We just talk about the good stuff

This week, we spent five minutes with Youssef Medhat, a student recruitment manager working across the Middle East and North Africa.

We discussed considering changing career paths in the middle of the pandemic and trying the local cuisine in Uzbekistan.

What do you like most about your job?

The best thing about this job is the satisfaction you feel when a student tells you how happy they are with the university option you suggested and guided them to go to, especially when they graduate and they come back to thank you.

You know you are leading the way and taking a strong tangible role in changing people’s lives to the better and guiding them to reach their full potential.

Tell us about a defining moment in your career

During coronavirus I was facing a career crossroads after I was made redundant and thought about moving to a different industry as borders closed down and education turned online.

I had to make a decision, either to stay in the higher education sector or not. I had many doubts whether things would go back to normal. Everything was very challenging, but as [with] everyone else, I had to adapt and grow. It led me to being more resilient and develop a stronger sense of determination.

I decided to carry on working in the same industry and working towards my goal and vision to become a leader and a top achiever in the UK higher education industry.

Two years later, I received an award for having the highest numbers of student recruited (2022) and the year after I have received an award for being sales person of the year (2023) which clearly was a significant milestone in my career.

What was your first job in international education?

By coincidence like most of us, I got to know of an opportunity with a UAE-based student placement agency which was expanding to Egypt.

I joined the company as a country manager, responsible for building relationships with schools, setting up the office, looking for staff, learning about the industry and different study destinations, entry requirements, visa requirements and study programs.

It was a very different experience even though I came from sales background and had international customers. However, working in this field has changed my life and was an eye opener for me on so many different levels and definitely impacted my life positively.

What’s your favourite international cuisine or dish that you’ve discovered through your work?

Plov is one of my favourite dishes that I have tried while visiting Uzbekistan on a work trip in early 2020.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring international educator, what would it be?

A very important piece of advice for aspiring international educators is to embrace cultural humility and a genuine curiosity about the world.

You would only be able to build very strong links and relationships when demonstrating cultural humility, which will also help you build trust and rapport with students and colleagues from different cultures.

It shows that you respect and value their perspectives. Also this approach will make you more likely to ask questions, seek clarification and avoid making assumptions, which will lead to clearer and more effective communication.

Having genuine curiosity about the world will broaden your horizons. It will lead to personal and professional growth as it will make you seek out new experiences, travel and engage in cross-cultural learning opportunities.

“Having genuine curiosity about the world will broaden your horizons”

You will inspire your students to explore the world and learn about different cultures. And it will be easier to adapt to new environments, teaching methods and challenges.

What’s the most interesting trend you’ve observed in our industry recently?

Recently I started to notice that study abroad awareness grew rapidly over the course of the last eight years in the MEA region among parents and the demand has become very high now.

And even though the number of government sponsorship seats declined in many GCC countries, Saudi Arabia is soaring.

If you could learn any language instantly, which one would it be, and why?

That language would be Japanese. It is a very interesting language and culture. I have always been fascinated by the amount of discipline, strength and pride in the Japanese culture and knowing the language would definitely help understanding the Japanese history and blend in the culture

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Latest data from UCAS in the UK shows a slight decline in international students accepted to undergraduate courses for the next academic year.

A total of 50,860 accepted international students from outside the EU is a 0.9% drop from the 51,290 last year.

The number of EU students has also dropped marginally to 10,610 from 10,910 last year. The decline continues the trend since the UK voted to leave the EU and students from the region lost access to home fee status as well as government funding.

EU undergraduate student numbers hit a peak of 30,280 students in 2016. In 2019, 30,040 EU students were accepted onto undergraduate courses via UCAS.

The privately-owned admissions service has previously said that around 75-80% of EU domiciled students and around two thirds of non-EU students typically apply via its platform.

This year, Ireland – the only EU country to maintain its access to home fee status and UK funding – saw 2,560 applicants accepted, a record number of Irish students using the UCAS platform.

The next two EU countries with the most accepted students were France with 1,260 and Spain with 1,100.

