The World of Higher Education

Afleveringen

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  The Half-Time Show: Six Months of Global Higher Education 11.06.2026 22min

  Host Tiffany MacLennan speaks with Alex Usher for a mid-year review of the major trends shaping higher education around the world in 2026. Revisiting themes from HESA’s World of Higher Education Year in Review report, Usher reflects on the growing influence of political interference, financial pressures, artificial intelligence, and shifting global centres of research and innovation.The conversation explores funding crises in countries including the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Kenya, the rise of private universities in emerging economies, and the challenges facing Canadian institutions as they adapt to declining international student revenues. Usher also offers his predictions for the months ahead and highlights the stories higher education watchers should be following as the new academic year approaches.👉 Episode Links:The World of Higher Education — Year in Review 2025: Read the free report
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  “Not Even as a Doorman”: Politics and Universities in Colombia 04.06.2026 25min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Javier Botero about the state of higher education in Colombia as the country heads into a pivotal presidential election. They explore the legacy of President Gustavo Petro, whose government has significantly increased public funding for higher education while continuing to face criticism over institutional finances, funding mechanisms, and its often-tense relationship with private universities. The conversation examines ongoing debates around university funding, student admissions, and the role of the private sector, as well as the unusual political and legal dispute surrounding the leadership of the National University of Colombia. Botero also reflects on the strengths and shortcomings of Petro's higher education agenda and considers what may lie ahead under Colombia's next government, including how different election outcomes could reshape the balance between public and private provision in the country's higher education system. 👉 Episode Links:Focus Friday | June 5, 2026: Community Chat. Register for Free
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  How China Built a Higher Education Superpower 28.05.2026 26min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Gerard Postiglione, one of the leading experts on Chinese higher education, about the dramatic transformation of China’s university system over the past half-century. Drawing on his new book, Higher Education in China, Postiglione reflects on the country’s rise from the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution to becoming a global higher education and research powerhouse. The conversation explores the evolution of the Gaokao, the push for world-class universities, Hong Kong’s changing role within China’s higher education landscape, and the challenges China faces around skills, equity, governance, and artificial intelligence. 👉 Episode Links:Higher Education in China: Domestic Demands and Global Aspirations by Gerard A. PostiglioneWorldEd S4 E8: Inside the Gaokao: China’s Defining Test with Ruixue JiaFocus Friday: Sign up to the One Thought to Start Your Day newsletter
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  The Knowledge Coalition 21.05.2026 20min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Marcel Levi, President of the Dutch Research Council and chair of the Netherlands’ Knowledge Coalition, about how the country built one of the world’s most collaborative and knowledge-intensive research ecosystems. Levi explains the origins of the Knowledge Coalition — an alliance of universities, research organizations, employers, and scientific institutions — and how it evolved from a government advisory body into a unified political voice defending research and higher education during recent funding cuts and populist attacks on universities. The conversation explores the Netherlands’ culture of institutional collaboration, the role of public advocacy in shifting political opinion, and how coordinated investments in interdisciplinary research, European partnerships, and innovation policy are shaping the future of Dutch and European science. 👉 Episode Links:S3 E6: Dutch Higher Education at a Crossroads with Marijk van der WendeDutch Research CouncilThe Knowledge CoalitionFocus Friday May 22, 2026: Register for Free
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  How IDP Sees the Next Era of International Education 14.05.2026 23min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Christine Wach, Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement at IDP Education, about the evolution of international student mobility and the shifting global higher education market. Wach traces IDP’s origins as an Australian government and university initiative, its transformation into a multinational education services company, and the development of IELTS and other major business lines. The conversation explores the post-pandemic surge and subsequent slowdown in international student flows across Anglophone countries, the growing importance of migration pathways and employability in student decision-making, and the emergence of new destination markets beyond the traditional “Big Four.” They also discuss AI’s impact on student recruitment, the challenges of sustainable growth, and how institutions and governments may need to rethink international education strategies in an increasingly competitive and uncertain environment.👉 Episode Links:IDP EducationFocus Friday — Sign up for the One Thought to Start Your Day Blog
