Global Edition: Trump’s USAID shutdown impacts universities worldwide

[Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju]

Also: US academics launch legal bid to halt anti-DEI crusade

9 February 2025  Issue No: 818 Top Stories GLOBAL Trump’s USAID shutdown impacts universities worldwide Mary Beth Marklein The Trump administration’s stunning evisceration of the United States Agency for International Development brought an abrupt halt worldwide to the work of an untold number of universities, which serve as one of the US government’s primary conduits for promoting soft power abroad. AFRICA-UNITED STATES US aid freeze threatens higher education alliances in Africa Desmond Thompson For decades, United States foreign aid has supported universities across Africa. The US aid freeze could, therefore, have a lasting impact on higher education on the continent as it disrupts research, academic exchanges and long-standing university partnerships, also forcing institutions to rethink their funding models and global alliances. UNITED STATES-SOUTH AFRICA Trump leaves South African universities reeling Desmond Thompson Following the pause in United States foreign aid, initial concerns centred on the disruption of HIV/Aids treatment and support services, but it has now emerged that the impact extends far beyond. Many of these programmes are deeply integrated with South African universities, particularly in the health field. EGYPT-UNITED STATES Universities ‘save’ students’ amid Trump’s aid pause Wagdy Sawahel News UNITED STATES Higher education groups sue Trump over dismantling of DEI Nathan M Greenfield Higher education groupings representing professors and diversity officers are parties to a lawsuit against the US president, which argues that his crusade to erase diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes is unconstitutional, threatens academic freedom, and is an affront to the sector’s core values. CHINA DeepSeek success puts focus on China’s universities Amber Wang and Yojana Sharma GLOBAL-AFRICA Is Africa falling off recruiters’ study destination lists? Maina Waruru MYANMAR Student dies in airstrike on university in ‘liberated’ area Padone HONG KONG Despite deficit, authorities freeze foreign student fees Yojana Sharma SOUTH KOREA Citing financial struggles, 54.2% of universities hike fees Yumi Jeung NETHERLANDS Coalition parties back plan to keep international students Jan Petter Myklebust INDIA Budget focuses on IITs and medical education expansion Shuriah Niazi NORWAY Cabinet reshuffle raises hopes for internationalisation Jan Petter Myklebust PAKISTAN Protests over provincial law allowing bureaucrats to be VCs Ameen Amjad Khan UNITED KINGDOM HE experts wary of STEM focus in immigration policy debate Nic Mitchell AFRICA African HE needs new and sustainable funding models Clemence Manyukwe Academic Freedom UNITED STATES Academic freedom under Trump? Think McCarthyism, but worse Nathan M Greenfield Trump’s executive order on patriotic education in schools is ‘more frightening’ than what happened during the McCarthy era and signals what is to come for universities and colleges., says one of the challengers to the use of loyalty oaths in education institutions in 1967. Edtech, AI and Higher Education GLOBAL The AI cold war, tech disruption and the role of universities James Yoonil Auh DeepSeek’s meteoric, interdisciplinary success starkly highlights inefficiencies embedded within many American universities. While deep specialisation has been the engine behind countless scientific breakthroughs, it is increasingly misaligned with the cross-disciplinary nature of contemporary AI research. The Boston College Center for International Higher Education INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION Winter Issue No. 121, 2024 – A Partner of University World News Commentary GLOBAL Students have been sold a dream by agents and universities Louise Nicol While many universities claim to value education for education’s sake, they and their agents primarily use work opportunities to attract international students. Moreover, while universities are happy to promote post-study work opportunities, they offer little support for international students returning to their home countries. GLOBAL Transnational academic solidarity: From chaos to action Anatoly Oleksiyenko VIETNAM A promising strategy for HE, with some important omissions Hiep Pham UNITED KINGDOM Freedom of speech changes mean students will be the losers Dennis Hayes World Blog INDIA Latest reforms could signal the end of HE as we know it Malish CM and Akshay CC The latest round of higher education reforms in India, which are portrayed as ‘student-centred’ and upholding the mantra of ‘flexibility’, is likely to accelerate commercialisation, widen inequalities and dilute quality. These reforms could also lead to the disappearance of the colleges and universities we are familiar with today. SDGs GLOBAL Don’t forget the social in sustainability research – Study Wagdy Sawahel Led by China, Spain, and Germany, current research on higher education for sustainable development focuses predominantly on environmental and economic aspects, leaving social sustainability, which is critical to achieving societal stability, relatively underexplored, according to a recent analysis of global research trends. EGYPT New project tackles gender barriers at HE executive level Rami M Ayoubi, Rasha Abd El Aziz Youssef and Hiba K Massoud AFRICA Cultivating research leaders for a sustainable Future Africa Desmond Thompson AFRICA HE should produce free thinkers, not conformers, expert says Mark Paterson and Thierry M Luescher Top Stories from Last Week GLOBAL ESD futures: Imagining education for a sustainable future Patrick Blessinger, James Brown, Abhilasha Singh and Beena Giridharan Education for Sustainable Development helps learners to acquire the skills to make decisions on sustainable options that care for the environment and society. As we imagine the future, ESD will be at the centre of creating a world where sustainability lies at the core of our actions and choices. GLOBAL Universities have a role in forging tomorrow’s ideologies James Yoonil Auh CAMEROON-FRANCE Report’s 1,000 pages fill gaps about Africa’s colonial past Elias Ngalame INDIA Axing of standard publications list sparks quality fears Shuriah Niazi GLOBAL How universities are paving the way for a sustainable future Libing Wang CHILE HE accreditation reforms will need to put students first Carlos Olivares VIETNAM National rules for global agents: Challenges of regulation Phuoc Hoang, Ben Fenton-Smith and Ly Tran GLOBAL Unlocking the hidden curriculum: The key to full inclusion Duncan Cross and Brian Smith World Round-up UNITED KINGDOM Average vice-chancellor pay tops £340,000 amid redundancies SOUTH AFRICA Focus shifts to vocational training in higher education UNITED KINGDOM Higher education hailed as key to UK’s soft power drive SLOVAKIA New HE legislation aims at improving university management MALAWI Student financial aid body to increase beneficiaries by 15% JAPAN University to give fee cut to poorer students outside city UNITED STATES University rejects claim it was sued for race discrimination GLOBAL Top universities warned against unfair research partnerships ESTONIA Government cuts end universities’ performance-based grants UNITED KINGDOM-INDIA University criticised for India campus bid amid job cuts AUSTRALIA Record donation to university aims to boost STEM diversity UNITED STATES Trump casts campuses into turmoil, but few protest openly CHINA HE institutions join efforts to foster elite football talent PHILIPPINES Public university in hot water over English-only policy UNITED KINGDOM Ministers warned rental reforms will limit access to HE SOUTH KOREA Statement requirement for overseas applicants reinstated BANGLADESH Taskforce recommends one admission test for all universities JAPAN Universities to form cores of 7 new semiconductor centres SOUTH KOREA Students at distant universities to receive housing support WALES ‘Universities not going bust, but the situation isn’t great’ ZIMBABWE Matabeleland Province to get its first private university UNITED KINGDOM Modern language courses at risk out as universities cut jobs BELGIUM Flemish universities adopt new approach to Israeli partners

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