GLOBAL

EDUCATION
NEWS
May 2022
QS Quacquarelli Symonds
Issue: 08

Education in Crisis
 24 | ASKING
THE
WRONG
QUESTIONS
5 | Editor’s welcome

8 | Back to brain drain

John O’Leary

13 | Supporting refugees
Niamh Ollerton

16 | SELF-CENS**SHIP
Afifah Darke

24 | Asking the wrong questions

Claudia Civinini

31 | Cracked model
Winnie Eley and Janet Ilievia

33 | Communicating research
Gitanjali Goswami

34 | Institutions of Happiness in India

Girinath Reddy, Jennifer George, Suchismita Mallick,
Ashwini A R, and Binju Madhav

41 | University success stories

55 | QS Stars results

56 | Movers & Shakers

2 Education in crisis QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 3

 We
Bring
Education in crisis
to
Scan to view the journey of annihilation
A
little while ago towards the tail end of a job While education is vital in a crisis, it is also vital we
interview, when the tables were turned and the understand the crisis education is in.
candidate was given the opportunity to put
This is the spirit of this edition of the QS Global
forward their own questions to the interviewers, I was
Education News magazine. In Education in Crisis, we
asked what my strategic long-terms plans were within
look at both sides of the coin; how education is helping
education. It was a good question. At the time, I was
support those in need, and the support education
closing out my eleventh year in education. After hours
requires. We ask: If education will save us, how
of discussions with highly experienced colleagues
will we save education?
from throughout the sector during my career, it was an
opportunity to unpack my thoughts. Perhaps that isn’t quite the right question to ask and
comes with it my own biases. We explore this idea
After a pause, I responded: it depends. Giving a
within the context of climate change research in “Asking
succinct answer to where we think education is headed
the wrong questions”, to discover best intentions
is difficult, and often predictions are a good way of
can still lead to trouble. The current method of using
ensuring that we’re wrong in the long run. While we
international fees to subsidise teaching and research
strive to be pre-emptive towards the needs of diverse
costs is unpacked in “Cracked model” to test its long-
communities, there are too many unforeseeable and
term sustainability. We also explore how refugees and
unpredictable changes in a complex education system
displaced people are being supported around the world.
that overlap across multiple areas of concern.
0
The question I received from the job candidate was an
As a sector, we often talk about the important role
0

opportunity to explain my thoughts to an engaged set

education plays in addressing global and community
of ears with little to no intimate understanding of my
problems, of which there are many. Areas such as
area of knowledge. Many know how rare that is and the
research on climate change, bolstering access to
pitfalls its absence can cause. Inside, we explore the
education, and supporting displaced students and
challenges and solutions for communicating research to
academics. Education, both as teaching and research, is
wider audiences outside academia.
vital within crises.
This edition releases a month before the 2022 QS
The focus of my answer to the candidate, however, was
Higher Ed Summit: Europe and serves as a companion
on the existential crisis education faces. British cabinet
document. Both share the same theme of education
minister Michael Gove’s infamous 2016 quote came
and crisis, albeit with the latter focussed on a European
to mind, “I think the people in this country have had
context. We hope QS-GEN 8 serves as preparation
enough of experts”, in part, challenging the expertise
for that summit, and look forward to furthering these
of universities. At the same time, there also remains
conversations in late June.
worries around funding, attracting exceptional thinkers
to universities, and academic freedom. I hope you and your family remain safe.

Anton John Crace

Anton is Editor and Program Designer at QS Quacquarelli Symonds. He was

the former Asia Pacific editor of The PIE News and was recognised as the
Taipei Medical University focuses on developing and applying key cancer Website Universities Australia Higher Education Journalist of the Year in 2019 at the
detection and early diagnosis technologies, assisting oge.tmu.edu.tw/research/
National Press Club of Australia.
doctors in planning the best treatment strategy and regular follow-up, and
providing patients with consistent and integrated medical care.
It also helps establish a genetic map of hereditary cancer families and
studies the relationship between gene expression and carcinogenesis. All
cancer researchers at TMU are putting together a strong base of knowledge
and expertise easily accessible to researchers around the world to
QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 5

maximize the impact of our Clinical & Translational Cancer Research.

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 Back to brain drain
The pandemic brought an unexpected halt to the brain drain in many parts of the world. John
O’Leary asks how long this respite will last.
T
What neither the victims
nor the beneficiaries
of the brain drain were
able to plan for… was the
impact of the pandemic.
8 Brain drain
he so-called “brain drain”
of highly-educated talent
from the developing world
to more industrialised nations
has been a concern for decades.
But the COVID-19 pandemic and
geopolitical shocks, like the war
in Ukraine, have added new layers
of confusion, even in some of
the richest countries. After two
years in which international travel
restrictions have reduced the flow of
students and graduates from their
home countries, business as usual is
returning in a big way. The contrast,
as the global economy revives, has
put the brain drain back into the
headlines as seldom before.
In New Zealand, for example, some
of the world’s tightest restrictions
left companies with unaccustomed
levels of choice in their recruitment
at the height of the pandemic. But
recent surveys suggest that almost
a third of those under 35 still want
to leave the country, if only for
an extended period of travel. The
Ministry of Business, Innovation
and Employment expects 50,000
New Zealanders to leave for work
or travel over the next year now
that the borders have reopened but
admits that number could reach as
high as 125,000, more than three
times the total in 2019.
So far, Prime Minister Jacinda
Arden has been relaxed about the
prospect, arguing in Parliament
that it was “part of our history” for
New Zealanders to seek overseas
experiences and return with
additional skills. Critics, meanwhile,
insist that skills shortages are
such that the economy cannot
afford an exodus now.
There is little room for argument,
however, about the impact of
the brain drain in many other
countries, where the movement
of highly qualified young people
is overwhelmingly outbound and
beginning to gather pace once
more. Although by no means among
the world’s poorest countries, India
is a classic example, with the brain
drain a constant subject of political
and media debate. The country
experiences more emigration than
any other, and the fact that almost
two-thirds of those leaving India are
highly skilled or educated beyond
school level, adds to the pressure
on government to reverse or at
least slow the trend.
The popularity of overseas study
is one cause, with the number of
Indians taking degrees abroad
predicted to rise from 770 thousand
in 2019 to 1.8 million in 2024,
partly due to bottled-up demand
during the pandemic. Many do
not return home at graduation
because job opportunities and
salary levels are lower in India, where
unemployment rates rise with the
level of education, according to the
independent Centre for Monitoring
Indian Economy in Mumbai.
Indians take the largest number
of post-study visas in the United
States and are more likely than
other nationalities to settle there.
Almost nine out of ten Indian
nationals who took PhDs in STEM
subjects in the US between 2000
and 2015 were still in the country
when the Center for Security and
Emerging Technology carried out
a survey in 2017. More than half of
the start-ups in California’s Silicon
Valley are established by foreign-
born entrepreneurs, many of them
of Indian nationality. The benefits
to the US are obvious, with over a
quarter of engineers and scientists
born out of the country.
The Indian government has
responded with the Prime Minister’s
Research Fellowship scheme to
encourage outstanding students
QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 9
 to stay in the country to take PHOTO: CHARLOTTE MAY
their PhD. It has sanctioned the
development of research parks
at several Indian Institutes of
Technology. In addition, budding
entrepreneurs will have access
to new incubation centres to
support start-ups. The country is
also trying to lure back scientists
and entrepreneurs from abroad,
as well as attracting foreign
nationals through its Global
Initiative of Academic Networks,
focusing particularly on research
partnerships and specialist, short
courses. Long-awaited moves to
allow more Indian universities and
institutes to offer joint degrees
with leading international partners
are also intended to keep more
students in the country.
Such has been the renewed
concern over the brain drain in India
that individual states have launched
their own schemes. In Punjab,
the Chief Minister, Bhagwant
Mann, is promising to fill 26,000
government posts and stimulate
other employment opportunities
to reduce the predicted emigration
of 275,000 young people in the coming year. China has 5 percent, or 16.5 million, by 2030, placing still greater
long experience of the use of incentives to attract back strains on the country’s universities.
young people who study abroad, a necessity in view Of course, this is nothing compared to the sudden and
of the huge numbers making that journey. They have extreme brain drain underway in Ukraine and the sharp
included large bonuses or academic posts, particularly acceleration of a trend that was already underway in
for scientists and engineers, and huge investment Russia before the war began. The Atlantic Council
in Chinese universities to keep more of the best think tank estimated that up to 2 million Russians,
students in the country. mainly well-educated professionals, and academics,
What neither the victims nor the beneficiaries of the had left the country in the decade up to 2019.
brain drain were able to plan for, however, was the Countless others have followed this year, even though
impact of the pandemic. In China’s case, the supply Russians are now prohibited from leaving the country
of incoming international students dried up almost with more than $10,000.
entirely, with only South Koreans able to enter since With international universities and corporations
March 2020. Although some Chinese students were withdrawing from partnerships in Russia, skills shortages
able to study remotely for degrees with overseas are likely to become much more serious. Konstantin
universities, competition for places at the country’s own Sonin, a Russian economist based at the University of
universities relaxed a little and many students chose Chicago, who spent the last year in his home country,
to stay at home. China’s strict ‘zero-COVID’ strategy described the brain drain as a “tragic exodus not seen
has made it slower than most countries to resume for a century”. Ukraine’s plight is naturally even more
incoming and outgoing study arrangements, but there serious, with universities and other facilities destroyed,
is no sign of the hiatus becoming permanent. For one and students and academics either abroad or enlisted
thing, China’s 18-year-old population is set to rise by to defend their homeland. While Western governments

