SCIENCE & EDUCATION

More than 40 percent of the national universities are warming to the University of Tokyo plan to shift the start of the undergraduate academic year from spring to fall, a survey found.Major private institutions, including Waseda University, Keio University and Ritsumeikan University, have also shown willingness to ponder the move, which a University of Tokyo panel recently advocated to bring the system in sync with international norms.

A recent education ministry survey of third-year middle school students nationwide found most students have an ambivalent and contradictory attitude toward English. Of the 3,225 students surveyed, most felt English was important to study, but few wanted a job requiring English. The disjuncture between what they consider important and what they want for themselves is puzzling and disappointing.In the survey, 85 percent agreed English was important and 70 percent — up from 47 percent in 2003 — agreed that knowing English would give them an edge in finding a job in the future.Clearly, English is perceived as integral to internationalizing Japan and the world. However, despite students' increasing awareness of the importance of English, the percentage of students who said they did not want to get a job requiring English increased six percentage points to a whopping 43 percent.

EVERY secondary school in the country is to get industrial-speed broadband to allow for interactive teaching within two-and-a-half years as the Government plays catch-up with our international neighbours.The rollout of 100Mb per second broadband in all 650 secondary schools is scheduled to be completed in September 2014 -- although just 200 schools will be connected by the start of the new school year in September.

Technical institutions in Kenya are set to benefit from high-speed internet in the next financial year in a government-led initiative. The move will help institutions share resources and improve the quality of research, writes Fredrick Obura for The Standard.The Ministry of Higher Education said it was working with the Kenya Education Network, which is the national network that promotes the use of ICT in teaching, learning and research in higher education institutions. The partnership will help lay the groundwork for next year's project aimed at connecting 48 technical institutions.

Internet giant Google is partnering with Nigerian universities to remove internet access barriers and to equip them with free communication tools, reports Business Day. Through Google Apps Supporting Programmes, a Google initiative aimed at increasing internet use in universities across Africa, the company supports institutions to use technology more effectively for research and collaboration.The initiative is providing internet bandwidth, infrastructure grants, technical consulting and Google Apps for Education deployment, support and training.

Construction of China's first higher-education institute for tea study kicked off in Anxi, hometown of Chinese oolong tea, on Saturday, with authorities aiming to have it ready to welcome students from autumn of 2012.The college, in China's eastern Fujian province, will offer undergraduate courses for tea study majors under Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University.

The University of British Columbia is opening two offices in India as part of its efforts to gain a foothold in one of the world's most rapidly growing higher education markets. The initiative was announced last week in Bangalore by Premier Christy Clark, who was leading a British Colombia government trade mission to India, reports The Vancouver Sun.

KUALA LUMPUR: Canada is doing all it can to return to the glory days as one of Malaysia's top education providers.Canadian High Commissioner to Malaysia Randolph Mank said many Canadian universities were focusing on the Malaysian market to regain lost ground.Officials from 29 Canadian universities visited the country this year to pump up interest, he added.“The impact is already showing and we expect about 800 Malaysian students to travel to Canada this year for a variety of courses.“There are many advantages with Canada's average tuition fee for undergraduate students being lower than the United States, Australia and Britain, which means that students get better value for their money,” he told The Star.

Universities in Wales that are prepared to lower their tuition fees could be allowed to bid for extra students under proposals being considered by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, writes Gareth Evans for Western Mail.The system, which is being introduced in England, would see the 'core' number of university places cut and the 'margin' reallocated to universities with an average fee of less than £7,500 (US$12,000). The system has become known as 'core and margin'.

Applications for university places next year are on the rise as universities compete to attract a wider range of students, while those already enrolled stay for longer and complete their courses at a greater rate, new figures show.Applications for 2012 rose on average 2 per cent in NSW, the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) figures show.The increase was "not massive but notable" but part of a trend in recent years, Kim Paino, director of information services at UAC, said.Advertisement: Story continues below University places will be uncapped next year on the recommendation of the federal government as part of a push to increase the number of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Indonesia hosted the European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) in Jakarta on Nov. 12-13, a press statement from the European Union Delegation to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam said.The biggest European education fair this year aims to facilitate the dissemination of information on education in Europe as an alternative option for Indonesian students and professionals who want further studies with the best quality.

