University World Heritage Programs

UNESCO's World Heritage Center identifies several universities offering World Heritage programs:

Africa

• Cameroon: Ecole de faune de Garoua/Garoua Wildlife School
• United Republic of Tanzania: Mweka College of African Wildlife Management

Asia and the Pacific

• Japan: Tsukuba University
• Australia: Deakin University (Melbourne)

Europe and North America

• Germany: Brandenburger University of Technology, Cottbus (BTU)
• Ireland: University College Dublin (UCD)
• Russian Federation: Moscow State M.V. Lomonosov University

The U.S. National Park Service has identified a couple of similar programs:

• The University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning offers World Heritage in Practice: Paris
• The University of Minnesota has a Center for World Heritage Studies

The University of California, Merced also has a World Heritage Program

Some additional sites were listed in my post in 2013.

IEEE and UNESCO sign partnership to promote engineering education in Africa

UNESCO and the world’s largest technical professional association, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), today signed an agreement to implement projects to support the engineering community in Africa.

The agreement, signed at UNESCO’s Headquarters, outlines initiatives that support the common goal of mobilizing engineering education outreach for both students and educators in Africa, a region both organizations regard as a priority.  The combination of IEEE’s core strengths as a professional association (with the technical expertise of its global membership); paired with UNESCO’s overall objective to mobilize science knowledge and policy for sustainable development, should contribute to the partnership’s effectiveness.

IEEE President and CEO Gordon Day, who signed the agreement for IEEE said, “Everywhere in the world, quality of life and prosperity depend on the application of technology. “That means that every country needs to have and sustain a strong high-tech workforce. Through this partnership, IEEE and UNESCO will be better able to help countries in Africa and elsewhere do just that.”

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, added. “If engineering’s role is more visible and better understood, more people would be attracted to it as a career. Now and in the years to come, we need to ensure that motivated young women and men concerned about problems in the developing world continue to enter the field in sufficient numbers. It is estimated that some 2.5 million new engineers and technicians will be needed in sub-Saharan Africa alone.”

The United States’ and United Kingdom’s Ambassadors and Permanent Delegates to UNESCO, David Killian and Matthew Sudders, attended the signing.

 UNESCO and IEEE agreed to collaborate on several projects and initiatives including accreditation programmes, faculty training and initiatives encouraging the participation of women in engineering.

Students' Voices on University Rankings

Do you know about the Peace Program"

The Peace Program was created to support capacity development in the universities serving the Palestinian people. It is implemented by an international Network, The Network counts at present (March 2011) of 66 members: 53 European and 13 Palestinian universities. It cooperates closely with the major NGOs of higher education: the International Association of Universities (IAU) the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), the European Association of Universities (EAU), the Association of Arab Universities (AARU), the Community of Mediterranean Universities (CUM), etc.

As an interuniversity network which seeks to promote international academic cooperation with the Palestinian universities, PEACE focuses its action on those areas in which international cooperation has made full proof of its efficiency, notably by contributing to raising the quality, efficiency and relevance of teaching and research at Palestinian universities and enhancing their institutional and staff development.

The support of UNESCO was instrumental in setting up the PEACE Network and developing its activities. When UNESCO launched its UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme in 1992, PEACE was recognized as a UNITWIN Network and has been functioning within that framework ever since. An office of the Programme was established at UNESCO, in Paris, in 1995.

An international conference on research development in Palestinian universities was held by UNESCO in Paris in 2007 in conjunction with the Research Network.

Interview: Jacky Lumarque: Haitian university rector, innovator and agitator

A new model of education has emerged from the ruins of Quisqueya University in Haiti, which was entirely destroyed when the earthquake hit on 12 January 2010, killing 17 students and staff.

Driven by skills-based volunteering and solidarity, the initiative is rooted in the community and overseen by dynamic rector Jacky Lumarque.
He spoke to EduInfo while in UNESCO for the Haiti Forum on 24 March.

Read the Interview!

UNESCO Calls for Universities to Take In Haitian Students

The Center of University and Professional Learning in

Port-au-Prince was destroyed by the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Source: "Education Was Also Leveled by Quake in Haiti," MARC LACEY, The New York Times, February 13, 2010

"In the days after the earthquake, the director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Irina Bokova, called on universities outside Haiti to help shoulder the burden. “Universities in the region and beyond should make every effort to take in Haitian students,” she said in a statement, calling the damage to Haiti’s education system “a catastrophic setback for a country already hit by other disasters.”

"Among the universities that have offered to help displaced students and faculty members is Dillard University in New Orleans, which suffered significant damage during Hurricane Katrina."

International Association of Universities Conference Papers Now Available

The papers presented at the IAU 2009 International Conference in Lebanon onThe Role of Higher Education in Fostering the Culture of Dialogue and Understanding (Notre-Dame University, Louaize, 4-6 November,2009), are now available online.

UNESCO: Virtual campus for Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has launched a three-year Avicenna Virtual Campus project with Unesco to expand access and improve the nation's higher education system.