10 Brain drain

and universities will no doubt help to rebuild the country
when the war is over, some form of brain drain will be
inevitable for the foreseeable future.
Beside such hideous events, other countries’ concerns
about their own perceived brain drain look trivial,
but a growing number fear the consequences of
post-pandemic student recruitment and graduate
employment patterns. Malaysian universities, for
example, have been promoting themselves in Australia
and encouraging the 15,000 Malaysian students there
to act as ambassadors for their home country.
There are clear signs of the international demand for
highly qualified workers gathering pace. In the United
Kingdom, for example, where problems may still lay
ahead in the aftermath of leaving the European Union,
the universities’ representative body has calculated that
there are a million more professional job vacancies than
workers with degrees to fill them. In the US, the number
of new international students is 68 percent up on the
2021-22 academic year, albeit after a sharp drop at the
height of the pandemic.
For some of the poorer nations, the brain drain has
become a fact of life, no matter how hard they might
try to reverse it. In Guyana, at one extreme, 70 percent
of those with a tertiary education have moved to the
United States in recent years. But policy decisions
can have a lasting effect on richer nations as well. In
Italy, for instance, about 14,000 researchers left the
country between 2009 and 2015, according to Istat,
the national statistics agency. The exodus coincided
with cuts in funding for research from 9.9 billion Euros
to 8.3 billion, leaving expenditure well below the EU
average. By 2019, Italy was spending only 1.45 percent of
gross domestic product on research, less than half the
proportion spent in Germany.
Even within the richest countries, the concept of a
brain drain is becoming a concern. In the US, research
is taking place at the University of Rhode Island
to establish whether graduates from New Jersey,
Virginia and Rhode Island are being lured away
to more attractive locations to the disadvantage
of their home states.
In an age of technological advancements, the ability of
the most powerful nations, as well as individual cities or
corporations, to offer a premium in salaries and future
opportunities will always allow them to recruit the best
from all over the world. But those countries and regions
that have become accustomed to retaining more of
their highly qualified young people during the pandemic
may find the coming years especially challenging.
12 Brain drain
Even within the richest countries, the
concept of a brain drain is becoming
a concern.
Supporting refugees
Educational access for refugees and those seeking asylum can experience a number of barriers,
including limited available infrastructure and steep financial hurdles. Niamh Ollerton explores how
institutions are helping refugees overcome these hurdles.
I
n 1948, the United Nations, through article 26 of
its Universal Declaration, enshrined education a
fundamental human right that “shall be directed to
the full development of the human personality and
to the strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms”. In 2022, however, access to
education is more of a privilege than a right for many
children, teenagers, and adults across the globe.
Whether through a lack of schools, low family earnings,
discrimination, or oppression from governing bodies,
many prospective students suffer. There are thousands
more fleeing war-torn countries for safety, and even
after undertaking these courageous emigrations
for a better life, many find themselves locked out
from the education system in the countries they
would like to call home.
To quote Muzoon Almellehan,
Syrian refugee and UNICEF
Goodwill Ambassador,
“Education gave me the
strength to carry on. I
wouldn’t be here without it.” Access to
Frameworks to help is more of
refugees
There are positive frameworks
than a right for many
where institutions,
governments, and global
across the globe.
governing bodies are
offering their assistance.
The European Qualifications
Passport for Refugees, for
example, is a specially developed assessment scheme
for refugees. The scheme includes provisions for
those who have incomplete documentation of their
qualifications, providing an assessment of the level of
higher education attainment based on what is available
of their documentation and a structured interview. In
Germany, asylum-seeking students have the same
rights to access higher education as local students and
can apply for exemptions to university fees.
UNHR shared its Refugee Education 2030: A Strategy
for Refugees, in 2019, which aims to directly contribute
to the goals of easing the pressures on host countries,
enhancing refugee self-reliance, and supporting
conditions in countries of origin for return in safety
and dignity. The strategy’s vision is that inclusion
in equitable quality education in national systems
contributes to resilience, prepares children and youth
for participation in cohesive societies, and is the best
policy option for refugees, displaced and stateless
children and youth, and their hosting communities.
Universities helping refugees
Imperial College Business School in the UK has been
working with community leaders in France to help
create a guide for Ukrainian people displaced there. A
team of students, faculty, and staff from the business
school have been working with the French charity
Solidarité Ukraine to create a playbook for communities
to help Ukrainian refugees.
Leila Guerra, Vice Dean (Education) at Imperial College
Business School says the playbook explains how a
community can rally together to identify, transport,
welcome, house, clothe, educate,
provide healthcare, and employ
displaced Ukrainians quickly. It
identifies team leads for several
categories of support that
education those fleeing the war require,
the steps needed from each to
a privilege deliver service in that area, and
checklists for how to do it well.
Imperial and Solidarité Ukraine’s
response was swift. The first
published version of the playbook
was circulated to community
leaders in Saint-Omer on 11 April,
about six weeks after the invasion
and a month after Mary Meaney,
a member of the Business School’s Advisory Board and
the Imperial Council had pulled together a first draft.
Guerra says, “The initiative began in Tilques/Saint-
Omer in Northern France, which currently has welcomed
about 300 Ukrainians (largely women, children,
disabled, and elderly), but throughout France, the work
that this group has contributed to, has supported many
more hundreds of displaced Ukrainians in communities
including Lille and Dunkirk.”
Professor Celia Moore and Marina Lobato Moncayola,
the lead of student engagement at Imperial College
Business School, went to France to better understand
how the operation functioned on the ground. “They
were able to see first-hand how the community came
together so quickly, which helped as they translated
QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 13
 what they learned into generalisable knowledge
that could be shared more broadly, so that other
communities could be as effective in organising
their approach to welcoming groups of displaced
people,” Guerra says.
Imperial College Business School recently launched
a new scholarship fund designed to support students
from displaced communities, such as asylum seekers
and refugees. “The donor-backed Sanctuary
Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships at both
undergraduate and master’s levels,” says Guerra.
“Imperial is matching donations received for the fund,
aiming to award the first scholarships as early as the C
2022/23 academic year. The fund currently stands at
close to £250,000 of donations and Imperial funding.”
M

In Germany, the Frankfurt School of Finance and

Management recently launched a Hardship Fund, Y
which was intended as a donation scheme aimed who either have Ukrainian citizenship or have been
at funding refugees’ expenses and degrees. After granted asylum by Ukraine, and whose studies have CM
some consideration, the school ended up setting up been interrupted by the war.”
scholarships for all students fleeing wars, allowing them
So far, 17 students have applied to the School of MY
to get an education at Frankfurt for free. “The Hardship
Business alone through the initiative, all receiving
Fund supports students who suddenly find themselves
an acceptance letter. In total, Aalto University CY
in a position where they unexpectedly need financial
received and accepted over 50 applications
help,” explains Carsten Vogel, Development Director at
across all its programmes.
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. CMY

In addition to granting study rights without fees and

“The starting point for our fundraising appeal, which
started in early March, is the war in Ukraine and the
wave of refugees fleeing the conflict. Our leadership
decided early on that we want to offer students who
meet our usual entry requirements what we can do best:
the life-changing opportunity of higher education.”
Enquiries have already begun to trickle in, but Vogel
notes the fund is reserved for those who were already
studying relevant degrees or whose plans were
disrupted by their refugee status. He is clear that the
Hardship Fund is not designed to replace the classic
scholarship model. “Financial need will be reviewed
on a continuous basis. If students retain their refugee
status, continue, and finish their studies at Frankfurt
School successfully, and can prove their financial
circumstances qualify them for scholarship support, the
degree may be obtained without tuition fees.”
Aalto University School of Business launched similar
initiatives for refugee students. Tiina Ritvala, Assistant
Dean of Teaching and Education spoke about the Finish
university’s initiative to grant study rights without fees
and with scholarships to Ukraine’s university students.
“This is intended for students who have a valid right to
study towards a degree at a Ukrainian university, and
with scholarships to Ukraine’s university students, K
the business school has also offered places to
visiting researchers fleeing the war in Ukraine as well
as free-of-charge studies at the Open University
for Ukraine citizens.
“In addition, our alumni network has been active and
calls our alumni to help Ukraine, for example through
donations. We follow the Finnish government’s
recommendations carefully and act based on them. If
the government suggests further actions, we will follow
those recommendations as well,” she says.
The university also provides services to support
the mental wellbeing of Ukrainian students and
those seeking asylum.
Ritvala says, “These students can contact the Finnish
Student Health Service (FSHS), a health service that is
available for all university students, or they can contact
the learning services of their school or the Starting
Point of Wellbeing, a service that offers students advice
and guidance on services related to wellbeing.
“Students can also write to a specific email address,
and a multi-professional team will read and treat all
messages on a confidential basis.”

14 Supporting refugees
 I
n early March, an essay for the
New York Times written by a final-
year student at the University of
Virginia triggered an online debate
about self-censorship in universities.
Throughout “I Came to College
Eager to Debate. I Found Self-
Censorship Instead”, Emma Camp
details the reaction of her peers
during a class discussion in which
she opined non-Indian women could
criticise a historical practice of ritual

SELF-
suicide by Indian widows.
She writes: “The room felt tense.
I saw people shift in their seats.
Someone got angry, and then
everyone seemed to get angry.

CENS**SHIP
After the professor tried to move
the discussion along, I still felt
uneasy. I became a little less likely
to speak up again and a little less
trusting of my own thoughts.
“Being criticised — even strongly —
during a difficult discussion does
not trouble me. We need more With the internet and social media so intrinsically
classrooms full of energetic debate, intertwined in students’ lives, airing one’s opinion isn’t
not fewer. But when criticism a very difficult thing to do. But is it a different story
transforms into a public shaming, it on campus? Afifah Darke looks at how self-censorship
stifles learning.” The reactions her manifests in classrooms, involving issues such as
piece garnered, from appreciative
to critical and even mockery, problematic surveys, “cancel culture”, and the skills of
emphasised how self-censorship is having challenging conversations.
a multifaceted subject that holds
different meanings and experiences
to different people.

