EDUCATION: Foreign Students Flock Back to U.S

The 2008/2009 academic year marked the largest increase - eight percent – in the number of international students attending U.S. colleges and universities since the 1980/1981 academic year, according to a report released Monday by the Institute of International Education (IIE).
While the ranks of international students in the U.S. are increasing, so to are the numbers of U.S. students choosing to study abroad.
U.S. students choosing to study abroad increased by 8.5 percent to 262,416 in the 2007/08 academic year with a noticeable increase in students choosing to go to "less traditional" locales, particularly in the developing world.
Destinations experiencing the biggest increase in U.S. students studying abroad include China, Ireland, Austria and India, with increases of about 20 percent each, and Costa Rica, Japan, Argentina and South Africa, up nearly15 percent each.
"Open Doors 2009: International Students in the United States" also finds that the number of new international students - those enrolling for the first time at a U.S. college or university - increased by 16 percent, which followed consecutive increases of 10 percent in the past two years.
IPS News

IFC Supports Private Sector Education in Rwanda

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping increase quality education opportunities in Rwanda by training representatives from private schools to help improve their management skills and business models.
IFC’s Africa Schools Rwanda Program, in collaboration with IFC’s Rwanda Entrepreneurship Development Program ( REDP ), conducted two workshops in October to train representatives of 16 private schools. The first workshop was the Strategic Planning and School Vision three-day session. This was followed by a four-day session on Financial Management and Accounting.
The trainings have helped schools write long-term business plans, increasing their chances of accessing finance. The IFC training sessions featured specially-designed tools, including IFC’s Small and Medium Enterprise Toolkit and Business Edge, which are interactive learning programs that help managers run more efficient businesses.
Media Newswire

Hispanic Higher Education Closing the Gap

THE University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) is one of the most binational of America’s big universities. Some 90% of its students come from the borderplex—the Texan city of El Paso and its much larger sister-city, Ciudad Juárez, on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. More than 70% of its students are Mexican or Mexican-American.
And that, in turn, means that the El Paso campus is rather different from the University of Texas’s flagship campus in Austin. More than half of UTEP students are among the first in their families to go to college, and roughly a third come from families with incomes below $20,000 a year. Diana Natalicio, UTEP’s president, says that for many of her students trouble at work, or an unexpected expense, can derail a whole year of college. UTEP tries to help, offering after-hours advice and instalment plans for tuition fees. Such measures have helped it to become one of the country’s leading sources of degrees for Hispanic students.
The Economist

Australia announces new visa measures for students

The Australian government is introducing new measures to assist overseas students, including many Indians, affected by the closure of an international education provider, a minister said Monday.
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Chris Evans said that from Jan 1, 2010, overseas students who require a new visa to complete their studies at another school or college will be exempt from paying the A$540 (approx. Rs.22,500) student visa application charge.
Just this year alone, 12 education providers have closed affecting about 4,700 students.
Evans said that although most students will be able to complete their studies on their existing student visa, some may need to enrol in a new course that finishes after their existing student visa expires and will require a new visa.
Prokerala

First in India, university offers scuba diving course

Scuba diving is much more than an adventure water sport. Realising this, a university is offering, for the first time in India, a certificate course in scuba diving for marine biologists and researchers to study the impact of global warming on marine life.
The 15-day course offered by the Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute (SDMRI), Tuticorin, affiliated to the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tamil Nadu, will focus on marine biodiversity assessment, underwater photography and monitoring of coral reefs and sea grass.
As of now, Indian marine researchers have to go to private scuba diving centres here or abroad to learn the diving skills, which is a must for those studying sea biodiversity.
The institute will soon be applying for recognition from Australia-based Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) to run level one and level two courses in scuba diving.
Prokerala

AMU ties up with Holland varsity for promoting research

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the INHolland University of Amsterdam for undertaking joint activities in educational and cultural research and training, an official said Tuesday.
"As per the MoU, the two universities can go for the exchange of students and academic staff and launch programmes in the area of course development, student internships and higher research," AMU's official spokesperson Rahat Abrar told reporters.
The MoU would provide opportunities to the students of both the universities to learn each other's language, culture, religion and the sociology of home and host countries.
AMU has already discussed some areas of interest with a delegation of the INHolland University that the two varsities will soon explore higher learning and research.
Prokerala

