World news

University leaders would not exercise freedom even if the state did not have them under its thumb, says Maszlee Malik

Non-metropolitan campuses in the box seat as pandemic escalates exodus from the cities

Nuclear submarine announcement elevates importance of universities’ soft power influence, says former PM

College’s defenders say its demise will dilute free expression, but education minister says its original critics opposed it for the same reason

AI expert re-emerges at top Chinese university as former employer finds Uighur study breached Australian research code

Despite scepticism about the business model, short courses prove an earner for cash-starved institutions

But thousands of Australian researchers remain in limbo, with reviled rule still in force for grants under consideration

Technologically proficient teachers ‘struggled just as much’ in pandemic-induced online stampede

Permanent rather than casual staff now being targeted, report suggests, but expert queries data underpinning the analysis

Acknowledgment comes days after apology from Melbourne

Researcher rating tool ‘corrects for most biases’ and allows comparisons across disciplines

Buyout could remove ‘particularly innovative competitor’, watchdog warns

Observers worry that treasured institution could fracture, just like the region’s political partnership

Melbourne team focuses on ‘unsexy’ end of the next big thing in biomedicine

South Pacific nations trade barbs as unique pan-national university enters world stage

Long-time leader’s departure amid casino furore follows withdrawal of Newcastle’s coal-aligned appointee

With land prices and Covid costs both ballooning, universities are selling up and retreating on to campus

Methodological issues in 2016 study will be addressed, representative body says

Gamification is not a magic bullet and it will not magically make the most boring task exciting, but it can be a catalyst for change

Fait accompli shutdown ‘a metaphor for the decline of Western liberalism in Asia’, say experts after Singapore decision

While Antipodean institutions have fended off competition from Asia, the full impacts of Covid are yet to flow through

Notions of reconciliation and treaty should be treated as ongoing journeys rather than destinations, summit hears

Economist says scrutiny could boost transparency of university accounts, provide benchmarking advice and avoid risky excesses

Management blamed for ‘constraining of voice’ that corrals public interventions into academics’ disciplinary areas

Australian research suggests swapping assignments is more prevalent than buying or selling them

A recently formed group and an attendant conference hope to bring greater attention to issues being faced in India

International action needed to eliminate ‘cloned journals’ that prey on early career researchers, says Indian research integrity adviser

Australian findings on receptiveness to Covid misinformation have implications for teaching as well as engagement

Hundreds of thousands of foreign students continue to be left out as classes resume in September  

Regents accept task force recommendation that namesake is a ‘symbol of colonialism’, although exact legacy less clear

Fears for physics pipeline as 32 researchers relinquish up to A$22m for citing preprints

Review of Australia’s research assessment exercise focused on known problems and left inadequate time to fix them, critic says

Government told to disclose impacts on academics as outrage escalates over preprints rule

Australia’s largest regional university the latest to choose a leader from outside academia

Proposed redundancies target science, engineering and IT – disciplines supposedly favoured by funding reforms

Analysis of Australian job advertisements points to recovery, particularly in non-traditional research

Manipulated data in study of truth and behaviour threatens career of popular TED Talk star Dan Ariely

Former foreign students recount memorable experiences in world’s most isolated country, including being openly spied on by their hosts

Series of analyses in JAMA concludes that a promise to achieve greater racial balance in training doctors remains largely unfulfilled

While the dangers can be extreme in autocracies and war zones, nowhere is immune

ARC says it communicated rule change clearly, but applicants say it forces them to plagiarise to qualify for funding

One in five public health researchers pressured to conceal or change their findings, study finds

Some students still cheat despite thinking it is illegal, international survey finds

New paper dismantles arguments for higher education’s latest ‘craze’

Electoral rather than immunological considerations could determine when international students are allowed into Australia

Strategist also warns that politicisation of funding means universities in countries most dependent on the government would fare worst

Tanya Plibersek proposes accord with political opponents, while former Liberals accuse ex-colleagues of lacking leadership

Education minister concedes impact of plummeting international enrolments, but says things would be worse without intervention

EY ‘thought experiment’ probes a 2030 where teaching costs have evaporated and universities have lost their primacy

Access and safety in the one package, as island nation banks its Covid management success

Voluntary principles may be a fait accompli, with chancellors who endorsed them also sitting on remuneration committees

Australian epidemiologists pressed to defend unscientific aspects of lockdowns, as politicians exaggerate the evidence base

Vice-chancellors acted like fawning retail attendants in Pretty Woman, former prime minister says

Sydney and UNSW vow to collaborate more, while shrugging off snarky stereotypes

Pal Ahluwalia to run multi-country university from Samoa, as audit clears management of breaches

Asia operations are either being expanded or newly opened as the countries' universities aim to keep students engaged and enrolled

Many might be digital natives, but students warm to academics’ warts-and-all e-learning efforts

Whitlam and HECS fostered a ‘social psychology’ of indifference towards higher education, Australasian conference hears

Thousands of university students are now living under strict quarantine rules to meet local regulations

Continuing students slow to return despite government green light, while visa applications from first-timers are binned