Blogs
Here Nuffic staff and external experts provide background information on current events and analyse ongoing developments in international higher education.
Strategic choices
Strategic choices in higher education was the main theme of a seminar held recently as part of an annual Netherlands higher education conference. Dutch higher education, as in many other countries, is facing massive cuts, reforms and the need to reorientate and refocus to safeguard its future.
Competing for the brightest students?
This blog argues that vision and coherence are needed in Dutch international student recruitment policies at the national level. Some countries manage to do it, so why can’t we?
Internationalisation strategy: supporting all aspects of HE strategy?
Internationalisation is present in many parts of higher education institutions like research, curricula, libraries, marketing and student population. Of course, any self respecting institution has included some reference to internationalisation in its vision, mission or activity plan.
Regional harmonization of higher education: a global perspective
Developments in various parts of the world indicate that there is a global trend towards regional harmonization of higher education (i.e. working towards greater comparability of higher education structures and practices – not necessarily standardization of higher education).
Tackling low secondary school completion rates in Mozambique
The capacity building activities in developing countries managed by Nuffic focus on higher education in relation to the local labour market. Nevertheless, there is also recognition of the problems faced at lower education levels since these also impact on the magnitude of the capacity building needs of the labour market.
In the Swiss mountains
Early November I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Switzerland as I was invited by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
Achieving sustainable self-reliance without educational capacity building an illusion
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MinBuZa) and Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation (MinEL&I) recently announced more than 20 financial instruments to facilitate increased international cooperation between the Dutch private sector and the private sector in 60 selected developing countries all over the world.
Erasmus for All: more money, less paperwork
On 23 November 2011 the European Commission released its long-awaited proposal for Erasmus for All, the successor of the Lifelong Learning Programme. We already knew that the Commission wants to increase the budget for education purposes to approximately 19 billion euro. Now we also know how this money is to be spent.
TVET's turn to make its mark?
These are clear signals that TVET and skills development are back on the agendas of the donor community after a two-decade absence in which basic education topped the agenda.
HR capacity building firmly embedded in Europe’s current growth strategy
Human resource development is a major cross-cutting theme in Europe's overall growth strategy for the current decade: Europe 2020.
Towards new partnerships and funding sources for development cooperation in HE
The persistent financial crisis that has rung in with the new millennium has had a significant impact on the field of development cooperation, particularly with regard to budget.
National policies on internationalisation: boon or curse?
The chicken or the egg? Is internationalisation a bottom-up or top-down process? It is probably safest to say it is both. But if that is true do they meet? And if so where?
Debating the value of NQFs in developing countries
The rife use of old boy networks in job placement does not and should not make continued implementation of National Qualification Frameworks redundant.
Will new Dutch rule on offshore education hinder internationalisation?
The Dutch government requires all students studying for a Dutch degree to have studied in the Netherlands for at least one year. Is this a clever move?
Costs and benefits of foreign students in the Netherlands
Last week, Dutch newspapers published several articles on the costs of foreign students in The Netherlands. Especially the large number of Germans in Dutch higher education seemed to be a problem for some commentators.
Evaluation of Dutch support to capacity development
On 4 August 2011 the Policy and Operational Evaluations Department (IOB) of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a 'Synthesis report of the evaluation of Dutch support to capacity development'.
Mapping Mobility 2011: international mobility in Dutch higher education
This month, Nuffic published its annual publication on international mobility in higher education: Mapping Mobility 2011. The document gives information about the number of international students, their countries of origin, the most popular Dutch institutions and many, many other facts on international students in the Netherlands.
Effective Capacity Building for Sub-Saharan Africa: Targeting the Youth Bulge
Maximum effect in capacity building in Sub-Saharan Africa can be achieved by targeting skills development at the youth bulge, with conscious effort on involving girls.
Scholarships forever?
The purpose of scholarship programmes
The Learning Agreement: still essential? How to set up and measure quality abroad
Both the quality of Erasmus mobility and the recognition of credits remain returning topics when it comes to international credit mobility. There are several tools and initiatives that try to look into these matters. Some are older, like the Learning Agreement, some are younger, like recent mapping, benchmarking and quality assurance initiatives.