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  Universities, Colonialism, and Indigenous Knowledge in Australia 07.05.2026 28min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with James Waghorne, University Historian at the University of Melbourne and co-editor (with Ross Jones and Marcia Langton) of Dhoombak Goobgoowana, a two-volume work examining Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne. Waghorne discusses how the project approaches colonial history through case studies of race science, anthropology, and the harvesting of Indigenous human remains, situating the university within broader systems of Western scientific knowledge and settler colonialism. The conversation also explores the University of Melbourne’s reconciliation efforts, including Indigenous knowledge in the curriculum, collaborative research partnerships, Indigenous astronomy, and the challenges universities face in confronting their colonial pasts while reshaping higher education for the future.👉 Episode Links:Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne, edited by Ross L Jones, James Waghorne and Marcia LangtonFocus Friday | May 8: Data Myth Busting | Register for free
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  Chair to Chancellor: Lessons in Leading Modern Universities 30.04.2026 28min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Nicholas Dirks about the realities of university leadership amid financial pressures, political scrutiny, and growing institutional constraints. Drawing on his experience at Columbia and UC Berkeley, Dirks reflects on navigating crises around academic freedom and campus governance, and why meaningful reform in higher education is so difficult to achieve. The conversation also explores debates around institutional neutrality, interdisciplinarity, and what changes may be necessary for universities to adapt to an increasingly uncertain future. 👉 Episode Links:City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the UniversityFocus Friday
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  You Can’t Kill the U.S. Department of Education (But You Can Break It) 16.04.2026 28min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Daniel Collier and Michael Kofoed about the uncertain status and evolving role of the U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration. They unpack why the department still exists despite efforts to dismantle it, and what that reveals about the limits of executive power. The conversation explores key policy shifts around student aid, accreditation, and DEI, and how legally fragile or unclear directives are shaping institutional behaviour across higher education. They also examine major changes to student loan repayment, including the move to a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), and what it means for borrowers. Collier and Kofoed reflect on the risks of governing through executive action and how upcoming political shifts could reshape the future of federal higher education policy. 👉 Episode Links:“A New Attitude: Why McMahon Isn’t DeVos 2.0” (Inside Higher Ed) by Daniel CollierFocus Friday: Online & Distance Learning (April 17) | Register for free
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  Strategic Planning and System Design in Malaysian Higher Education 09.04.2026 28min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Chang Da Wan about the evolution of strategic planning in Malaysian higher education, from decades-long national development plans to the newly released Higher Education Blueprint (2026–2035). They explore how a deeply embedded planning culture has shaped the system—and whether it has truly delivered on its ambitions.The conversation examines the blueprint’s structure, including its ten policy pillars, the continued influence of neoliberal governance and performance metrics, and concerns about limited transparency and top-down decision-making. They also discuss major policy questions around pre-university pathways, equity, and the complexities of managing multiple admission systems.The episode further looks at emerging priorities such as student wellbeing, the challenges of measuring non-academic outcomes, and the uncertain role of technology in future planning. Chang Da Wan reflects on what may be missing from the current blueprint—and what the next generation of reforms will need to address about the purpose and future of universities in Malaysia.👉 Episode Links:Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint (2026–2035)Focus Friday: Online & Distance Learning (April 17) | Register for free
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  Branch Campuses, Fake Research, and the Future of Indian Universities 02.04.2026 26min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Dr. Pushkar about the shifting landscape of higher education in India. They examine a proposed new centralized regulator, ongoing funding challenges, and the growing divide between top institutions and the rest of the system.The episode also looks at the rise of foreign branch campuses, India’s ambitions in AI education, and concerns about academic quality and research integrity.👉 Episode Links:WorldEd 2.4: Higher Education in IndiaHESA's Transnational Education Strategy Project
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  Zombie Universities and the Politics of Survival in South Korean Higher Education 26.03.2026 27min