Among non-EU countries, China and India represented the most accepted applicants, with 15,180 (down from 16,720 in 2022) and 4,960 (up from 4,400), respectively.

While the non-EU student numbers are a fall from last year, the 50,860 figure represents a 25% increase on 2019 numbers.

Other countries with more than 1,000 students accepted include: Hong Kong (3,330); Malaysia (2,670); the US (2,180); the UAE (1,710); Singapore (1,550); Canada (1,460); and Nigeria (1,370).

More than 1,000 students from Turkey (1,020) have been accepted for the first time on undergraduate courses through UCAS.

Prior to the August A-level result release, there had been warnings that UK students could be missing out on places as a result of increases in international student numbers.

“Today’s numbers show the continuing attraction of UK higher education across the globe”

The latest data shows that at the undergraduate level this has not been the case, with the majority of growth in international student numbers being at the postgraduate taught level.

Interim CEO at UCAS, Sander Kristel, said a record 38,140 UK students had secured places through Clearing and “record numbers” had exercised to choose study options later in the cycle.

“Today’s numbers show the continuing attraction of UK higher education across the globe, and also a return to normal growth following the surge of demand seen during the pandemic,” she added.

Overall, 270,350 UK 18-year-old students have been accepted onto a course, down from 275,390 (-1.8%) in 2022 and up from 239,460 (+12.9%) in 2019, UCAS noted.

Clearing remains open until October 17.

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Canada’s international student program has “been a victim of its own success” and more needs to be done to counter the abuse and exploitation of students, a group of senators have said.

A new report, released September 20, urges federal, provincial and territorial governments to resolve “integrity challenges” that it says are “rooted in the fiscal challenges of Canada’s post-secondary sector”.

In a press conference, senator for Ontario, Ratna Omidvar, noted that international students are a major asset to Canada, contributing CAN$22bn to the economy and creating 218,000 jobs.

“Canada set out to increase it’s share in the market of international students in 2014, aiming to double its base which at that time was 215,000,” she said.

“This kind of growth does not come with unintended consequences”

“We have far outrun this goal post and currently stand close to 870,000 international students.” Canada’s immigration minister recently said that the country is expecting some 900,000 in the next year.

“This kind of growth does not come with unintended consequences,” Omidvar continued. There are many victims of the success of the program, primarily the students themselves, she said, but also hosting institutions and Canada’s reputation as a leader in global learning.

“The underbelly of abuse that is prevalent in the system threatens its integrity and there have been many reports in the media about physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse. We have come to the conclusion that the systemic underpinnings of this problem lie with the funding arrangement for post-secondary education.”

Successive governments have cut institution grants to the extent that their only choice now rests with international students “as an essential part of their business plan”, she added.

A recent report from Higher Education Strategy Associates found that 100% of net new funding in the last 10 years has come from international students, which the senator cited.

“The integrity problems of the International Student Program are rooted in the fiscal challenges of Canada’s post-secondary sector, which in turn affect broader issues such as neglect or abuse of students, unaffordable housing, and a backlash against the program itself,” senator Yuen-Pau Woo from British Columbia added.

“The fact that responsibility for these problems rests with multiple levels of government and with different private actors is not a reason to avoid addressing them – urgently.”

Fees have grown “exorbitantly” for international students, recruitment business are “thriving” and private colleges have “proliferated with less oversight from authorities than public institutions”, Omidvar added.

“The incentive to recruit, recruit, recruit has overtaken any incentive to bring learning ready students to Canada and provide them with quality educational experiences,” she said.

Asked whether Canada should introduce a cap on students, Omidvar said any proposals to do so would have a “severe impact on the funding” of higher education. “The right way to go is to provide for a better student experience, [with] more monitoring and more oversight,” she said.

The report recommends that the financial stability of designated learning institutions should be reviewed, greater oversight for institutions including private colleges introduced and the housing supply for international students addressed.

Additionally, international students should be better informed about the legal rights in the country, especially regarding housing, employment and sexual abuse.

“[Together with] the withdrawal of the government from any building of non-market affordable housing, we have the perfect storm,” Omidvar said.