16 Self-cens**ship QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 17


A penny for your thoughts
Self-censorship manifests itself
every day during conversations and
interactions. For many, not saying
everything on their mind is second
nature and a common courtesy.
Such unspoken rules are necessary
for society to function, and for
people to live harmoniously.
In the academic sphere, however,
self-censorship can be seen
as more “pernicious” and can
“threaten the core purpose of the
university”, says Bradley Jackson,
Senior Program Officer at George
Mason University’s Institute for
Humane Studies (IHS), a non-
profit organisation, which describes
itself as rooted in the “classical
liberal tradition”.
“When students are afraid to
question a theory taught in class,
or to offer a contrary opinion
on a controversial issue, these
forms of self-censorship can stifle
the free exchange of ideas and
the necessary give and take of
democratic debate,” Jackson tells
QS-GEN. “Universities are the best
places to air controversies and
investigate arguments of all kinds;
anything that makes that work
harder cuts against the mission
of the institution.”
Mark Mercer, President of the
Society for Academic Freedom and
Scholarship, agrees, saying he fears
that universities are “becoming
18 Self-cens**ship
more like the general society”.
“I can see why people would self-
censor in many contexts outside the
universities, but I don’t think there’s
any place at all for it in a university,”
says Mercer, who is also a Professor
of Philosophy at Canada’s Saint
Mary’s University. “I think we’re not
there [in university] to be judging
each other. We’re there to be
investigating the propositions and
the arguments and the ideas.”
Just being nice
While some students might fear
backlash and controversy, Elizabeth
Niehaus, Associate Professor of
Educational Administration at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
points out other, less obvious
factors, could play a hand.
For a 2020-2021 Fellows Research
project, Self-censorship or Just
Being Nice: Understanding
College Students’ Decisions
About Classroom Speech, Niehaus
surveyed over 275 college students
about their willingness to speak
up about complex issues in the
classroom, and then conducted
in-depth interviews with 16 of those
students to understand better how
they were making these decisions.
Nine percent said they always
kept their opinion to themselves,
while the majority indicated they
would occasionally choose not
to speak up in class.
The report also analysed some commonly cited surveys
on censorship in higher education and argues that
there is “a critical disconnect between how students
answer survey questions and their actual behaviour
and experiences”. The Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education (FIRE), for instance, conducted a survey
in 2020 to rank institutions based on their “culture of
freedom of speech” on campus. To achieve this, FIRE
asked students whether they had personally ever
felt they could not express their opinion on a subject
because of how others would respond, but limited
answers to either yes or no.
Niehaus says that such surveys are problematic
because we are not able to understand the nuances of
students’ experiences. In her report, she found many
students were afraid to speak up because they had
heard others may react negatively and had not faced it
first-hand. “Students may be answering these questions
in a way that reflects a broader cultural and political
narrative, rather than in a way that reflects their own
experiences”, says Niehaus. “It may also be that using
these survey results to support a general narrative
about ‘self-censorship’ on campus actually could be
making the problem worse.
“The more students hear that other students feel that
they cannot speak up on campus, the more they will
feel that they cannot do so either,” argues Niehaus.
“Rather than helping us solve a problem, the way these
surveys are interpreted by the media, policymakers, the
general public, and sometimes even the survey authors
themselves may be contributing to the problem.”
Debate & discussion
“Universities are the While the narrative of self-censorship may be a result of
a vicious circle of hearsay and rumours, many students
best places to air still aren’t talking in class because they simply don’t
know how, Niehaus points out. “They aren’t having
controversies and a lot of this experience in engaging in challenging
conversations with people who have different
investigate arguments perspectives in high school,” she says. “They come to
college, and we have this expectation as educators in
of all kinds.” higher education that students are going to engage
in these types of discussions, that this is part of the
college experience… but they have no idea how to do it.”
One of the solutions, Niehaus suggests, is training
students on how to debate and discuss. “Just like
we teach college-level writing… I really think we
need to have explicit coursework, preparation for
“These surveys themselves may be students to know how to engage productively in
difficult conversations, and how to communicate well
contributing to the problem.” across differences.”
It is the universities’ role, adds Jackson, not only to
foster and protect academic freedom, but to also
positively create it. “[Academic freedom] is not a
naturally occurring phenomenon that will simply exist
if the universe is left [to] its own devices. Rather,
QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 19
 universities must cultivate
communities and spaces that
make academic freedom possible,”
he says. “This involves having
academic freedom be an important
part of the faculty and student
rules and regulations, as well as
including academic freedom
as part of orientation sessions,
so that incoming students can
understand the sort of community
they are entering when they begin
studying in a university.”
Many students also have an
authority-based holistic perspective
of knowledge and truth, explains
Niehaus, where they see their goal
in higher education is to learn from
the professor, and not to share
an opinion. “It’s how they’ve been
socialised their entire life so far,
that their goal in education is to
take in knowledge and spit it back
out on a test,” she says. “We have
trained them to think this way, so
we can’t expect that they’re actually
going to think differently. It’s a
miracle, quite honestly, that some of
them get beyond that.”
Kids these days…
With the growth of social media
exponentially rising, viral videos
and “cancel culture” have become
almost a norm in today’s world. Just
PHOTO: ADEM AY
20 Self-cens**ship
uttering a controversial statement
in class, while being filmed by a
smartphone, can make a student
popular, in all the wrong ways.
Mercer, who describes himself
as a civil libertarian, believes
general culture has become
more censorious, with people
being picked on for “little things”,
depriving many of the opportunity
to engage seriously with certain
topics. “I would prefer… that people
say what’s on their mind, and they
don’t suffer repercussions for doing
so. [Instead], I think we should suffer
repercussions for what we do [in
terms of] actions.”
Citing research by American social
psychologist Jonathan Haidt,
Jackson points out that social
media can have a negative effect
on the ability to form stable social
connections in the real world. “In
conditions in which there is low
social trust and high risk for social
reprisal, self-censorship is more
likely, and social media fits that
description to a tee.”
Beyond self-censorship, he notes
the related issue of preference
falsification, in which people go
beyond staying quiet and instead
actively support ideas they do
not really believe. “Social media
rewards such activity, which at first
may seem costless to the falsifier,
but over time can have a morally
degrading effect,” he says.
Given the current online
environment, there is a tendency
to fault the presence of social
media platforms as to why students
are not sharing their opinions.
While Niehaus agrees that social
media does play a factor in making
students more hesitant in speaking
up, she believes it isn’t fair to solely
blame today’s generation and their
quirks for self-censorship. “I am
suspicious of any argument that
ends up kind of sounding like kids
these days,” she says.
“There’s a lot of, let’s blame students
for being these, fragile snowflakes.
But that’s not what’s going on.
What’s going on is that they’re
human beings who are learning and
need help to learn how to do these
things that we all struggle with.”
Niehaus also notes in her findings
that not all students see the benefit
of engaging in these challenging
classroom discussions, even if many
free speech advocates assume
exchanging opinions in class is
crucial to students’ educational
experiences. This could sometimes
be mistaken as self-censorship, and
Niehaus tells QS-GEN lecturers
and professors should be aware
not everyone is excited or eager to
participate in certain conversations.
“What do we do to make it easier for
students to participate? How do we
make it more interesting for them
to engage? How do we connect it C
to their lives, to their experience?
That’s just good pedagogy.” M
Culture of academic freedom Y
Looking ahead, maintaining CM
a culture of open intellectual MY
exchange on campus is extremely
important, says Jackson, not CY
only today, but for the sake of
CMY
future generations of thinkers
and innovators. “The culture of K
academic freedom, like all cultures,
is passed down from one generation
to the next,” he adds.
“If the present generation allows
academic freedom to be degraded
and diminished, it will be hard for
the next generation, unused to
its charms and its rigors, to ever
build it back again.”
At the same time, Mercer believes
that students should also always
embrace the mindset of discussing
for the greater good of the
academic mission. “If your goal
in being at university is to try to
understand how things are, you’re
never going to take offense,” he
says. “Whatever you hear, you’re
going to think, is it true or is it false?
Is it well-evidenced?”
“In the world outside the university,
it might seem nasty or racist. But for
us, it’s a thesis, it’s an idea.”
 ASKING Research into the impact of climate change
on vulnerable communities is an important

THE
discipline for understanding the next steps
in supporting those affected and setting
government policy towards finding solutions.

WRONG
In the first of a two-part series, Claudia Civinini
explores the history of the field, and the
unintended consequences unconscious biases
can have on research outcomes.

QUESTIONS C
arol Farbotko has experienced her fair share
of King Tides. In 2005, while researching her
PhD in Tuvalu, she remembers that these
events attracted journalists and documentarians to
the island country.
King Tides are exceptionally high tides that cause
flooding and disruption. For islands in the Pacific Ocean,
like Tuvalu, these occurrences are a grim reminder of
rising sea levels and the threat climate change imposes
on lives and livelihoods.
Now an adjunct at the University of the Sunshine Coast,
roughly 3,500km south-west of Tuvalu in Australia, Dr
Farbotko remembers that the high tides were seen as
tangible evidence of climate change’s impact. Many
assumed citizens would soon be packing up to flee the
country. Except they weren’t.
“I personally witnessed an Australian journalist ask
leading questions of Tuvaluan citizens on camera, all
about what they thought about moving to Australia
as climate refugees,” she recounts. “I knew some of
these Tuvaluans quite well and was able to see a great
mismatch between the Western expectations about
Tuvaluans being desperate to move away, and the
Tuvaluans who… had much more complex thoughts
about global responsibilities to reduce emissions, and
their rights to their culture and nationality.”
The fate of populations highly exposed to the
effects of climate change makes headlines. And
while it is legitimate to ask how climate change will
affect migration and mobility, the question needs
to be framed carefully, not only by the media, but
by researchers as well. In a field with a knack for
catchy research paper titles, the problems with
how the question has been asked are evident.
Affected populations become climate refugees,
and alarm bells sound off. Biased frames can be
thrown on the complex relationship between climate
change and human mobility.