Three Avicenna centres will be established at the universities of Baghdad, Basra and Salahaddin to link these institutions with others that are part of the Avicenna Virtual Campus in the Mediterranean region. The virtual campus was first created by the European Commission and Unesco and now has centres in 14 countries.

Read more!

UNESCO & CHEA Join to Fight Diploma Mills

Source: "Accreditation Group and Unesco Team Up to Take On Diploma Mills," The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 24, 2009.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization put out a joint statement today with suggestions for combating diploma mills around the world.

Read:

• The entire article in the Chronicle of Higher Education
• The joint statemenet

"The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities"

This figure illustrates the central point in Jamil Salmi's paper which was published by UNESCO on the challenges faced by communities that seek to establish a world class university. While there are differences among the lists of the best universities in the world, it seems to be generally agreed that there are fewer than 100 institutions in the absolutely top rank that combine a strong research program, a strong program training PhDs and the normal functions of the tens of thousands of institutions of higher education.

Microsoft Commits $50 Million in Higher Education Resources, Training and Certifications

Gates & Matsuura at 2004 signing

In an effort to help higher education institutions support economic stimulus efforts and work-force development strategies, Microsoft Corp. has committed up to $50 million through the Microsoft Education Alliance Program agreement. As part of the agreement, the company will provide resources and tools for short-term work-force training and higher education enhancements.

The announcement was made at the Education Leaders Forum, a one-day forum jointly organized by UNESCO and Microsoft, where more than 150 ministers of education, senior education officials and policy advisors discussed how governments and universities can take full advantage of e-technology's potential to address the current knowledge and skills challenges facing higher education.

Earlier this week, Microsoft and UNESCO announced a joint task force to help higher education institutions worldwide meet the growing challenge of supporting economic stimulus efforts and work-force development strategies. The UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and ICT will develop a strategic plan of action to identify how ICT can be used by governments as a catalyst for change. Microsoft's $50 million commitment is supporting the mission of the new task force and enabling the implementation of critical UNESCO and Microsoft educational resources.

Read more!

Biden at UNESCO's WCHE 2009

Source: Associated Press

"Jill Biden, the wife of the U.S. vice president and longtime educator, says American community colleges could be a pillar of economic recovery and a source of new skills after layoffs — and a model for poorer countries struggling to educate their citizens.

"The World Bank had a similar message in a report Monday that denounces the "hype" surrounding elite universities. The report says developing countries, especially in times of recession, would be better off meeting the educational needs of their local communities and economies than trying to build world-class schools.

"Community colleges are "a gateway in this economy, as people are losing jobs and going for new training," Biden told The Associated Press in a telephone interview late Sunday.

"Biden, who teaches English as a second language at Northern Virginia Community College, called on 28 years of education experience in a keynote speech at a UNESCO forum on higher education in Paris."

Read the full article!

Editorial comment: One would not want to underestimate the contributions made to this country by Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Cal Tech or the University of Chicago. On the other hand, one should not underestimate the contributions of the other 4000 institutions of higher education. Dr. Biden's suggestion -- that community colleges are an important model that developing nations should study and perhaps utilize -- is clearly useful. Failure to recognize the value of world class research universities would be as dangerous as overvaluing them or assuming they were easier to develop than is in fact the case. JAD

Martha J. Kanter, New Under Secretary of Education, at a Unesco Conference in Paris

From The Chronicle of Higher Education:

Two days after being sworn in as under secretary of education, Martha J. Kanter was on her way here to attend the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education, held by Unesco, the United Nations education and science agency.

Editorial comment: This is a good sign that the Obama administration will take a serious interest in UNESCO. JAD

"Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution"

This Report highlights key trends in higher education and provide a brief description of worldwide developments of these trends with supporting statistical or data illustrations and an analysis. The major trends are: massification in higher education; globalization and internationalization; distance education and new applications for information and communication technologies (ICTs); the privatization of higher education; the global flow of talent (globalization has exacerbated the worldwide movement of highly educated people); the academic profession at a crossroads for the student experience; research universities and the “world-class” phenomenon; financing higher education; quality assurance and university-industry linkages. The Report outlines some future trends in higher education.

The authors of the report (Philip G. Altbach 
Liz Reisberg 
and Laura E. Rumbley) are from the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College. The report was prepared as an input to the World Conference on Higher Education 2009, and published by UNESCO.

Read the Summary

Background Documents WCHE 2009

UNESCO has made available a number of background documents for the World Conference on Higher Education 2009.