“The blaming of international foreign students for these long-standing structural problems, such as in housing, is a bit like the tail wagging the dog. We really have to ask ourselves whether we are going to leave our post-secondary educational institutions at the mercy of external sources of funding.

“There is no single magic bullet, but we have come together to develop practical solutions.”

She added that Manitoba has set standards for education agents and introduced the requirement – like institutions in Australia – to maintain a list on their websites of agents they work with. In Manitoba, those breaking the rules set out in the 2016 International Education Act can be fined, ranging from $25,000 fines for individuals and $50,000 for corporations.

To promote a “healthier international student program”, federal government should strengthen the Letters of Admission verification process to prevent fraud and reform both the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to “better regulate the conduct of education agents”, the report states.

“The federal government must immediately strengthen measures to prevent abuse and exploitation”

It also suggests that a national policy strategy on temporary to permanent residency should be developed, which can help to “limit disappointment” among international students whose numbers now exceed the numbers of PR available each year.

Widely disseminating the strategy can help better inform international students that “despite claims they have heard from agents and others, there are only a finite number of permanent residence spots available in Canada”.

A national policy strategy on international student settlement supports would also provide “better care and a more positive experience to international students”, it adds.

“The federal government must immediately strengthen measures to prevent abuse and exploitation of these students, which is unacceptable for a country like Canada to tolerate”, senator Hassan Yussuff added.

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Ten higher education institutions in the Philippines have partnered with Chinese institutions, in a bid to boost collaboration and partnership in the fields of science, technology, agriculture and mathematics.

Co-hosted by the Commission on Higher Education, the Guizhou Provincial Department of Education and the Guiyang Institute of Humanities and Technology, the partnerships were signed during the Philippines–China University President Cooperation Dialogue, which took place during China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week.

“International collaboration is the key aspect of our approach to higher education,” said J. Prospero E. De Vera III, CHED chairperson.

“By collaborating with overseas partners, HEIs can enhance the quality of education, expose students to diverse perspectives and equip them with skills necessary to thrive in a globalised society.”

De Vera said it was his hope that participation in activities organised during and on the margins of the CAECW forums would “yield insights in learning in the international environment and promote the internationalisation of Philippine HEIs”.

The 10 partnership agreements between Philippine and China HEIs include:

• Bohol Island State University and Guiyang Institute of Humanities and Technology
• Mabalacat City College and Shijiazhuang Institute of Railway Technology
• Isabela State University and Guizhou Minzu University
• Jose Rizal University and Guiyang Institute of Humanities and Technology
• Mariano Marcos State University and Center of International Education
• Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas and Deyang Vocational College of Technology and Trade
• University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and Center of International Education of Guangzhou Xinhua University
• University of Antique and Guizhou Vocational College of Foodstuff and Technology
• World Citi Colleges and Guiyang Institute of Humanities and Technology
• University of the Philippines and Guiyang Institute of Humanities and Technology

[1] Co-hosted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Guizhou Provincial Department of Education and the Guiyang Institute of Humanities and Technology, the Philippines-China University President Cooperation Dialogue, Ceremonial Signing, pic.twitter.com/GlENwq6UCP

— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) September 8, 2023

For Angelo Jimenez, president of the University of The Philippines, the future direction of Philippines-China cooperation has been established with the help of centuries-old ties and diplomatic relations.

“Ultimately, we must weigh our decisions according to one metric: how these will concretely improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities,” said Jimenez.

By collaborating with overseas partners, HEIs can enhance the quality of education

“Education is meant to serve people, to make lives better, to save our environment, and to promote peace, prosperity and social responsibility.”

Mabalacat City College’s partnership with Shijiazhuang Institute of Railway Technology aspires to secure a pioneer project through the Chinese government’s Luban workshop grant, according to its president Michelle Aguilar-Ong.

It intends to build vocational skills and boost employment, the leader of the Philippine institution added.

The grant provides a comprehensive educational training in Chinese technology including “top-notch equipment and cutting-edge facilities”, said CHED in a statement, adding that, to date, there are 30 Luban workshops successfully operating across different countries.

