Ninth Level Ireland

“Numerous commentators writing over the last several months generally conclude that COVID-19’s impacts on higher education finances, practices, and internationalisation will be strong and enduring. Early budget data and opinion from governments and universities is similarly pessimistic, as I have pointed out in the past …” (more)

[John Hudzik, University World News, 6 June]

“Anyone working in higher education today does not need a weatherman to know that international recruiting and admissions has changed since COVID-19, and in all likelihood will be changed forever. This year almost all international conferences have been cancelled and, depending on the higher education institution, between 85% to 90% of all international travel has also been cancelled …” (more)

[Gretchen Dobson and Marguerite Dennis, University World News, 16 May]

“With international mobility restricted and professional relationships across distances seeming fragile, we need personal contacts more than ever. Among the proliferating internationalisation strategies and formal partnership agreements of international higher education, there is something which universities often overlook – the power of interpersonal relationships …” (more)

[Catherine Montgomery, University World News, 16 May]

“Recent decades have witnessed increasing interconnectedness across borders. Countries or issues which were previously unfamiliar or distant have become immediate in ways we were previously able to ignore. This includes health issues such as Ebola or Zika, migration (for example, crossing the Mediterranean or from Central America to the United States), politico-religious movements including jihadi extremism and financial crisis …” (more)

[Ellen Hazelkorn, University World News, 27 April]

“There is no shortage of commentary on the ramifications of COVID-19 for the higher education sector generally and the internationalisation agenda in particular. The opinions expressed are sharply divided: while some appeal for calm, arguing that the impact will only be temporary, others argue that the COVID-19 crisis will change higher education forever …” (more)

[Betty Leask and Wendy Green, University World News, 2 May]

“Last week’s news that University College Dublin (UCD) has abandoned plans to amend its policy on academic freedom came at a timely moment. While the world’s eyes are largely fixed on one point right now, many experts are urging caution about some of the potentially life-changing measures being hurried in to fight the coronavirus pandemic …” (more)

[University News, 13 April]

“Internationalisation of higher education (IHE) consists mostly of helping students to study abroad. Only 5% are taking advantage of such mobility, which helps them towards a better professional career. Hence, IHE follows a tendency toward a rather elitist model of excellence …” (more)

[Bernard Hugonnier, University World News, 11 April]

“University College Dublin (UCD) has dropped proposed changes to its academic freedom policy to allow for ‘different interpretations’ of the concept due to the university’s expanding links to China and other countries, following a significant backlash from academics. The draft policy, seen by The Irish Times, states UCD must consider ‘the risk of tension’ between its obligations to uphold academic freedom and ‘the strategic imperative to internationalise higher education’ …” (more)

[Jack Power, Irish Times, 9 April]

“Following vocal criticism from academic staff, UCD have abandoned a proposed addendum to the university’s Statement on Academic Freedom. Academics have expressed ‘shock’ at the addendum, calling the proposed changes ‘a source of embarrassment to our University’, and something that would ‘compromise’ the existing policy. UCD revised its position following the success of an online petition which garnered almost 500 signatures …” (more)

[Conor Capplis, College Tribune, 2 April]

“A week passed, so activists had time to galvanize colleagues via an online petition. Hundreds immediately protested against the proposed dilution of the principle of Academic Freedom. And now, the Chair of UCD’s committee on Academic Freedom has issued a statement. The statement asserts UCD’s devotion to the principle of undiluted Academic Freedom. So far, so academic …” (more)

[In a Strange Land, 1 April]

“The COVID-19 epidemic has struck a blow to physical mobility worldwide. Notices about institutional closures, social distancing and self-quarantining have compelled us all to part ways with our established routines, in one way or another. This could, however, be an opportunity to re-examine higher education internationalisation, including its objectives, scope, strategies and intended impact …” (more)

[Kalyani Unkule, World University News, 21 March]

“So there I was, feeling heartless. Why couldn’t I feel more genuine pity for the Captains of Enterprise who had steered their Starship Universities onto the global barrier reefs? The panic was, after all, palpable in the ‘engine-room directive’ to keep the orders coming for next year’s foreign trade …” (more)

[In a Strange Land, 23 March]

“The coronavirus crisis is upending higher education – as well as economies and the lives of millions of individuals around the world. Universities have been closed, with teaching cancelled or put online. Conferences have been called off. Of direct relevance to international higher education, prospective students have been unable to take examinations, and international students have been unable to travel to their campuses or to return home …” (more)

[Philip G Altbach and Hans de Wit, University World News, 14 March]

“Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is satisfied that the continued activities of institutes (details supplied) do not negatively impact on the activities of universities here; the actions he has taken to ensure same; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 5 November]

“After major internationalisation efforts in College, the number of non-EU students studying in Trinity more than doubled between 2011/12 and 2017/18, The University Times has learned. A memorandum circulated to Finance Committee by Trinity’s Vice-President for Global Relations, Juliet Hussey, showed that College had achieved 98.5% of its target …” (more)

[Brónagh Kennedy, University Times, 30 October]

“The government will give Irish universities €500,000 to promote collaboration with universities from around the world. A new fund, set to be managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), will make the funding available to colleges across the country …” (more)

[University Times, 2 October]

“The notion that universities operate as a public good is ‘unrealistic’ and dishonest, according to a higher education consultant who claimed that the sector should not be so arrogant to ‘bestow’ its vision on the world. Daniel Guhr, managing director of US-based Illuminate Consulting Group, said that higher education exists ‘in a world of the 1%’, in terms of the proportion of people across the world who study at universities …” (more)

[Ellie Bothwell, Times Higher Education, 15 September]

“Negotiations on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU started nearly a month ago. Forecasts of the potential impact of Brexit on the Irish economy, the border and the peace process in Northern Ireland send chills down many people’s spines. However, despite its potentially disastrous consequences …” (more)

[Neale Richmond, University Times, 15 July]

“Ireland’s higher education system could enjoy a positive spin-off from Brexit, although it also presents huge dangers. On the plus side, Ireland may become a magnet for talented academics and researchers – and the research funding they bring – as well as international students, who want to work or study in what will then be one of just two English speaking countries in the EU (the other being Malta) …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 21 June]

“Over the past months, since the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States – in particular after the transition – many articles have been published about the negative impact of these two events on the internationalisation of higher education in the United States and the United Kingdom and beyond …” (more)

[Hans de Wit, University World News, 24 February]