24 Asking the wrong questions QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 25


“We were a bit misguided”
Dr Farbotko is clear. “Climate
mobility research is to some
extent affected by a white saviour
complex.” However, she adds
the good news is there is “much
more awareness now of the
interweaving of climate mobilities
and colonisation. But there
is still work to do”.
The problem originates in the
fundamental question of why
climate change mobility research
is conducted in the first place. In
“We didn’t do enough the past, she explains, scenarios
depicting mass migration took
to be reflexive about the lion’s share of attention. This
itself was problematic, as it was
why we were so rooted in the assumption that
no adaptation would occur, but
interested in climate went on to fuel far more harmful
ideas, including security fears and
mobility.” humanitarian concerns.
“We were a bit misguided in the
beginning, even those of us who
were critiquing the security threat
narrative, we didn’t do enough to
be reflexive about why we were so
interested in climate mobility and
hence to think more deeply about
the questions we were asking, [and]
how we represented highly climate-
26 Asking the wrong questions
OUR RANKINGS
Top
exposed populations.” IN THE UAE 2022
The first consequence of this line QS WORLD
IN UAE IN GLOBALLY WITHIN UNIVERSITIES
of thinking was that the voices of CITATIONS THE INTERNATIONAL
climate-vulnerable populations PER FACULTY FACULTY INDICATOR
RANKINGS
were not really listened to, imposing
a frame of victimhood on people
who were instead fighting with
the effects of climate change. To
some extent, their voices are still Top
not being listened to, Dr Farbotko
explains. “Climate vulnerable
populations are actively engaged
under GLOBALLY FOR
BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
IN THE UAE FOR
BUSINESS AND
MANAGEMENT
STUDIES*
in the fight against climate change, STUDIES*
but this is not necessarily being
listened to on their terms.”
In the Pacific Island nations, where
the impact of climate change is GLOBALLY WITHIN
being most intensely felt, climate 2022 QS ARAB 2022 QS WORLD THE INTERNATIONAL
change activism is strong, and REGION RANKINGS UNIVERSITY RANKINGS NATIONALITIES
STUDENTS INDICATOR
so are innovation and leadership
among youth, church, government, * 2022 QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS BY SUBJECT
and political leaders. But mobility is
not central to their activities.
For example, one NGO group
named itself The Pacific Climate
Warriors to claim a right for Pacific
4 Colleges
Islanders to shape their own climate
future, under the slogan: We are not
drowning. We are fighting. “People
Over 50 Programs Over 23,000 Alumni
are not advocating for migration or
relocation rights as their preferred
solution,” Dr Farbotko says.
“Across the board in the Pacific,
climate adaptation and mitigation
OUR GLOBAL ACCREDITATIONS
are the biggest priorities so that
culture, place, identity, livelihoods,
knowledge systems, and everyday
life can be protected.”
Missed questions and
overlooked vulnerabilities
Call: +97125015555 Email: admissions@adu.ac.ae www.adu.ac.ae
“What is interesting to me is that
a lot of this great work in climate
activism and leadership is not
necessarily being picked up by
climate mobilities research,”
continues Dr Farbotko. “This goes
back to a kind of weird twist on
the white saviour-mass climate
migration expectation among
mobility researchers. Somehow
those who are moving are more
worthy of research than those who
are really attached to their homes
and trying to stay.”
One reason for this focus,
says Dr Farbotko, is that many
researchers believed mass climate
migration events were inevitable.
Consequently, research became
restricted by its own bias, and
questions asked of climate-
exposed populations were too
narrow. The only thing that really
mattered was the imminent
movement of people.
As there was the perception
no other questions needed to
be asked, researchers failed
to understand what those
affected had to say about
their own challenges, and
missed the connections to their
histories, political economies,
cultural beliefs and practices,
and existing patterns of
support from institutions.
At its worst, problems that didn’t
conform to the narrative of
“inevitable” mass migration were
not missed, but disregarded. “In
Bangladesh, where I did research,
people often already now have
to move their house bit by bit…
when there is erosion,” says Dr
Ingrid Boas, Assistant Professor
at Wageningen University in
the Netherlands. “That’s often
ignored because it’s not long-
distance movement. Still, people
constantly move their house.
“Some vulnerabilities are
overlooked in the process also would and should be the last resort,” Dr Farbotko says.
because, politically, a lot of governments are worried
about cross-border and long-distance migration, “Now there is an urgent imperative to focus on
while most of the vulnerabilities are relatively understanding climate-vulnerable people fully as
local and sometimes even invisible to NGOs or political actors, [and] to try and improve the victim/
international organisations.” security binary, as this will then start to infiltrate
other areas where our research is being used, such as
While research is improving, the shadow of policy development assistance.”
mindset focussed on climate mass migration,
development assistance, and funding has Climate migration myths
consequences for the populations most at risk. Issues Dr Farbotko and Dr Boas alongside other colleagues
connected to adaptation and resilience receive less co-authored a paper, aptly titled Climate Migration
attention, and, crucially, less funding. Myths, in which they take down some assumptions
In the Marshall Islands, roughly 2,000km north of about climate and migration and propose a new
Tuvalu, a study showed the belief that relocation was research agenda. They argue a focus on the
inevitable and imminent meant external donors were securitisation of climate migration has infiltrated
reducing development funding assistance. “This was science policy and has been reflected in funding
despite very clear policy in the Marshalls that in-place calls, which seem to follow political demands
adaptation was the priority, and any type of relocation of alleviating migration pressures at the source
rather than research gaps.

QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 29

 They also explain that the issue of how climate change is
interacting with human mobility is not a straightforward
Cracked model
one, and tales of looming mass migration are overly
simplistic. Not only did much of the research find that International students fees have alleviated some of the stressors on country’s higher
mobility is relatively short-distanced, but that it is also education systems. But is this model sustainable, and what does the future hold, ask Winnie
impossible to completely distinguish climate migrants Eley and Janet Ilievia.
from other types of migrants.
A new concept of climate mobilities, which instead

captures the complexity of the climate and migration
interaction, would be better suited, to avoid making
simplistic assumptions and charging the movement
of people with positive or negative labels. “There is a
lot of variation in terms of mobility that you see as a
consequence of climate risk,” Dr Boas explains. “Our
climate mobility agenda… encourages researchers to
look into this heterogeneity of climate mobilities more
and look both into voluntary and involuntary forms.”
One of the critical points in the research agenda
outlined in Climate Migration Myths is that researchers
from different disciplines need to come together
and work out how to overcome “the profound fear
of the other” to expand beyond the securitisation of
climate-related mobility.
Asked what universities and international education, in
general, can do to help with this endeavour, Dr Farbotko
says universities could offer more opportunities for
students from climate-vulnerable places. She especially
references a programme, which she brands “excellent
but short-lived”, through which students from Kiribati
could study nursing at an Australian university, and then
either return home or apply for permanent residency.
This matched, she explains, the Kiribati policy at the
time of upskilling citizens for work, either internationally
or in the country, and expanding their diaspora,
both options being seen as climate-adaptive by the
government. “It was considered successful except for
the financial cost to Australia,” she says. “Programmes
like this could be beneficial all over the world, if there
was funding available.”
However, the point remains that any such programme
needs to consider the priorities of the population
it targets, and the heterogeneity of their climate
mobility needs. “A crucial point here is that climate
mobility solutions are not necessarily about a one-
way exit from a vulnerable area. Circular mobility of
various forms, including educational mobility, can
build climate resilience, and better enable in-situ
adaptation in vulnerable areas, since a lot of people
prefer to go back home after a time abroad working or
studying,” Farbotko explains.
“But having in place the option to move abroad too is
important, [and] with family. Having different options
is important, as there is no one-size fits all solution to
climate adaptation.”
I
nternational student mobility to Ireland, Australia,
New Zealand, North America, the UK, and Europe
is recovering. As borders reopen, some markets are
picking up slower than others for obvious reasons.
The UK seems to have fared better than other global
study destinations over the past two years. Analysis
by Universities UK International and the British
Universities’ International Liaison Association (BUILA),
based on data from the UK’s Higher Education
Statistics Agency, show the country has achieved its
International Education Strategy target of 600,000
international students ten years early.
Has the pandemic furthered the universities’ reliance
on international students’ fees?
Globally, countries’ spending on the pandemic and
public health is likely to impact education expenditure
negatively. As a result,
some countries are likely
to experience reductions
in their research funding
and teaching grants. Most of the UK’s
Before the pandemic, booming markets
the cross-subsidy from
international students to are set to experience
fund university research
was well documented. In double-digit inflation
his 2020 report, From T to
R revisited: Cross-subsidies in 2022.
from teaching to research
after Augar and the 2.4% R&D
target, director of the Higher
Education Policy Institute Nick Hillman estimated the
funding gap was £4.3 billion in the UK. He noted that
while international students’ tuition fees were partially
funding that gap, if they were later used to fill in or
reduce cost for domestic students, the research gap
would reach £4.9 billion.
In England, the tuition fees for home students remain
frozen for another two years. According to the Bank
of England, inflation in the UK is likely to keep rising
to around 10 percent in 2022. Analysis from London
Economics shows that when the impact of inflation is
taken together with the significant cuts to teaching
grants, the overall income per student falls back to
2006 levels, when fees were £3,000.
The Russell Group, representing 24 Higher Education
Institutions, estimated that “the average deficit per UK
undergraduate taught is set to more than double from
£1,750 in 2021/22 to around £4,000 in 2024/25, with
deficits across all subjects”. These developments signal
the paramount pressure on international tuition fees
to continue to plug growing deficits in teaching and
research. While the sustainability of this cross-subsidy
is questionable, international student recruitment will
become increasingly competitive.
Expanding international
student demand to continue?
Economic downturns and uncertainty already affect
many students’ home countries. While China’s economy
remains relatively stable compared to other countries,
its students are likely to seek out study nearer to home,
except for the high-income
families whose propensity to send
their children abroad remains
stable (Mok and Zhang 2021;
Min and Ni 2022). The dip in
Chinese undergraduate entrants
in the UK, down 5 percent in
2020/21, coupled with a slight
decline in the number of student
visas issued, may indicate the
beginning of a trend that does
not sit comfortably in a sector
that is highly dependent on
international student recruitment.
The British Council’s Five Trends
to Watch East Asia edition points
to reductions in student demand from China and
the rest of East Asia to study overseas. It is not clear
whether this is a short-term blip in the aftermath of the
pandemic or a long-term trend.
Most of the UK’s booming markets are set to
experience double-digit inflation in 2022, with Nigeria
and Pakistan anticipated to reach 15.6 percent and
12.7 percent, respectively. The rising cost of living and
exchange rate fluctuations are likely to negatively
impact the global middle classes and their ability
to educate their kids abroad. In relative terms,
appreciation of the US dollar means that higher
education in Australia and the UK is becoming more
accessible to international students.