“There are no other Luban workshops in the Philippines, this is going to be the first. This project is particularly beneficial to the local government due to the thousand of job opportunities it will bring,” Aguilar-Ong added.

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European universities with the continent’s highest diversity of international students have been identified in the inaugural QS Europe University Rankings, with institutions in Spain, Poland and Switzerland taking the top three spots.

IE University in Segovia, Spain, was ranked top in the international student diversity category, followed by Vistula University in Warsaw, Poland, and EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Other universities with the highest ratios of student nationalities are Poland’s University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw, Maastricht University in the Netherlands, Cyprus’s University of Nicosia and the University of Luxembourg.

QS says that universities with sizeable populations of students from a variety of nationalities can bring opportunities for networking, cultural exchanges in addition to more diverse learning experiences and alumni diversity.

Only this month, IE University announced 23 new full-time professors and researchers with international profiles had joined its faculty.

The UK’s top ranked university for diversity is Coventry University, which is placed number eight, ahead of the University of Sunderland in 10th.

The data show 162 different nationalities are represented within Coventry University Group’s seven UK locations.

Coventry University vice chancellor, John Latham, said the ranking is a “reflection of the hard work we have put into building productive relationships with organisations across the globe, all of which provides enormous benefits to students internationally and within the UK”.

He also pointed to the university’s campuses in Wroclaw in Poland, branch campus in Egypt, a joint institute in China and the recently-launched International Institutes in Morocco. Additionally, Coventry has a network of Global Hubs in China, Africa, Dubai, Singapore and Brussels, with another to open in India later this year.

QS noted that the UK achieves Europe’s third-highest average International Student Diversity indicator score per institution among locations with 10 or more ranked institutions.

Only Switzerland and Austria boast a higher average, with each benefitting from a significantly smaller number of ranked universities, it added.

However, the UK sees room for improvement in its student exchange programs, with no UK university achieving a top 20 rank for the Inbound or Outbound Student Exchange metric.

The Universite Paris-Pantheon-Assas, University of Nicosia and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona topped the inbound metric, while Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA), Comillas Pontifical University and IE University all did best in the outbound ranking.

“The UK, somewhat predictably, shines across indicators underpinned in part by the global renown of the historic Oxbridge universities and its high-impact, globally collaborative research,” QS senior vice president Ben Sowter said.

“However, signposts for success are illuminated in all locations by the respective challenges identified by the datasets, whether incentivising international faculty and students, developing cross-border research partnerships or expanding teaching capacity.”

Enhancing research productivity and student exchange programs will drive greater success among UK institutions in future rankings, he continued.

“Maintaining the UK’s global appeal will reinforce the foundation on which much of its success is built”

“Meanwhile, maintaining its competitiveness and global appeal for international students will reinforce the foundation on which much of its success is built, not to mention the vast funding that such students provide, and on which the UK has come to depend,” Sowter concluded.

Spain boasts some of the most mobile student cohorts, with three of Europe’s top five universities for Outbound Student Exchange and two for Inbound Student Exchange, more than any other country, QS added.

French institutions such as Université PSL, Sorbonne University, Université de Montpellier and Université Paris Cité do well in the international research metric, with high levels of cross-border collaboration, while Germany’s “premier institutions produce an exceptional amount of research”.

The Netherlands “commands the region’s greatest overall renown among international employers and academics alike”, and Italy shines for outbound student mobility, the ranking shows.

Italy has more universities in the top 50 for outbound students, with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Free University of Bozen-Bolzano all represented in the top 15 in that metric.

Switzerland also excels for internationalisation, boasting one of Europe’s most diverse student and faculty cohorts, which QS noted is particularly pronounced for the international faculty ratio.

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English Australia celebrated excellence in the ELICOS sector earlier this month when it revealed the winners of the 2023 English Australia industry awards at its conference in Sydney.

The peak body said the nine winners of eight awards represent the “incredibly diverse” areas within the ELICOS sector.