  Host Alex Usher speaks with Jisun Jung, Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong, about South Korea’s fast-moving higher education policy landscape amid a steep youth-population decline. They discuss the “Zombie University” law encouraging struggling private institutions to close voluntarily through compensation tied to selling assets, while public universities are pushed to merge into larger regional flagships. Jung assesses Korea’s rapid growth to 300,000 international students, warning that some regional institutions enroll students who primarily work. The conversation also covers the government’s “10 Seoul National Universities” regional investment strategy, the prolonged medical student strike triggered by a sudden plan to add 3,000 medical seats, the Yonsei AI-cheating scandal and uneven institutional responses, heavy national investment aimed at becoming a top-three AI power, and the small but concerning right-wing youth movement dubbed “Freedom University.”👉 Episode Links:WorldEd 2.31: Korean Higher EducationFocus Friday March 27: Industry-Institutional Partnerships
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  Liberty and Zhi: Chinese and Anglo-American Ideas of the University 19.03.2026 26min

  Host Alex Usher interviews Dr. Lily Yang (University of Hong Kong) about her book, Higher Education State and Society, comparing Chinese and Anglo-American higher education as distinct cultural worldviews rather than just systems. Yang argues cultural traditions shape how concepts like the person/individual, equity, society, and the public good are understood, and why key ideas do not translate cleanly across contexts. They discuss similarities and deeper differences in student development, contrasting human-capital and tuition-fee rationales with China’s view of higher education as a state-supported apparatus serving broader social goods. Yang explains China’s historically encompassing notion of state and society, differing meanings of liberty versus zhi (free will), and culturally bounded university autonomy and academic freedom. 👉 Episode Links:Higher Education State and Society, Comparing The Chinese and Anglo-American Approaches
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  Why Iranian Students Keep Protesting 12.03.2026 31min

  In this episode of The World of Higher Education Podcast, host Alex Usher speaks with Saeid Golkar, Professor of Political Science at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, about the structure, politics, and recent turmoil within Iran’s higher education system. The conversation explores how Iran built a large but highly centralized university system, the role of elite public institutions and the vast semi-private sector such as the Islamic Azad University, and the state’s extensive ideological oversight of universities.Golkar also discusses the surprising rise of Iran as a major contributor to global scientific output in the early 2000s and the more recent challenges facing the sector—including demographic decline, economic pressures, and a growing brain drain. The episode examines the historical and ongoing role of students in Iranian politics, from the 1979 revolution to the protests of recent decades, and how universities have become key sites of political dissent. Together they unpack the complex relationship between higher education, state power, and social change in contemporary Iran.👉 Episode Links:Register for free: Focus Friday March 13 | Using AI Across an InstitutionHESA Transnational Education Strategy Project | Learn More
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  Higher Education in Bulgaria: Rankings, Reform, and Demographic Pressures 05.03.2026 18min

  In this episode of the World of Higher Education Podcast, host Alex Usher speaks with Georgi Stoytchev about the structure and future of higher education in Bulgaria.They discuss how the system evolved after the fall of socialism, the role of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences as the country’s main research hub, and Bulgaria’s distinctive national university ranking system, which uses administrative and graduate earnings data and is linked to performance-based funding.The conversation also touches on a recent tuition fee controversy, the involvement of Gen Z in anti-corruption protests, and the demographic pressures that are likely to shape the future of Bulgarian higher education.👉 Episode Links:Open Society InstituteRegister for free: Focus Friday March 13 | Using AI Across an InstitutionHESA Transnational Education Strategy Project | Learn More
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  Generation Z and the New Politics of Protest 19.02.2026 25min

  In this episode of the World of Higher Education Podcast, host Alex Usher speaks with Donatella della Porta, Professor of Political Science at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, about the global rise of youth- and Gen Z-led protest movements.From Serbia and Bangladesh to Italy and beyond, they explore why today’s movements are increasingly described as “Gen Z protests” rather than traditional student uprisings. Donatella argues that this generation has come of age during a period of “polycrisis”—climate change, economic instability, war, democratic backsliding, and corruption—which has shaped a distinctive form of activism rooted in injustice, inequality, and uncertainty about the future.The conversation examines how social media enables rapid, leader-light mobilization across borders, why universities may be losing their historic role as hubs of political socialization, and how online and offline organizing now work together. They also discuss the Gaza protests, differences between North America and Europe, and the evolving relationship between campuses, repression, and broader civil society movements.👉 Episode Links:Register for free: Focus Friday February 20 | Academic Program CostingHESA Transnational Education Strategy Project | Learn More
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  Higher Education Beyond the Public Good 12.02.2026 24min