30 Asking the wrong questions QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 31

 Accessing published research “As professional readers, usually, we would publish our

Communicating Ang Neo Kim Emily is the Head and a Professor at

Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies (ALCNS), at
work in journals, medical journals, or learning journals
so that they can access our research work or research
information” says Associate Professor Tam.

research
Gitanjalia Goswami explores some of the
challenges researchers and universities
experiencing when presenting and
The meaning of changing demographics
communicating their work to lay-audiences
Growing geopolitical tensions between the West
and China have pushed universities to reconsider
the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin
School of Medicine.
According to Professor Ang, the countyr where a
reader lives could play a part in the ease of research
being communicated effectively. For example,
those who reside in developing countries struggle
to access databases as that comes with paying the
subscription, she says.
“To subscribe to all these databases, like as many as
they want, is quite costly. So, it depends on the country
“As to the public, usually what we would do is to
consider reaching out to media.”
Dori Nguyen, author of the paper, Research Uptake:
The value of effectively communicating research to your
audience, lists some of the solutions for researchers
to make their research more accessible to the
general population.
The plain language helps those readers who have
less or no technical knowledge to comprehend

overreliance on one country. However, many institutions
active in China have become highly selective in
choosing the best students; they have secured
high levels of conversion from applications into
enrolments and are maintaining a relatively low cost of
acquisition. While growing student recruitment from
South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa means a more
diverse campus, Vincenzo Raimo and Janet Ilieva
argued it is also accompanied by higher recruitment
costs and lower conversion levels, in an article for
University World News.
A better understanding of the international student
recruitment portfolio is needed to assess the efficiency
of the recruitment pipelines and their comparative
performance across different countries. This needs
to include an accurate analysis of acquisition cost per
recruitment channel in each market. The pivot away
from China and East Asia means increasing recruitment
costs and reducing the cross-subsidy from international
students’ fees to make up for deficits elsewhere.
The past decades have taught us that the international
higher education sector is highly resilient. With the
sector’s eyes wide open on the calculated risks,
the challenges in pivoting are inevitably high, but
surely worth overcoming in the coming years. The
rewards in gaining global talent, the value in achieving
diversity, and the competency in mitigating risks in an
international order that is increasingly volatile could be
the next prize we all set our eyes on.
Winnie Eley is partner at Education Insight UK and
former vice-president and deputy vice-chancellor at
University of Southampton and University of Newcastle
in Australia respectively.
R
they reside in. It is a bit difficult for people living in research effortlessly.
esearchers aim to conduct their work and developing countries than in developed countries,”
present their results to readers, but what seems Professor Ang tells QS-GEN. A university’s website can also play an important role in
to be simple, and straight-forward has myriad reaching out to more readers. ALCNS’ website is one
difficulties and challenges to overcome. Research is Guy Michaels, an Associate Professor of Economics such example where the university shares research and
communicated mainly through physical presence such and Master of Research programme director at the educational initiatives conducted by their academic
as conferences and use of language to effectively University of London (UCL), says the entire process of faculty members. “We would provide the summary of
communicate research. Additional complications conducting and translating research faces “the main our research article on our website,” says Professor Tam
include providing access beyond conferences, academic challenge of time constraints as there is always a lot
of work to complete”. If a reader would like to retrieve more information on
journals, and other, perceivably exclusive methods.
the research, they will be able to access more details on
This translation of research work, communicating to Ways to combat challenges the site, he adds.
readers, and boosting access involves a variety of
Tam Wai San Wilson, an Associate Professor at ALCNS,
channels to complete this process.
says that researchers should deliberate and publish
Entangling in technicality their work on appropriate channels.
To successfully communicate research to readers,
researchers must not only display an ability to present
their ideas, but also use language that the majority can
easily understand. With readers belonging to different
knowledge levels and age demographics, on this basis,
there are two broad groups of readers: one with an
intimate technical understanding of the research topic;
and one who with limited or no knowledge whatsoever.
A researcher’s specialisation bias is one of these
obstacles and reasons for clouding the researchers’
anticipation of readers’ knowledge of the topic,
according to Dr Joselito T Salita’s Writing for lay
audience: A challenge for scientists.
Dr Salita’s paper also highlights a contradiction when
communicating research to the readers. On one
hand, jargon or technical vocabulary overcomplicates
research work, and on the other, straightforward, or
less technical terminology oversimplifies the paper.
Such complications can exist due to researchers’ fear of
being judged and criticised by their peers.
Another issue is the usage of words giving the
impression that researchers are unsure of their research
work. Words such as “likely”, “unlikely”, and “possibility”,
add a tinge of uncertainty in the readers’ minds.
Meanwhile, research involving statistics presents an
idea, but lack effective communication of the topic. It
is usually presented in technical or complex words that
further adds the difficulty for effective comprehension.

32 Cracked model | Communicating Research QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 33

 Institutions of Happiness in India:
Happiness as a Goal of Education indicate happiness in their
responses. The ‘strongly agree’ and
‘agree’ responses are considered
positive for the scoring purposes.
Girinath Reddy, Jennifer George, Suchismita Mallick, Ashwini A R, Binju Madhav explore the results
of QS I-GAUGE’s Institution of Happiness Programme Certificate Overview of Survey Results
The survey recorded student
responses on wellbeing and

H
happiness from 69 institutions,
appiness is one goal to achieve feeling alive and The project’s successful outcome is awarding the
comprised of 40 HEIs, 16 schools
can be explained as a feeling of pleasure and Institution of Happiness Certificate to the qualifying
in the Grade 5 to 7 category,
positivity. Happiness can also be considered a institutions and providing an analytical view of the
and 13 schools in the Grade 8 to
feeling of completeness, joyfulness, wellbeing, and survey responses submitted by students. The report is
12 category. After the data was
contentment. When people are healthy, secure, and expected to help institutions gain more understanding
cleaned to check for completeness
successful they feel happy, and vice versa. in this field of study and enhance its stakeholder’s
of responses, 62,329 student
happiness and wellbeing.
Ever since happiness and wellbeing was recognised responses were analysed under
as a fundamental human goal by the United Nations, Methodology the University and College
countries have increasingly placed happiness and category, 2,118 responses in
wellbeing in their national and educational policies, or The IOH was measured through a questionnaire on Grade 5 to 7 and 2,701 student
have included elements relating to happiness in their areas of wellbeing under three categories: University responses in Grade 8 to 12.
policy frameworks. However, a lot of new challenges and College; School - or Grade 5 to 7; and School
Category - Grade 8 to 12. The survey administered by The analysis summary for overall
have emerged as a result of the pandemic, which the
the research analysts at QS I-GAUGE, was rolled out student responses (Fig. 1) in the
community is trying to resolve in due course of time.
to over 100 Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) and University and College category
QS’ subsidiary in India, QS I-GAUGE believes schools who showcased their interest in participating is specified below. A total of 24
happiness and wellbeing is an integral part of students’ in this project. The survey evaluated each student HEIs have been awarded with
educational journey as they can directly impact response using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from the Institution of Happiness
achievement and learning experiences. Happy students ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’ with 5 being the certificate for 2021-22 in the
are better engaged and can contribute to a productive highest as “strongly agree” and 1 being the lowest as Academic Excellence conclave
learning environment. With students’ happiness as the ‘strongly disagree’. by QS I-GAUGE, held at New
fulcrum, learning objectives and outcomes will be better Delhi on May 12th, 2022.
aligned to enhance the study experience. A highly For rating as an Institution of happiness, an institute
must meet two criteria: at least 30 percent of students Institutions have been doing
effective and engaged class could often indicate that
complete the survey, and 75 percent of those surveyed better in campus safety, enabling
students’ learning experience has been exceptional.
social networks, and educational
To promote happiness and the wellbeing of students outcomes with over 90 percent of Fig. 1: Overview of the student responses in the IOH University and College category.
in academic landscapew, QS I-GAUGE in partnership students expressing satisfaction.
with Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry Institutions are recommended to
of India (ASSOCHAM) launched an Institution of investigate policies and practices
Happiness (IOH) project. IOH is one piece of the puzzle related to support provided for
in conveying the importance of happiness in day-to-day academic freedom, assessments,
life. It is also a study report with data points that helps in skill development, extra-curricular
decision making, be it towards continuous improvement activities, and inclusivity to improve
or taking new initiatives, with the overall objective being students’ overall satisfaction.
better quality of education for students.
In terms of mental health (Fig.
Through this project, survey questionnaires were 2), student responses indicate
built to measure the level of happiness of students, institutions should engage their
their wellbeing, quality of life, and engagement in teachers and counsellors more
sustainability and social change projects. The aspects to address concerns. The top
of happiness and wellbeing covered included topics two issues of concern for HEIs
related to safety on campus, academic freedom, are addressing the examination
availability of counselling services, interactive classroom stress of students, and enabling
activities, extra-curricular activities, personality participation of students in Fig. 2: Overview of the student responses in the IOH University and College category.
development, mental health support, bullying/ragging sports and extracurricular
instances, and anxiety level of student. activities for a holistic personality
development of the students.

34 Institutions of Happiness QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 35

 A total of 11 schools have been awarded
with the Institution of Happiness UBT opened the first campus in JEDDAH CORNICHE
certificate in the Grade 5 to 7 category
(Fig. 3). Overall, schools have been doing managed with ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
better in enabling social networks, student
engagement, and campus safety. There
must be increased and prioritised efforts
from the schools to address examination
anxiety, and teasing and bullying in
schools, besides enabling student
leadership through participation, student-
teacher interactions for mental health
support, and involvement of students in
extracurricular activities.
From the summary of the analysis for
overall student responses in the schools-
Grade 8 to 12 category (Fig. 4), the
school’s performance in addressing the
happiness and well-being of students
is below par. Schools should consider
addressing the following on high priority
for the student group: examination anxiety,
meditation and yoga sessions for mental
health and concentration, followed by
enhancing participation in extra-curricular
activities, addressing bullying, providing
equal opportunities for all students
Fig. 3: Overview of the student responses in the Schools, Grade 5 to 7 category to express themselves, and improving
teaching pedagogy for an interesting and
enjoyable experience by students.
RANKED
ARAB
WORLD

It can also be interpreted that the 2022

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36 Institutions of Happiness ubt_edu
Join The Innovative
Researchers

FURTHERING
STEM CELL
THERAPY
Stem cells will one day be effective in treating
many medical conditions and diseases since
they offer the potential to restore, repair,
replace, and regenerate cells. A team from
Khalifa University is investigating the
pathway by which stem cells self-renew or
differentiate. They found that small
modifications to the gene expression controls
can influence how stem cells function in the
body, paving the way for stem cells to be used
as cell therapies to treat a wide range of
diseases.

ku.ac.ae
University success stories
 Igor Sikorsky KPI’s Lyceum student wins gold Mapping human brains at a cellular level
award for landmine detection quadcopter India - Indian Institute of
Technology Madras (IIT Madras)
cutting-edge brain data. Government of India.