Among those selected winners in 2023 were a director at Universal English College in Sydney, an initiative focusing on Sustainable Development Goals at the University of Wollongong College as well as two Lifetime Achievement Awards going to Helen Zimmerman and Marc Weedon-Newstead.

Judges selected Richard Pincus, campus director at Universal English College, for the Academic Leadership for his “value driven” approach, his effective collaboration with team members, ability to promote the successes of others and support staff growth, as well as his clear commitment to supporting the college’s students.

UOW College’s two-week hybrid ‘Project Unite’ initiative combining English language classes with afternoon project work was recognised in the innovation category. It brings together students within the Wollongong networks in Dubai, Malaysia and Hong Kong, as well as students in Wollongong, to collaborate on UN SDGs.

Vicky Chang from CQUEnglish Melbourne was the recipient of both the Action Research in ELICOS Award and the Contribution to Professional Practice Award.

In the headline Lifetime Achievement category, English Australia chose to select two icons of the ELICOS sector.

Helen Zimmerman, who started teaching English to refugees in the 1970s, later joining ACL and Navitas before retiring in 2018, was selected as one winner.

The former English Australia board member has also previously been recognised by IEAA for her Distinguished Contribution to International Education and two Outstanding Contribution awards from the Council for International Students Australia.

With four decades in international education, Marc Weedon-Newstead’s career “encompasses a diverse range of locations, organisations and roles” English Australia said as it honoured him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Marc’s unwavering support of and dedication to the ELICOS sector is an admirable legacy”

Beginning his career in Sudan, then Kuwait and Japan, Marc has worked in private and publicly owned ELICOS centres across Australia.

“Marc’s unwavering support of and dedication to the ELICOS sector is an admirable legacy and English Australia thanks him for his significant contributions,” the peak body said.

Grant and bursary awards were conferred on Benjamin Carkagis from the University of Sydney, Sandra Caon-Parsons at University of Adelaide English Language Centre and Virginia Mawer, who is behind amitalkingenough.com.

At the Centre for English Teaching + Learning Hub, English Australia said Carkagis has been “instrumental in the development of a new professional development program”, and has led on professional program redesign and curriculum renewal.

The peak body pointed to Caon-Parsons’s advocacy for student wellbeing and teacher professional development at the University of Adelaide.

“The judges were in agreement that Sandra’s nomination painted a clear picture of her crucial work and impact at The University of Adelaide English Language Centre and more widely across the ELICOS sector,” it said.

The full list of winners includes:

Academic Leadership Award: Richard Pincus, campus director, Universal English College

Award for Innovation: UOW College, ‘Project Unite’

Action Research in ELICOS Award: Vicky Chang, CQUEnglish Melbourne

Christine Bundesen AM Grant: Benjamin Carkagis, education manager (Professional Programs), University of Sydney Centre for English Teaching & Learning Hub

Contribution to Professional Practice: Vicky Chang, CQUEnglish Melbourne

John Gallagher Bursary: Sandra Caon-Parsons, Education Advisor, University of Adelaide English Language Centre

Award for Lifetime Achievement: Helen Zimmerman and Marc Weedon-Newstead

Anne Burns Action Research Grant: Virginia Mawer, ELICOS Teacher, Centre for English Teaching + Learning Hub, The University of Sydney

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India’s recent regulatory changes have opened up a “major platform for collaboration between countries”, the Indian government told UK universities participating in a trade mission this week. 

Speaking at the British Council’s India-UK higher education conference in New Delhi, Neeta Prasad, joint secretary at India’s Ministry of Education, said the country’s education ecosystem has “undergone a massive transformation” over the last three years and “that transformation is still going on”. 

India has brought in several regulatory reforms in recent years to strengthen the internationalisation of its education sector, a goal set out in the country’s 2020 National Education Policy. 

“We have rapid changes in the policies that allow us to collaborate with foreign institutions,” Prasad said. 

“The University Grants Commission has brought out guidelines for joint, dual and twinning degrees, which will allow students to do partial semesters in different countries.

“We have revised our credit frameworks to make it more flexible, to make it more aligned to the global best practices.”