ICTs for Higher Education (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.3)

A New Dynamic: Private Higher Education (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.4)

Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.5)

Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution – Executive Summary (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.6)

Student Affairs and Services in Higher Education : Global Foundations, Issues and Best Practices (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.7)

Student Affairs and Services in Higher Education : Global Foundations, Issues and Best Practices – Executive Summary (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.8)

La nouvelle dynamique de l’enseignement supérieur du développement durable (réinventer le progrès) (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.9) (Only available in French)

L’Aventure des savoirs dans la vie académique de ce siècle (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.10) (Only available in French)

Public Responsibility for Higher Education (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.11)

Brain Gain Initiative: A Digital Infrastructure Linking African and Arab Regional Universities to Global Knowledge (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.12)

Synthese des études thématique réalisées dans le cadre de la Task Force pour l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique / Thematic Studies Synthesis Realized in the Context of the Task Force for Higher Education in Africa (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.13)

List of Documents (ED.2009/Conf.402/INF.14)

The 2009 World Conference on Higher Education

According to UNESCO:

There were 152.5 million tertiary students worldwide in 2007, a roughly 50% increase compared to 2000......

Globally, the percentage of university-aged young people enrolled in tertiary education increased from 19% in 2000 to 26% in 2007. Women now account for a slight majority of students and their predominance is expected to increase.

Yet the average rate masks stark regional differences. Participation was 71% in North America and Western Europe, 26% in the East Asia/Pacific region, 23% in the Arab States, 11% in South and West Asia and, despite rapid growth, only 6% in Africa. A child in sub-Saharan Africa today still has less chance of reaching the end of primary school than a European has of entering university.

It is against this backdrop that UNESCO will hold the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education in Paris, France from 5 to 8 July.

After the first World Conference on Higher Education was held in 1999, UNESCO created the Global University Network for Innovation, composed of UNESCO Chairs in Higher Education, research centers, universities, networks and other institutions highly committed to innovation in higher education. More than 100 institutions from around the world are GUNI members. The GUNI website is a good source for information on the global system of higher education.

Dr. Jill Biden to Give Keynote at UNESCO Conference

Dr. Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, will travel to Paris to deliver a keynote address at the Opening Ceremony of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO") 2009 World Conference on Higher Education on Sunday July 5th. Dr. Biden will serve as head of the U.S. delegation to the conference, and her remarks will highlight the Obama-Biden Administration’s commitment to higher education and the critical role of community colleges in the higher education system.

Dr. Biden taught English and reading in high schools for 13 years, and also taught emotionally disturbed adolescents at a psychiatric hospital. From 1993 to 2008 she was an English and writing instructor at Delaware Technical & Community College. As of 2009, she is an adjunct professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College, and she is thought to be the first Second Lady to hold a paying job while her husband is Vice President. She is the founder of the Biden Breast Health Initiative non-profit organization, co-founded the Book Buddies program, and is active in Delaware Boots on the Ground.

World Conference on Higher Education eForum Now Open

From June 2 to 20, UNESCO is organizing an international discussion forum for participants in the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE 2009). The Forum aims to raise awareness and promote informed discussion of Higher Education issues so as to generate positive input into the Conference.

A different theme will be highlighted each week; Internationalism, Regionalism and Globalization; Equity, Access and Quality and Learning, Research and Innovation.

Read more!

School to Watch: University of the People

The University of the People recently opened under the auspices of the UN Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technology and Development (GAID). In opening, the UP is now the world's first tuition-free global Internet university.

Students will be charged some fees, however, such as an enrollment fee of $15 to $50 and a test processing fee ranging from $10 to $100, depending on the student's country of origin. A high school diploma and a proficient level of English will also be required.

Assisting this platform will be open-source technologies and materials, and classes will be taught by a mix of professors, librarians, teaching assistants, and other professionals. Those teaching classes will be both paid and voluntary.

And the idea seems to be attractive to many. After two weeks of enrollment, over 200 people from 52 countries registered. Classes, focused on computer sciences and business administration, will begin this fall. Enrollment goals to sustain the university are around 15,000, and the UP will need an estimated $6 million annually to remain open.

UP launched under the Israeli entrepreneur Shai Reshef, who has decades of experience in global education. Reshef has headed companies such as the Kidum Group, an online university affiliated with the University of Liverpool, and Cramster.com. He has donated $1 million of his own money to the UP, saying the UP can make the dream of education possible for hundreds of millions of people who would not have access otherwise.

UNESCO: World conference on higher education

The first announcement has been issued of the 2009 World Conference to be held from 5 to 8 July 2009 at UNESCO, Paris. It will address questions such as:

To what extent is higher education today a driver for sustainable development in the national and international context? Does the sector live up to the expectations placed in it to induce change and progress in society and to act as one of the key factors for building knowledge-based societies? How does higher education contribute to the development of the education system as a whole? What are the most significant trends that will shape the new higher education and research spaces? How are learners and learning changing? What are the new challenges for “quality” and “equity”?

Read the announcement!

Check out an interview on the Conference with Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić, Chief of the Section for Reform, Innovation and Quality Assurance, in the Higher Education Division at UNESCO’s Headquarters, in Paris.

Check out an interview with Marco Antonio Rodrigues Dias, the United Nations University representative at UNESCO who played a a central role in organizing the first UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education in 1998. The interview focuses on the higher education trends and the challenges to be faced in the coming years.