Ukraine - During Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine, young Ukraine
researchers and innovators had
to reorientate their engineering
developments for military use.
Ihor Klymenko, student at the
Polytechnic Lyceum under the
Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic
Institute (KPI), won a gold award
at the virtual Malaysia Technology
Expo (MTE) that took place on
March 21-25, 2022. He developed
a landmine detection quadcopter
capable of quickly pinpointing
dangerous explosives.
The drone, which is compact
and portable, fits into a regular
backpack. It also minimises human
involvement, therefore possibly
saving the lives of deminers.
MTE is one of the largest exhibitions
of technology and innovation in
Southeast Asia, which annually
brings together inventors from
more than 30 countries.
Participants in the event
demonstrate their developments
to scientists, representatives
of international corporations,
engineers and investors.
in Chennai, India has launched
the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain
Centre to power an ambitious global
project to map the human brain
at the cellular and connectivity
levels, with a focus on high-
resolution brain imaging.
This state-of-the-art centre aims
to become a world-renowned
research centre, generating
unprecedented human brain data,
scientific output and technology
tools. IIT Madras plans to train
hundreds of undergraduate and
postgraduate students at this centre
in neuroscience and computing,
machine learning techniques on
According to Professor V. Kamakoti,
Director of IIT Madras, “The Brain
Research Centre is a great case
study which proves that technology
can contribute to medicine and
solve societal problems. The centre
will make deep in-roads in collecting
data for brain research.”
The first ongoing project of the
Centre titled ‘Computational and
Experimental Platform for High-
Resolution Terapixel Imaging of
ex-vivo Human Brains’ for high-
throughput light microscopic
imaging of whole human brains
is supported by the Office of
Principal Scientific Adviser to the
Through this project, the centre
has developed a high-throughput
histology pipeline that processes
whole human brains into high-
resolution digital images.
Using this technology platform,
the centre is imaging post-mortem
human brains of different types
and ages. The centre has already
acquired whole-brain serial-section
cell-resolution volumes of three
developing brains to date.
These unique first-in-class
data sets that provide a high-
resolution view of developing brains
will be released soon.

UA&P professor receives award for contributions

to Filipino literature
Philippines - In recognition of his
contributions to Filipino literature,
Dr Paul A. Dumol, faculty member
of the University of Asia and the
Pacific (UA&P), was recently
awarded the “Dangal ng Panitikan,”
a lifetime achievement award
given by the Commission on the
Filipino Language (CFL).
Dr Dumol is a historian, playwright
and educator under UA&P’s
College of Arts and Sciences.
His works include the play “Ang
Paglilitis Ni Mang Serapio” and
musicals “Ilustrado” and “Ang
Pagpatay kay Luna.”
He is also a recipient of the National
Book Award for Translation for
his work on The Manila Synod
of 1582 and the Draft of its
Handbook for Confessors.
Dr Dumol was also awarded
on April 27 during the CFL’s
“Araw ng Parangal 2022” held at
the Hotel Rembrandt.
The CFL, also referred to as the
Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
(KWF), is the Philippines’ official
government institution tasked
with developing, preserving, and
promoting Philippine languages.
The future belongs to robots – but operated by
humans
Azerbaijan - Students of Western
Caspian University (WCU) in
Azerbaijan have gained practical
knowledge from the school’s
technopark, prepared their own
robots, and participated successfully
in many different local and
international races.
“The Western Skills” and “Western
Caspian Agrobots” teams of the
university qualified for the finals of
the biggest technology festival in
the region, Techno Fest 2022. These
teams from WCU also have a chance
to qualify for the final.
The Azerbaijanı team won
the division’s “Energy Team”
trophy in the “VEX Robotics
World Championship 2022”
one of the largest robotics
competitions in the world.
One of the members of the
Azerbaijani team, Erkam Mesiyev,
is a winner of the “2021 Inter-
School Lego Olympiad” held by
Western Caspian University.

NCUT does its best for the earth; vows to reduce

temperature of Earth
Taiwan - In recent years, the
National Chin-Yi University of
Technology (NCUT) has paid close
attention to environmental issues,
and actively participated in the
formulation of carbon reduction
policies by the government
and jointly researched related
technologies to cool the earth.
Dr Kuo-Liang Weng, a chair
professor at the NCUT, pointed out
the most serious problem in the
world is climate change, which is
mainly caused by human activities.
One of the main reasons comes
from manufacturing. For example,
Taiwan’s electronics industry
leader TSMC’s manufacturing
process needs to use a lot of air-
conditioning facilities.
Professor Weng said that as an
expert in refrigeration and air
conditioning, in order to help with
carbon reduction, he developed
the “TEAX Oxygen Generator”
with Weplus Technology.
The project was awarded by the
Taiwan Ministry of Science and
Technology. It built the interior into
a “full-air natural energy conversion
system” that is healthy, safe, anti-
epidemic, and sustainable like a
mountain forest, helping to balance
the earth’s thermal energy, allowing
self-purification of the atmosphere,
reducing heat and carbon in
indoor and outdoor environments,
and achieving energy-saving
benefits are the best partners for
enterprises in ESG action.
Conserving threatened species
Australia – It’s no secret that many
bird, animal and plant species are
under threat, even endangered. But
what can we do about it?
Scientists at The University of
Queensland and Queensland
University of Technology
have developed a new web
app, Threatened Australians,
which they hope can be used
to influence politicians to put
in place policies for helping to
conserve threatened species.
Although Australia already has
extensive national biodiversity
data, it is not always easy for all
citizens to access this information.
This app enables users to instantly
access details of what species
are threatened in their local
community. This information can
then be publicised via social media,
and users can also connect with
relevant conservation groups, or
lobby the correct government
representatives to effect change.
According to environmentalist
Professor James Watson, “Tools
like this help start this conversation
about taking action.”

42 University success stories QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 43


Urine, bacteria, and calcium: A green and simple
recipe for biocement
Singapore - Using only waste as raw
materials, NTU scientists have found
a way to create biocement, making
the alternative to regular cement
even greener and more sustainable.
This biocement is already being
used in trials to strengthen the sand
on Singapore’s shorelines and to
restore rock carvings in China, such
as the fingers of a Buddha’s hands
from the Dazu Rock Carvings.
The NTU scientists used two
common waste materials, industrial
carbide sludge and urea—from the
urine of mammals—to create this
Innovative tech could generate renewable energy
and capture carbon
New Zealand - University of
Canterbury engineering researchers
are investigating an innovative
method that could solve two
wicked problems of climate change
– creating renewable energy and
reducing carbon emissions.
UC Engineering PhD student Karan
Titus is researching new ways to
combine geothermal with bioenergy,
to supercharge renewable electricity
Pterosaur discovery solves ancient feather
mystery
44 University success stories
renewable form of cement.
When bacteria is added into the mix,
and the resulting solution sprayed
onto soil or sand, a hardening
reaction takes place that binds the
soil particles into a solid block.
The researchers say their
biocement can potentially
become a sustainable and
cost-effective method for soil
improvement, reducing dust or
wind erosion in the desert, or
building freshwater reservoirs on
beaches or in the desert.
and create a carbon sink.
Titus has shown that a combined
geothermal and bioenergy plant
could remove a million tonnes of
CO2 each year, equivalent to taking
200,000 cars off the road. The
financial incentive to do so could
also run in the tens to hundreds of
millions of dollars.
Basically, the method is a way of
sucking huge amounts of CO2 out
Ireland - An international team of
palaeontologists has discovered
remarkable new evidence that
pterosaurs, the flying relatives of
dinosaurs, were able to control
the colour of their feathers
using melanin pigments.
The study, published in the
journal Nature, was led by
University College Cork (UCC)
palaeontologists Dr Aude Cincotta
and Professor Maria McNamara
and Dr Pascal Godefroit from
the Royal Belgian Institute
of Natural Sciences, with an
Make Your Ambitions
a Reality
Your Journey to success
starts at PMU
of the atmosphere and putting it
underground in geothermal fields
Titus’ co-supervisor Dr Rebecca
Peer says, “Providing a reliable
pathway for electricity generation
that has net-negative emissions
is very powerful and sets a great
example for the rest of the world.”
In 2020, about 18 percent of
New Zealand’s electricity came
from geothermal sources.
international team of scientists
from Brazil and Belgium.
The new study is based on analyses
of a new 115 million year old
fossilized headcrest of the pterosaur
Tupandactylus imperator from
north-eastern Brazil. Pterosaurs
lived side by side with dinosaurs,
230 to 66 million years ago.
This species of pterosaur is famous Creative
MindsTransform
for its bizarre huge headcrest. The
team discovered that the bottom of
the crest had a fuzzy rim of feathers, PMU Ranked in the top 101–200 Universities the world
with short wiry hair-like feathers and
fluffy branched feathers.
in THE Impact Rankings 2022
PMU PRINCE MOHAMMAD BIN FAHD UNIVERSITY
@pmu_KSA
www.pmu.edu.sa /PMUOfficial
 Climate change could double the destructive
power of Asia’s typhoons
Hong Kong - Typhoons or
tropical storms have wreaked
havoc across Asia in recent
years, causing casualties and
serious economic losses.
A new study led by Professor
Francis Tam of the Earth System
Science Programme at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong suggests
that typhoons have become
dramatically more destructive in
Yarmouk University organises its second
Asia over the past 40 years and
that global warming could double
their destructive power by the
end of the century.
The study also predicts that
future typhoons will have
stronger intensity at landfall and
travel further over land.
“Global warming will likely
continue the increasing trend
in landfalling typhoons and
their impacts on inland regions,
based on the high-resolution
climate model projections,”
Professor Tam explained.
“More Asian inland regions may be
exposed to further severe typhoon-
related hazards in the future as a
result of climate change. Therefore,
long-term planning to enhance
disaster preparedness and resilience
in these regions is essential.”
8 in 10 people associate suicide with stigma, shows
Singapore survey
Singapore - More than 8 in 10
Singaporeans associate suicide with
stigma and only one in every three
“will do something to help” someone
who shares thoughts of suicide.
A study by Singapore Management
University (SMU) also revealed that
less than 1 in 10 thinks the efficacy
of support in Singapore for anyone
contemplating suicide is high.
SMU’s Principal Lecturer of
Statistics Rosie Ching, created
and carried out the nation-wide
study she named “Save.Me.”,
which revealed these perceptions
of suicide in a city known for
its high quality of life and
educated workforce.
With Samaritans of Singapore
(S.O.S.) as her supporting partner,
Ms. Ching and her students
interviewed 2,960 people across
Singapore, probing into knowledge
levels, beliefs, preferred help
platforms, support available
and their efficacy.
Save.Me. has drawn media
attention for the national need for
suicide prevention.