The country has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK to mutually recognise one another’s qualifications, the details of which are currently undergoing negotiations. 

Maddalaine Ansell, director of education at the British Council, said this had “removed a fundamental barrier” to education links between the two nations.

India and the UK are also negotiating the terms of a free trade agreement, as set out in the 2030 roadmap for strengthening the partnership between the two countries. 

Alison Barrett, India director at the British Council, said there is a “perfect storm of demand and opportunity” in India and the UK at the moment, alongside an “enabling environment that will help make everything happen”. 

“It means that there’s political will within both systems to really ensure that the collaborations are deep and meaningful and sustained over a long time frame,” she told The PIE News. 

The conference, held at the British Council’s offices in New Delhi, was organised to tie in with a transnational education trade mission organised by the UK government’s Department for Business and Trade. 

Over 25 representatives from the British university sector will meet with Indian institutions this week to discuss potential partnerships and build links in the country. This is the largest higher education delegation the UK government has taken to any country. 

“With India’s National Education Plan and the UK’s government’s International Education Strategy, the direction of travel is the same as we both look to greater internationalisation of our sectors,” said Sir Steve Smith, the UK’s international education champion. 

Lucy Mazdon, pro-vice chancellor for international students at Oxford Brookes University, said there is “enormous potential” but also a “significant amount of challenge” when it comes to establishing TNE links with India. 

“I think the opportunities now with the changes in the regulatory environment in India and so on are really exciting and also very complex.

“I think in the UK we are relatively risk averse because of the increasing regulatory environment in our own country. 

“For me, this is really an opportunity to try and get a much better understanding of what the opportunities might be, how to navigate some of those challenges and yes, certainly with the slightly longer term hope that we might be able to develop some really sustainable and meaningful partnerships in India.”

According to analysis by Times Higher Education Consultancy, 83 UK institutions delivered TNE in India in 2021/22 and 13 of those had more than 100 newly enrolled students that year. 

But growth has largely been driven by one UK institution, which had more than 6,000 TNE enrollments. 

“There is a lot of space for growth”

“Higher enrolments is a positive thing but it hasn’t been diversified across the UK sector,” said Ishan Cader, director of consultancy at THE Consultancy. 

“If you look behind the data, a lot of institutes and UK universities in India have either remained the same or come down slightly or experienced just minimal growth.

“There is a lot of space for growth,” he added. 

Some delegates will also visit GIFT city, a special economic zone in Western India, where foreign institutions can set up branch campuses free from the regulations that govern the rest of the country.  

Two Australian universities have already begun setting up offshore operations in the financial hub. 

Multiple organisations joining the trade mission have existing partnerships with Indian institutions, such as the University of Exeter, which has links to universities including IIT Madras and IIT Delhi. 

Richard Follett, vice-president and deputy vice-chancellor for global engagement at the University of Exeter, said, “Why we’re here is to cement our partnerships and that commitment from British universities towards creating a living bridge with Indian organisations and Indian universities to ensure that we can develop, in a kind of mutually beneficial way, our research and education partnerships.” 

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A new system largely based on university performance at enrolling and graduating students from various backgrounds has seen Princeton take top spot in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.

The 2024 U.S. News rankings, published on September 18, saw MIT come in second place in its rankings for national universities, with Harvard and Stanford in a tie at third place and Yale taking fifth place – an entirely unchanged top five from 2023.

U.S. News said that the new system it is using means that more than 50% of a university’s rank now hinges on student outcomes, including how much debt students come out with and their post-graduation success.

Eric Gertler, executive chairman and CEO of U.S. News, said the “significant changes in this year’s methodology” are part of an evolution that is “ongoing”.

“[We want] to make sure our rankings capture what is most important for students as they compare colleges and select the school that is right for them.”

“We increased the emphasis on how often schools’ students from all socioeconomic backgrounds earned degrees and took advantage of information on graduate outcomes that was not available until recently,” U.S. News elaborated.

