nuthall
The often controversial European Institute of Innovation and Technology has begun operations, with its newly appointed governing board having its first meeting and the European Commission claiming it will help close Europe's research spending gap compared with the United States.
INDIA: Big grant for biomedical research Subbiah Arunachalam
Biomedical research in India is in for good times. The UK-based Wellcome Trust, the world's largest private sector funding agency for biomedical research, has joined with India's Department of Biotechnology to create a new biomedical research career programme. The £80 million (US$148.3 million), five-year partnership will not only boost cutting-edge biomedical research but also complement the recent Wellcome Trust investment to support public health research in the country.
RUSSIA: Study into training for oil and gas industry Nick Holdsworth
Russia's ability to produce specialist graduates for the oil and gas industries will be put under the spotlight in a new European Union-funded comparative study. The six-month investigation, Building Capability in Russian Educational Institutions, is being put out to tender and is expected to be ready to start next year.
US: Investigating collaboration in graduate education The American Council of Graduate Schools* is to investigate international collaborations in graduate education, following the award of a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The study will include joint and dual degrees, and student and faculty exchange programmes.
New Questions on Women, Academe and Careers Top scholars gather to share research findings and works in progress that explore why gender gaps persist in the professoriate and other prestigious jobs on campuses.
Did My Job Disappear? Either in the classroom or at career services, top business schools scramble to counsel students and recent alumni whose job prospects may have taken a hit with the recent shakeups on Wall Street.
Covering Up or Scaring Off? High school counselors remain divided on what they should tell colleges about the disciplinary records of applicants. Should admissions officers know if potential students were suspended?
The Competition to Be Transparent Long criticized for providing too little information about their prices and performance, college groups are now pouring (often overlapping) information onto the Internet.
Planning for Contraction Timothy Burke looks at the changing economic landscape for higher education -- and sees a coming period of relative austerity.
Can Higher Education Regulate Itself? Amid "pause" in federal push to toughen oversight of campuses and accreditors, academic leaders begin discussion of how to persuade public (and elected officials) that colleges can govern themselves.
I'll Take My Lecture to Go, Please Comprehensive study finds that students overwhelmingly prefer having their lectures available online, either for remote access or for later viewing.
It's All About Teaching - Latest NYT Magazine Education Issue steven bell
The New York Times Magazine fall education issue is now available online and this issue's theme is "It's All About Teaching". From the issue description: Does
teaching make you a bad writer ? Could it make you a
good president ? How would you
teach on YouTube ? How would you
teach in Dubai ? How can you teach
with ... style ? From
Alaska to
Alabama to the
Persian Gulf , we look at the mysteries of teaching in all its variety. There's too much here to describe it all so just take a look for yourself.
IHEs Improve Their Environmental Friendliness steven bell
Two out of three colleges and universities are more environmentally friendly than they were a year ago, according to a leading annual survey, as students press for more sustainable practices on their campuses. Just 15 schools received the highest grade. Colleges were graded on a range of factors - administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation, endowment transparency, investment priorities, and shareholder engagement.