international week
Jordan – With the support of the
Minister of Higher Education and
Scientific Research in Jordan,
Yarmouk University organised its
second international week on 9-11
May 2022, with a wide participation
of international academic bodies.
This event coincided with the
closing conference of the
Bittcoin-jo project funded by the
European Erasmus programme.
Fermented soybean waste found to tackle obesity
Japan - An international team of
scientists from Waseda University in
Japan, and Nanyang Technological
University in Singapore, have
found that fermented soybean
waste, or “okara,” could improve fat
metabolism and mitigate effects of
diet-induced obesity.
Through laboratory experiments
Professor Mwaffaq Otoom, the
organiser, said that these events
aim at strengthening partnerships
and networking between the various
participating organisations, opening
new horizons for cooperation among
them, encouraging dialogue, and
exchanging experiences in various
fields of higher education.
He added that the “week” included
a set of themes that the participants
discussed, such as the pursuit of
reported in the peer-reviewed
scientific journal Metabolites
in February, scientists from the
universities showed that mice on
a high-fat diet supplemented with
fermented okara gained less body
mass and had lower levels of fat and
cholesterol after three weeks as
compared to mice on the same diet
sustainable green universities,
equity and inclusion, and digital
transformation in higher education.
The initiative also addressed the
pursuit of integrating sustainable
development goals into higher
education strategies, virtual
exchange with the aim of enhancing
the multicultural dimension,
innovation and employment,
Vocational Education and Training,
and student and staff mobility.
but not fed any fermented okara.
With 14 million tonnes of okara
generated every year, and nearly
a third of the world’s population
overweight or obese, integrating
fermented okara into health
foods could address the prevalent
problems of food waste and
obesity at the same time.
UIUC Gies College of Business launches fully
online, stackable graduate certificates
United States - Furthering its
longstanding commitment to
break down barriers to business
education, Gies College of
Business is launching a pair of fully
Framing Intercultural-powered Campus with
Innovative Curriculum
Taiwan - Launched by
National Taiwan University,
online, credit-bearing graduate
certificates, the first ever offered
by the University of Illinois Urbana-
Champaign. These 12-credit-
hour certificates in Accounting
Data Analytics and Strategic
Leadership & Management are
built around specific skills or
competencies that learners can
use for personal improvement and
professional advancement.
“These online graduate certificates
are designed for maximum
flexibility,” said Brooke Elliott, EY
intriguing delivery of teaching
in-depth unveils aspirations and
Professor and Executive Associate
Dean of Gies College of Business.
“As we enter a post-COVID world,
learners are demanding more
flexible, complementary alternatives
that address specific skills – skills
that can be continually updated
throughout a career.”
Each certificate program can be
completed online in as little as four
months and will be fully stackable
into Gies online MBA (iMBA),
master’s in management (iMSM),
and master’s in accounting (iMSA).
interconnected world and address
present-day issues, especially in

Strengthening the cooperation of TSUOS with EU the series of lectures themed

“Global Competence with
approaches to complex challenges
to navigate the ever-changing
the post-COVID era, the flagship
initiative allows students as global

Higher Education Institutions Internationalization at Home” is

Uzbekistan - TSUOS has
announced a competition for
the Erasmus + International
Credit Mobility project under a
memorandum signed with CEFAM
(Lyon), ICD Toulouse, American
Business School of Paris, France.
The five winners of the competition,
Abdullaev Saydullo, Iskandarova
Feruza, Iskandarov Umar, Dadajonov
Asror and Shabazova Alina studied
in Lyon, France for four months.
One of the winners, Kuchkorov
Madamin is going on an
internship in June.
The exchange of professors and
teachers of TSUOS and CEFAM
university has also been organised
within the framework of the
Credit Mobility project.
According to this, the teacher of
TSUOS Makhmasobirova Nigora
on May 8-17, 2022 was sent to
Lyon for an internship.
Chris Zanda, a professor, and Raluca
Marginas, PhD at CEFAM University,
conducted a series of lectures
on “Financial Reporting Analysis”
and “English teaching methods,
intercultural communication and
critical thinking” for professors
and students at TSUOS.
aimed at cultivating students’
intercultural interests and
building global mindsets.
Under the guidance of Executive
Vice President Chiapei Chou and
Vice President for International
Affairs Hsiao-Wei Yuan, the
transnational environment. To
nurture future generations of critical
thinkers, numerous representatives
and ambassadors provide insightful
perspectives and experiences which
empower young talent to adapt
to evolving global landscape. To
prepare students to thrive in the
citizens to learn about highlights of
a country and dynamic connectivity
at regional and global levels.
The innovative initiative not only
serves as a platform for enhancing
cross-cultural communication
skills but illustrates a cultural
intelligence-powered campus.