  In this episode of the World of Higher Education Podcast, host Alex Usher is joined by Simon Marginson, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education at Oxford University, to discuss his new book 'Global Higher Education in Times of Upheaval: On Common Goods, Geopolitics and Decolonization.' They cover a range of topics, including the rise of right-wing nationalism, China's scientific advancement, and the challenges posed by neoliberalism and neocolonialism to the higher education sector. Simon emphasizes the need for higher education to be oriented towards the common good and discusses the distinctions between public goods and common goods in this context. The conversation explores the differences between higher education systems in the Anglosphere and other parts of the world, as well as the implications of internationalization versus globalization.👉 Episode Links:Global Higher Education in Times of Upheaval: https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/global-higher-education-in-times-of-upheaval-9781350540064/The World of Higher Education Podcast S3 E1: Higher Education in a Polarized World with Simon Marginson: https://worlded.transistor.fm/episodes/higher-education-in-a-polarized-world-with-simon-marginsonFocus Friday: Sign up to receive our daily newsletter and register for our biweekly webinars for free: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/rU6cAhCHESA Transnational Education Strategy Project: https://higheredstrategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-25-TNE-Strategy-Project_web.pdf
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  Higher Education After Its Peak 05.02.2026 29min

  In this episode of the World of Higher Education Podcast, host Alex Usher is joined by Bryan Alexander, the author of 'Peak Higher Ed: How to Survive the Looming Academic Crisis.' They discuss the challenges facing higher education in the United States including demographic shifts, public skepticism, and the impact of AI on education. Bryan elaborates on the peak of growth around 2012 and the subsequent decline, as well as potential strategies for institutions to adapt and survive this crisis. The conversation also touches on the political landscape, economic pressures, and the future of higher education. 👉 Episode Links:Peak Higher Ed: How to Survive the Looming Academic Crisis by Bryan AlexanderThe World of Higher Education Podcast S1 E12: Universities on Fire with Bryan AlexanderRegister for free: Focus Friday February 6 | Degree Redesign
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  Uzbekistan’s Higher Education Boom 29.01.2026 34min

  Join Alex Usher on The World of Higher Education Podcast as he dives into the remarkable transformation of Uzbekistan's higher education system over the past decade. Komiljon Karimov, Rector of Westminster International University in Tashkent, shares his unique perspective on the fivefold expansion, the role of foreign universities, and the challenges of maintaining quality amidst rapid growth. Discover how Uzbekistan's new leadership and demographic changes sparked a massive overhaul, transforming the country into a burgeoning hub for higher education. Don't miss this in-depth discussion on one of the most extraordinary educational reforms of recent times.
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  Authentic Universities: Choosing What Not to Be 22.01.2026 26min

  Join Alex Usher on The World of Higher Education Podcast as he engages in a compelling discussion with Frank Ziegele, Executive Director of the Center for Higher Education in Germany. They delve into the intricacies of creating authentic missions for universities in a constantly evolving educational landscape. Ziegele sheds light on his book, 'Authentic Universities: Effective University Identities in Times of Transition,' discussing the importance of differentiation and authenticity. They explore the challenges and strategies for institutions to adopt distinctive missions, the role of government in encouraging diversity in education, and much more. Tune in to explore the complexities and opportunities of authentic university missions.00:00 Introduction to the Podcast00:32 Guest Introduction: Frank Ziegele01:45 The Importance of Differentiation in Higher Education02:10 Challenges and Opportunities in University Missions04:17 Spotting Authentic Differentiation05:15 Strategies for Authentic University Profiles07:53 Government's Role in University Differentiation09:12 Examples of Horizontal Differentiation12:01 Implementing Differentiation Strategies14:58 Overcoming Faculty Silos17:47 Pitfalls in Developing Authentic Profiles21:59 Global Perspectives on Differentiation22:22 Reception and Impact of the Book24:33 Conclusion and Farewell👉 Episode Links:Focus Friday: Sign up to receive our daily newsletter and register for our biweekly webinars for freeAuthentic Universities – Effective university identities in times of transition
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  Royal Roads University: A Canadian University Without Tenure or Senate 15.01.2026 26min

  In this episode of The World of Higher Education Podcast, Alex Usher discusses the unconventional structure and innovative approaches of Royal Roads University in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, with its President, Philip Steenkamp. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Royal Roads was originally a military college and has since evolved into a unique institution focusing on mid-career professionals, blending online and in-person education. Unlike traditional universities, it lacks a senate, does not offer conventional tenure, and operates with significant market orientation due to lower government funding. Philip elaborates on the university's response to financial challenges, initiatives in international education, and the recent opening of a new campus in Langford, aimed at undergraduate programs. He also shares valuable insights on their new transnational education venture in Dubai and strategies to maintain the university's competitiveness and sustainability.👉 Episode Links:Focus Friday: Sign up to receive our daily newsletter and register for our biweekly webinars for free