“When Annette Schavan, Germany’s minister for education and research, resigned earlier this year amid allegations of plagiarism, weary sighs could be heard along the length of the Danube …” (more)
[Paul Jump, Times Higher Education, 16 May]
“… At stake is whether or not the German university sector should be transformed into a three-class system – the good, the very good and the elite. This is likely to attract ambitious academics from English-speaking countries, as Germany’s plan also includes more courses taught, and research conducted, in English …” (more)
[Peter Mayr, Guardian Professional, 15 May]
“A university in the eastern Germany state of Saxony has become the first to raise tuition fees drastically for non-EU foreign students. The fee hike from €220 to €3,600 each year could set a nationwide precedent …” (more)
[The Local, 12 April]
“… It all started last September when 300 economics professors signed an open letter of protest against the separate ranking conducted by Handelsblatt, a sober business daily …” (more)
[Frances Mechan Schmidt, Inside Higher Ed, 21 March]
“German universities made headway in respected league table the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings which, published Monday evening, provide the only global index based on an academic institution’s brand …” (more)
[The Local, 5 March]
“It seems that Google just can’t past this whole ‘stop pirating our bylines’ thing these days: the German lower parliament approved a bill requiring Google (and other search engines) to pay a licensing fee for re-publishing bylines of news stories …” (more)
[Liam Boogar, Rude Baguette, 4 March]
“The lower house of the German parliament, known as the Bundestag, has approved a new bill that would require search engines to pay a license fee for re-publishing content longer than ‘individual words or short excerpts’. The bill passed by a vote of 293 to 243, with three abstentions …” (more)
[Cyrus Farival, Ars Technica, 2 March]
“Germany’s president called for English to be made the language of the European Union as he appealed to the UK to remain a member. Joachim Gauck earned applause for his remarks in Berlin yesterday during a speech on the future of Europe …” (more)
[Irish Times, 23 February]
“The practical reality for many German academics and researchers is that publishing in English is becoming progressively more vital for their careers. However, some German linguists are railing against this process and drawing attention to its associated cultural, political and academic dilemmas. This is reflected in a new book, Deutsch in der Wissenschaft (German in Academia/the Sciences) …” (more)
[Brian Bloch, Times Higher Education, 14 February]
“A half-dozen German politicians have been accused of PhD plagiarism in the last two years. DW takes a look at why doctorate titles are in demand in Germany and why politicians and people are so keen to get hold of one …” (more)
[Conor Dillon, Deutsche Welle, 13 February]
“For 32 years, the German education minister’s 351-page dissertation sat on a shelf at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf gathering dust while its author pursued a successful political career that carried her to the highest circles of German government …” (more)
[Nicholas Kulish and Chris Cottrell, New York Times, 9 February]
“German Education Minister Annette Schavan has resigned after a university stripped her of her doctorate for plagiarism. Duesseldorf’s Heinrich Heine University voted last Tuesday to remove her doctorate following a review …” (more)
[BBC News, 9 February]
“The German minister for education and research finds herself this evening with no university degree. After a long-running investigation into accusations of plagiarism in Annette Schavan’s 1980 PhD dissertation, the University of Duesseldorf today revoked the German minister’s doctoral degree …” (more)
[Gretchen Vogel, ScienceInsider, 5 February]
“Allegations of plagiarism in the doctoral thesis of Germany’s Education Minister Annette Schavan have sparked a dispute among academics, universities and science organisations …” (more)
[Michael Gardner, University World News, 26 January]
“For more the seven years, Germany’s research minister, Annette Schavan, has been one of the most loyal – and politically successful – members in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet. Now the 57 year-old education expert is facing possibly the untimely end to her political career over a plagiarism charge …” (more)
[Quirin Schiermeier, Nature News Blog, 23 January]
“A close ally of German chancellor Angela Merkel today rejected allegations of plagiarism in her 1980 doctoral thesis and said she wanted to stay in the cabinet beyond September’s election. The accusations are similar to those that last year brought down Dr Merkel’s defence minister and heir-apparent, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, but could prove more damaging for the government only nine months before an election …” (more)
[Irish Times, 23 December]
“Germans might fear inflation of the economic variety, but grade inflation has become rampant in the academic world. When 80% of students graduate with one of the top two grades, questions start being asked …” (more)
[Pippa Wentzel, The Local, 19 December]
“Griffith College is providing counselling to staff and students following the death on Saturday of Thomas Heinrich, a German student who attended the college. Mr Heinrich’s college in Munich, MHMK, has also flown in a psychologist to help students …” (more)
[Judith Crosbie and Derek Scally, Irish Times, 4 December]
“St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Ireland, has been training teachers for more than 135 years, for the past two decades as an autonomous college of Dublin City University. But in September, it received a letter saying that it would become a much more integral part of the university …” (more)
[Christopher Schuetze, New York Times, 25 November]
“A confidential report of evaluators examining the PhD thesis of Annette Schavan, German’s research and education minister, has apparently confirmed charges of plagiarism. Copies of the 75-page report were leaked to the press on 12 October …” (more)
[Alison Abbott, Nature News Blog, 15 October]