46 University success stories QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 47

 A new orthodontic retainer wire developed by Iraqi
researchers
Iraq - Orthodontic retention
which means maintaining teeth in
their corrected post-treatment
position is one of the utmost
aims of orthodontic treatment
and is considered a part of the
treatment itself. Many types of
fixed orthodontic retainers are
available, yet all of them have
problems of some sort.
Iraqi researchers, Dr Ammar
EdUHK’s initiative to train early childhood
education specialists in Cambodia
Hong Kong - A new partnership has
been launched between the Royal
University of Phnom Penh (RUPP)
and The Education University of
Hong Kong (EdUHK), to extend
the reach of the Higher Education
Improvement Project.
Phase I will adopt a train-the-
trainer model while Phase
II will emphasise curriculum
development, research, knowledge
‘Smart Handy’, a TU innovation killing viruses and
reducing the covid-19 infection
Thailand - Faculty of Engineering,
Thammasat University led by
Assistant Professor Dr Prachaya
Prempraneerat and the Faculty
of Allied Health Sciences,
Thammasat University, led by
Associate Professor Dr Worada
Samosornsook, has collaborated
TMU’s biomedical engineering researchers found
Cholesteric Liquid Crystals ideal for optical device
Taiwan - Associate Professor
Yu-Cheng Hsiao at Taipei
Medical University College of
Biomedical Engineering has
demonstrated new novel uses for
liquid crystal elements.
Cholesteric liquid crystals have
special optical properties, and they
are considered as an ideal optical
material for future development.
However, the biggest obstacle
48 University success stories
Salim Kadhum and Dr Akram
Faisal Alhuwaizi, at the College of
Dentistry, University of Baghdad,
developed a new fixed retainer
wire constructed of a polymeric
material. The polymer known
as PEEK (poly-ether-ether-
ketone) has an outstanding
mechanical performance,
resistance to chemicals, and
biocompatibility, which made it an
excellent candidate for use in the
transfer and dissemination.
EdUHK will offer courses to
RUPP educators and senior staff
of the Cambodian Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sports.
Three Cambodian educators will
be able to enrol in a Master of
Education (MEd) programme at
EdUHK, and then become trainers
in Phase II, helping build a critical
mass of early childhood education
to invent the ‘Smart Handy’
innovation, a UVC disinfection
tunnel that can kill up to 99 percent
of viruses and bacteria on various
materials in 18 seconds to help
reduce the current epidemic of
coronavirus disease 2019.
‘Smart Handy’, an automatic
to their usage was the very
high operating voltage, which
made it difficult to achieve
miniaturization and portability.
Through the integration of synthetic
nanometers into a new optical
element, the cholesteric liquid
crystals can be driven by simple
mechanical energy, becoming the
first portable and miniaturized
cholesteric liquid crystal
harsh oral environment.
The proposed design is simple
and effective, as it overcomes the
problems of adhesion that are
associated with PEEK with simple
surface preparation, it allows good
cleaning between the teeth and
the retainer wire, and finally has
better esthetics when compared to
the metallic wires.
specialists in Cambodia.
EdUHK will also support RUPP to
design and develop the curricula
for an MEd and a top-up Bachelor
of Education programme. Research
will focus on documenting the
customisation process of courses
and programmes; and examining
their effectiveness and impact on
Established in 1989, the Applied Science Private University (ASU) is one of
the practice of Cambodian early
childhood education practitioners.
the pioneering private universities in the Jordan and the middle east.
Founded on the principles of diversity, inclusiveness, and excellence in
education, research, and community service. Being one of the first and
disinfection tunnel has registered largest private universities in Jordan and with more than 30 years of
a patent from the Department of
Intellectual Property. In addition,
it has already been installed for
experience in the field of higher education; ASU is a vibrant community of
testing at the Suvarnabhumi
International Airport office learning and scholarship, and a home for more than 6,000 local and
building, Airports of Thailand Public
Company Limited or AOT. international students originating from more than 56 different countries.
element that does not require an
external power supply.
This is the first article that foresees
an application for cholesteric liquid
crystal elements in technology and
healthcare fields. Dr. Hsiao’s team
will continue to strive to optimize
performance and commercialize
integrated liquid crystal devices.
 Low-cost anti-heat coating for buildings with zero
electricity consumption
Hong Kong - PolyU Professor
Dai Jian-Guo, Associate Head
(Academic Development),
Department of Civil and
Model UN at KazNARU promotes diplomatic skills
among students
Kazakhstan - Kazakh National
Agrarian Research University
(KazNARU) established a Model-
UN Club to promote diplomatic,
negotiation, and critical thinking
skills among students.
During the academic year 2021-
2022, the Model UN team regularly
engaged student communities from
KazNARU and various universities in
Almaty city by organizing workshops
in different formats for discussing
UN Agenda 2030. The Model-UN
Daryl Mahon University of South Australia Business
Internship Program speed networking
Australia - University of South
Australia Business Internship
Program Speed Networking in
2022 is a mix of 200+ Industry &
Students in the room for 2 solid
hours of connecting resulting in
180+ formal matches (and many
more informal) so far.
50 University success stories
Environmental Engineering,
together with his research team,
has developed a method to make
advanced coating materials for
“smart” sub-ambient radiative
cooling (SSRC) to cool buildings by
keeping the interior temperature
at least 6°C cooler than the
ambient temperature with zero
electricity consumption.
PolyU’s SSRC coating, “UmiCool”, is
a multifunctional aqueous polymer
coating that can be painted on
the exterior surface of buildings
and infrastructure. It works by
Club used creative and flexible
approaches as students worked in
different formats from debating
clubs to brainstorming sessions
to finding solutions for regional
and global challenges
“The process of internationalization
of education and the development
of innovative approaches to the
modern educational practice puts
great attention to nursing soft
skills among students to prepare
“the leaders of tomorrow” to
This is our fourth biannual event
using this format, with lessons
learned allowing us to refine
it each time. The Program is
specifically targeted to provide a
safe and structured opportunity
for students to engage with
industry for the purpose of lining
scattering sunlight, converting
absorbed UV light to fluorescence
emissions and re-emitting infrared
radiation to outer space.
“UmiCool uses the sky as a
temperature regulator for the
dynamic exchange of heat,
enhancing daytime cooling
while suppressing overcooling at
night,” Professor Dai explained.
Thus, the huge temperature
difference between day and
night that may compromise
the durability of buildings and
infrastructure can be avoided.
be fully prepared to deal with
future challenges, said Professor
Rafis Abazov of KazNARU.
up a Work Integrated Learning
(WIL) opportunity that contributes
towards their studies and/or
strengthen their employability on
graduation. UniSA Business with
career ready graduates ready to
collaborate to change the world.
6 awards from MTE 2022 for MSU
Malaysia - Management and
Science University (MSU) has
bagged two gold, two silver, a
bronze, and the Outstanding
Innovation Award from the Malaysia
Technology Expo (MTE) 2022.
Leading in the gold medals
list were a Wind-Solar Hybrid
Power Generation System for
Highway Streetlights and the MSU
Assessment Chart for Children
with Special Needs; respectively in
the Protection of the Environment,
Energy, Water, Wastewater,
Sanitation, and Green Technology
Indonesia flies CN235 aircraft from Bandung to
Jakarta on biojet fuel
Indonesia - “Today, thanks to the
support and cooperation of all
stakeholders involved, the inaugural
flight using biofuel, a 2.4 percent
biojet fuel mixture that the nation
has been waiting for, has finally been
World’s first LED lights developed from rice husks
Japan - Milling rice produces
about 100 million tons of rice husk
waste globally each year. Scientists
searching for a scalable method to
fabricate quantum dots developed
a way to recycle rice husks to
create the first silicon quantum
dot (QD) LED light. Their new
method transforms agricultural
waste into state-of-the-art light-
emitting diodes in a low-cost,
environmentally friendly way.
sub-category, and the Social
Innovations and Entrepreneur
Management sub-category of MTE.
The award-winning innovations
are from MSU’s research on
Environmental Sustainability and
Blindness Prevention; respectively
by researchers from the Faculty
of Information Sciences and
Engineering (FISE) and the Faculty
of Health and Life Sciences (FHLS).
The FISE team, led by Dr Safaa
Najah Saud Al-Humairi, comprises
Dr Ahmad Sukri Ahmad, Associate
Professor Dr Muhammad Irsyad
carried out covering the distance
from Bandung to Jakarta using a
CN235 aircraft,” said the Indonesian
Minister of Energy and Mineral
Resources, Arifin Tasrif, as quoted
in the release of the successful
CN235-220 aircraft flying test bed,
October the 6th, 2021.
Back in 2012, Prof Subagjo, Head
of the Institut Teknologi Bandung
(ITB) Catalyst Research Team,
began converting palm kernel oil
Their findings are published in
the ACS Sustainable Chemistry &
Engineering journal.
“Since typical QDs often involve
toxic material, such as cadmium,
lead, or other heavy metals,
environmental concerns have
been frequently deliberated when
using nanomaterials. Our proposed
process and fabrication method
for QDs minimize these concerns,”
said Ken-ichi Saitow, lead study
Abdullah, Junaidi Daud, and
Bachelor of Science (Honours) in
Mechanical Engineering student
Sharifah Athirah Sharif Zulkepele.
Their work also won the
Outstanding Innovation Award
in the Safety and Security sub-
category of MTE 2022.
into biojet fuel raw materials. His
efforts were fortified by numerous
biojet fuel testing on a laboratory
scale by Dr Iman Reksowardojo.
Their achievements benefit from
strong collaboration with Hokkaido
University, AUN/SEED-Net, and
JICA. Prof Subagjo believes that
this modest ripple of success
would grow and create a great
wave of success in the country’s
process technology field.
author and Hiroshima University
chemistry professor.
Since porous silicon (Si) was
discovered in the 1950s, scientists
have explored its technological uses.
Non-toxic and abundant in nature, Si
has photoluminescence properties.
Rice husks, it turns out, are an
excellent source of high-purity silica
(SiO2 ) and value-added Si powder.
DOI:
10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c04985
QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 51
 HKBU-led study uncovers fullness regulatory
mechanism and drug target for obesity
Hong Kong - A study led by
Hong Kong Baptist University
has identified a promising drug
target for obesity, as researchers
found that an enzyme called MT1-
MMP plays an important role in
the regulatory mechanism that
underpins the sensation of fullness,
or satiety. The findings were
published in Nature Metabolism.
U Aveiro creates the first national laboratory to
trace fishery and aquaculture products
Portugal - The Portuguese
government will finance the
installation and creation of
the first National Laboratory
for Traceability of Fishery and
Aquaculture Products, with 7
million euros from the Hub Azul
initiative - Infrastructure Network
for Blue Economy, supported
by the Portuguese Recovery
and Resilience Plan.
UCU accredited by AACSB
Uruguay - The School of Business
and Economics of the Universidad
Católica del Uruguay and the UCU
Business School were accredited
by the Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB), one of the three most
influential accrediting associations in
Lingnan scholar launches classical Chinese poetry
podcasts in English to promote Chinese culture
Hong Kong - To give audiences
around the world the chance to
appreciate classical Chinese poetry,
Chair Professor Cai Zong-qi,
Director of the Advanced Institute
for Global Chinese Studies at
Lingnan University, broadcasts
a 15-minute podcast each week
based on his ten-volume book
series How To Read Chinese
Literature on platforms.
The full 52-episode series covers
the major poetic genres that
have evolved over almost three
52 University success stories
In mice with depleted MT1-MMP,
the researchers found that they
ate 10 percent less food and
gained 50 percent less weight
when given a high-fat diet. In cells
with active MT1-MMP, they also
observed a reduction in the levels
of a hormone called GDF15 and a
corresponding neuron receptor in
the brain called GFRAL.
This unique structure in the
country will provide services to
companies and national authorities
involved in the sector of the sea
and aquatic resources and attest
to the geographical origin and
production methods of foodstuffs
of marine origin, taking advantage
of the knowledge produced by the
University of Aveiro in this field.
The future equipment is expected
the field of business administration
and business education.
Thus, UCU is the only university
in Uruguay with this recognition,
which is synonymous with the
highest standards in business and
business education, with a focus
millennia, stretching from early
Zhou all the way to Qing, the
last of China’s dynasties, which
ended in 1911. Specialists will guide
listeners through the rich heritage
of Chinese poetry, genre by genre,
and dynasty by dynasty.
In each episode, between one
and three magnificent poems will
be read and discussed in English,
and their cultural milieu explored.
Each will also be recited recited in
Putonghua (Standard Mandarin) by
a professional reader.
As GDF15 sends out satiety
signals by binding with GFRAL,
thus regulating food intake, the
researchers believe that MT1-MMP
blocks GDF15 from binding to
GFRAL. This prevents neurons from
transmitting the satiety signals sent
by GDF15. The results highlight that
MT1-MMP is a promising target for
the treatment of obesity.
to start operating in 2025, in close
collaboration with the Aveiro Port
Administration, as the third unit
of ECOMARE - Research Center
for Innovation and Sustainability
of the Economy of the Sea of the
University of Aveiro, which also
includes the Center for Research
and Rehabilitation of Marine
Animals (CPRAM) and the Center
for Extension and Research in
Aquaculture and the Sea (CEPAM).
on continuous improvement. These
standards require excellence in areas
related to strategic management;
innovation; students, schools and
active collaborators; learning and
teaching; and professional and
academic commitment.
“We want to help the listener go
beyond pure translation,” Prof Cai
explains, noting that some subtleties
are lost in translation. “You do
not really get the same aesthetic
pleasure from a translated text, as
you would get from the original,
particularly for some hyper-
condensed type of poetry.”
The podcast is available on
platforms including Apple
Podcasts, Spotify, Google
Podcasts and Ximalaya.
QS Stars results
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employability, social responsibility, inclusiveness, and more.
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University Rating

Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University - Kazakhstan

Abu Dhabi University - United Arab Emirates

American University in Switzerland - Switzerland

Asian Institute of Technology - Thailand

Canadian University of Dubai - United Arab Emirates

Colegio Universitario de Estudios Financieros (Cunef) - Spain

Dhurakij Pundit University - Thailand

Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina - Colombia

Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics & Finance - UEF -
Vietnam
Institut Teknologi Nasional Bandung - Indonesia

Krirk University - Thailand

MIU City University Miami - United States

Murdoch University - Australia

National Taipei University of Education - Taiwan

QS Global Education News 8 | May 2022 55

 University Rating

Newcastle University - United Kingdom

Universidad Católica de Colombia - Colombia

Universidad Continental - Peru

Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) - Peru

Universidad Regional Autónoma de los Andes - Ecuador

Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola - Peru

Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara - Indonesia

University of Dundee - United Kingdom

University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines -
Philippines

Movers and Shakers

Professor Chung-Hsi Lee

Vice Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Taipei Medical University

On-Semester Off-Semester

Prof. V. Kamakoti Fall Semester

Director
Indian Institute of Technology Madras

56 Stars Results | Movers & Shakers

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