Policy

Vietnam’s second planned partner university with Japan has been given the green light by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The nonprofit Tokyo Vietnam Medical University, part-funded by Japan’s Waseda Health Sciences Education Corporation, will be located in Hung Yen.

Less than nine months before national elections a study shows strong public support for taking international students out of net migration figures. The British Future and Universities UK report shows that 59% of the public says the government should not reduce international student numbers.

Ongoing teachers’ strikes in British Columbia have forced schools to cancel summer programmes and with less than a fortnight until schools are due to reopen, there are fears that the dispute may not be resolved in time for the beginning of the new academic year affecting some 11,000 foreign students.

The UK government has revoked the licence of 16 private colleges in its investigation into immigration fraud launched in June saying "If a college addresses the serious concerns we have identified, they may get their licence back; if not, we reserve the right to revoke it permanently."

All 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will join Australia’s New Colombo Plan, which funds undergraduates to study and do internships in the region, from 2015. The Australian government has committed AUS$100m to fund the project over the next five years, which Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says will build friendship and understanding "for generations to come".

The Canadian Bureau for International Education has called for the government to "mobilise a critical mass of our next generation" arguing that with just 3% outbound mobility Canada's future economic well-being is at stake if the country does not produce globally minded leaders.

A first-of-its-kind report by the Australian Trade Commission reveals the first six months of the year have seen an 11.5% increase on January to June 2013, with green shoots being seen in the ailing VET sector and notable growth from most source markets.

Ghana has delayed the opening of its universities and colleges by at least two weeks so that it can put in place measures to screen students coming from Ebola-hit countries, as institutions in other countries implement precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

The Turkish government has invested a record USA$96m in university scholarships to attract foreign students this year in an attempt to boost its status as a quality and affordable alternative to traditional destinations and reach its goal of hosting 200,000 international students by 2023.

The British Council has appointed CEO of leading UK charity Macmillan Cancer Support, Ciarán Devane, as its new Chief Executive, who will take over from current CEO Sir Martin Davidson by January 2015.

Canada’s Minister for Employment has laid clear that Canada is looking to profit from the US’s current immigration stalemate by making it easier for talented foreign graduates to find work and gain residency. “We’re seeking very deliberately to benefit from the dysfunctional American immigration system,” he said.

The launch of new Burmese government-funded scholarships for its outstanding students to study at overseas universities for the academic year 2014-15 has been met with mixed reviews as a result of the strict conditions and criteria that may ultimately limit its applicant numbers.

China has recently released a six-year Modern Vocational Education Development Strategy in a bid to raise the profile of vocational education and fill skills gaps in a job market. The shift in focus to vocational education translates into collaborative opportunities with international educators and industry.

The US Department of State is partnering with CollegeWeekLive, an online platform which provides video conferencing facilities and resources for students, to deliver a series of virtual college fairs to entice more international students to study in the US. Virtual event success means they are now considered "equally important" to traditional events.

The Business and Computer Training Institute in Dublin has become Ireland's sixth private college to close its doors. With the exception of the disruption the closure brings to genuine students, sector stakeholders have reacted positively to the closure as a way of weeding out bogus operators.