The rest of the top 10 included the University of Pennsylvania in sixth place, CalTech and Duke tied for seventh place, and Brown and Johns Hopkins tied for ninth place.

MIT frequently hits the top spot in QS’s world rankings, with Harvard and Stanford also in this year’s top five, but Princeton’s consistency at the top spot in the U.S. News rankings is not reflected in the QS ranking. It was joint 17th in 2024’s roster.

U.S. News releases its rankings by a plethora of categories, with many schools overlapping certain rankings in economics, most innovative schools and others.

The separated categories are when schools are considered as National Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges.

In the Liberal Arts Colleges category, Williams College in Virginia clinched the top spot, with Amherst College coming in second place – showing little change from the previous year’s rankings.

“Significant [methodology changes] are part of our ongoing evolution”

It was not just additions in the methodology that were made, but also changes in terms of what will now not be considered as part of the rankings.

Class sizes will now not come into consideration, nor alumni giving, high school class standing or how many graduates borrow federal loans – faculty with terminal degrees will also be omitted from the criteria.

The organisation highlighted that with the new “outcomes-focused” adjustments to the methodology, some schools jumped up in rank significantly.

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which ranks 296th in the National Universities list, jumped 106 places as a result – University of Texas at San Antonio jumped 92 places to 280th.

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The UK’s University of Birmingham has hosted a series of events aimed at leveraging cultural assets to foster soft diplomacy across the US.

A portrait of Moroccan Ambassador, Abd Al-Wahid bin Mas’ood, is typically on display at UoB’s Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, however it has been on loan over the past year to museums across the US for Tudor art exhibitions.

Most recently, it was a featured portrait at The Legion of Honour Museum in San Francisco. A delegation from UoB visited the museum this month and hosted events for alumni, including a panel discussion at the British Consulate-General to explore the power of cultural assets in building bridges between universities and other organisations.

Panellists drew parallels between the Tudor regime’s strategies and modern approaches employed by nations to amplify their global influence.

“With the rise of populism, cultural diplomacy has become critical to counter perceptions and to influence the middle ground”

Tammy Sandhu, British deputy consul-general, asserted that the study of historical cultural exchanges helps inform an approach to international diplomacy and cross-border relations. “It teaches us lessons to ensure we don’t make the same mistakes from the past,” she said.

Sandhu warned of an increasingly polarised society. “With the rise of populism, cultural diplomacy has become critical to counter perceptions and to influence the middle ground.”

She added, “Shakespeare is one of the UK’s greatest cultural exports to project the UK’s culture, expertise, diversity of thought, [and] power of influence.

“It’s a way for people to have a greater affinity with the UK than they might have otherwise had. And that can be through links [with] training, investment economics, research opportunities, going to university [and] travelling in the UK as tourists.”

Likewise, Michael Dobson, director of the Shakespeare Institute indicated, “Culture is a great way of starting conversations, even for people who aren’t talking about culture. And it’s a great way of enshrining and securing shared meaning, within which other conversations take place.”

The panellists each advocated for an emphasis on the study of the humanities in an increasingly digitised and globalised world; one in which STEM concentrations are often more highly valued.

“Humanities is all about understanding human society, the human spirit, [and] form,” UoB pro-vice-chancellor Andrew Stockley said. “That understanding is key to making these new technologies [and] advances succeed.”

The panellists agreed that cultural artefacts such as the loaned portrait have long served as bridges between different cultures to enhance cross-cultural understanding.

“When you look back in history, it’s always been the case,” said Stockley. He said when nations’ dignitaries met, entertainers in their entourage would perform to display the cultural merit of their countries.

“And when you go forward to the time of the Cold War, the sending of Russian ballet troops was again a way [for] people to see the wonders of Russian ballet [and] a way in which you could see [commonalities which] helps promote peace and understanding.”

Chiba said, “This [portrait] was an ambassador from Morocco to England and at the moment, [it] is being an ambassador from Birmingham to San Francisco”, noting that Birmingham is a multicultural city with a large Muslim population.

“It’s not forming bridges, but it is evidence of a bridge that already exists, and we are still walking across it,” she concluded.

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