Stockholm-Based Bonanza Education Expands Into U.S. Market

"Financial statements are considered a foreign language to a vast majority of employees who work outside of the finance function at companies, and that is a huge barrier to connecting them with the key drivers for business success," said Steven Wade, Chief Executive Officer of Bonanza Education USA. "The financial literacy programs delivered through Bonanza's concepts translate numerical tables into a universal graphical language that turn the once difficult and avoided financial discussions into collaborative conversations. When employees have a better understanding of the financial drivers for the company, they make better decisions, and companies can unlock the embedded innovation within their existing employee base."
The visual language developed by Bonanza enhances the skills and speed of assimilation of employees who already have a grasp of financial principles and enables those who don't like numbers to truly understand and begin to contribute to the financial conversation. Several European banks have successfully used the Bonanza concepts to build and enhance their relationships with clients, as well as, explaining the client's own financial situations.
...Since its inception in 1991, Bonanza Education has helped hundreds of thousands of people to understand finance, profitability and business challenges. The company's programs have been translated into multiple languages with partners in a dozen countries. Today, the company provides financial literacy programs in both the classroom setting and through highly interactive modules over the Web. Bonanza's analysis and presentation software is used in a wide range of companies to clarify the financial message, facilitate analysis and unlock embedded innovation within the organization....
Forbes

The social and personal-development needs of students who study for higher degrees must be taken more seriously

Postgraduates are our future. Without them, the academy is unsustainable: they are the teachers and researchers of tomorrow. But even beyond that, educating postgraduates is important for the future prosperity of the nation. First Secretary Lord Mandelson, who knows a good business opportunity for UK plc when he sees one, announced a review of postgraduate provision this summer, describing it as "a major export earner for the UK, and one which we have perhaps taken too much for granted".
Indeed. In the UK, postgraduate needs often go unheard amid the clamour over undergraduate education, unlike in the US, where they are often accorded a higher priority. With jobs in short supply, the numbers wanting to take postgraduate courses have increased; even before the downturn, they had grown by more than 64 per cent in ten years. But it is vital that universities have the structures in place to support their postgraduates properly.
The arguments over the practical issues - whether students should have a masters before embarking on a PhD and whether three years is long enough for a doctorate - are well rehearsed. But what about the social and personal-development needs of doctoral students, which can make or break an academic career? These are arguably as important. Getting the wrong supervisor, for whatever reason, can make all the difference between completing and not completing, and changing supervisor can be very traumatic.
Times Higher Education

SAFRA to provide better, more affordable facilities

SINGAPORE: SAFRA is looking into providing better and more value-added facilities for NSmen and their families from next year.
It is looking to invest in pre-school education. There are also efforts to make facilities more affordable.
The plans were announced during the official opening ceremony of the new SAFRA clubhouse in Jurong. Dubbed the "Playground at The Canopy", SAFRA Jurong is the largest of SAFRA's five clubhouses.
It houses Singapore's first purpose-built children's gym and offers interactive water features. Since its soft launch in May, the club has achieved an average of more than 70,000 visitors a month.
Channel News Asia

Inaugural International Education Month Set for Oct. 27-Nov. 19 at SUNY Cortland

Catherine Porter, president of the Modern Language Association of America (MLA), an international organization serving English and foreign language teachers, will deliver the keynote address during SUNY Cortland’s first International Education Month, which runs from Tuesday, Oct. 27-Thursday, Nov. 19.
Porter, a professor emerita of French at SUNY Cortland, will present “English is Not Enough” at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.
SUNY Cortland

WITI -- Women In Technology, International -- and Thomson Reuters Announce Global Partnership Agreement

Women In Technology, International -- the world's leading professional organization for tech-savvy women, is proud to announce a partnership with Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. The partnership is designed to leverage the WITI platform "Powered by WITI," raise the visibility of, and awareness for, development opportunities available to women in Thomson Reuters.
StockWatch

Self-Doubt Sends Students to Universities

VietNamNet Bridge Many students are not self-confident enough to follow their career dreams and may go to universities instead, according to survey results announced at a workshop on students awareness and attitudes toward the future held in Hanoi on October 9.
VietNamNet

American International School of Vietnam Selects Champion of IDEAS from Ballard

Ballard & Tighe, Publishers announced today that the American International School of Vietnam (AIS) has adopted Champion of IDEAS to teach their high school students the English language. The school will also continue to use the IPT Testing System to identify, place, and redesignate students based on the most up-to-date demographic norming data.
Reuters