Paris, Europe's biggest university city, has once again opened special reception and advice services for foreign students arriving for the new academic year, who need help to tackle the labyrinthine bureaucracy, find a place to live and look for a job. Last year there were 56,500 international students in the French capital.A comprehensive 'one-stop' bureau was set up for the start of the academic year by the Cité Internatonale Universitaire de Paris (CIUP), a foundation owned by the Paris universities that provides housing and other services for international students and academics. Now in its ninth year and financed by Paris City Hall, the centre brings together in one place all the main agencies with which international students must register and which can help them settle in.

A 54% increase in foreign students in Dutch higher education over the past four years has prompted calls from political parties on the right and left for the introduction of quotas, and specifically for the allocation of places through a government lottery.The number of foreign students has risen by 19,000 since 2006 to 54,500. Over the same period, the share of allotted lottery places in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine going to foreign students rose from 9.3% to 18.3%.

Students at Coventry University College will pay £4,800 or less for degree they can take while working. A "no-frills" university college offering teaching seven days a week and degrees for around half the price of traditional universities will start recruiting students next week.Coventry University College will focus on professional courses including accounting, law and marketing, at a maximum cost of £4,800 for a full-time degree student.It is an offshoot of Coventry University, but students at the new institution will not have access to the university's library, IT or sporting facilities.

Long-time laggard in the MBA market, German business schools are finally starting to see the market take off. In particular, the market for executive MBAs - MBAs for senior working managers - is looking increasingly strong. ESMT, the business school set up by German industrialists, has just enrolled 50 students on its EMBA programme. Though small by global standards, this is the largest number since the school introduced the programme in 2007. Meanwhile HHL, the Leipzig Graduate School of Management, has launched an 18-month EMBA with Spanish business school Eada, to start in 2012. The English language programme will focus on Brazilian, Chinese and Indian markets.

This year’s graduates who completed an internship as part of their degree were 26 per cent more likely to get a job than their peers who did not, according to the latest research from the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), which administers the GMAT test. The data comes from a survey of both MBA and specialised masters graduates - the GMAC Global Management Education Graduate Survey. “The value of an internship can’t be underestimated -for both the employer and the employee,” says Michelle Sparkman-Renz, director of research communications at GMAC.

Thousands of student places face being cut from universities and distributed to local further education colleges under controversial Government reforms. Up to 6,000 undergraduates will be taught at colleges instead of universities from next year as part of a Coalition plan to drive down student tuition fees.Figures from the House of Commons library suggest that colleges in areas such as Blackburn, Blackpool, Bradford, Grimsby, Hull, Manchester and Newcastle will be the biggest winners under new rules that penalise institutions charging the most for degree courses.

According to the National Universities Commission, the number of fake universities operating in Nigeria has risen from 44 to 51, writes Martin Paul for The Moment.According to the weekly news bulletin of the NUC, eight of the universities had been taken to court while some are currently being investigated. Executive Secretary of the commission, Julius Okojie, told The Moment that the universities were shut for lack of minimum academic standards and for violating the Universities Act of 2004.

Two in five academics under the age of 30 plan to leave Australian higher education within the next five to 10 years because of high levels of dissatisfaction caused by lack of job security, poor pay and mountains of paperwork and red tape. And for those aged between 30 and 40, the figure is one in three.Dissatisfaction and insecurity are so rife among casual and sessional staff that a new report for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations estimates that close to half the academic workforce will retire, move to an overseas university or leave higher education altogether within the next decade.

Plans to radically overhaul the higher education system in Wales, designed by the body that funds Welsh higher education, the Higher Education funding Council for Wales, have been widely agreed upon by university leaders and other key figures, writes Henry McMorrow for Gair Rhydd.In response to Welsh Education Minister Leighton Andrews' statement that universities must "adapt or die", the body has announced plans to merge the University of Glamorgan, the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWiC) and the University of Wales, Newport; while Trinity St David and Swansea Metropolitan Universities should merge as previously planned.