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Month: August 2022

Research focusing on evolution in the workplace

Posted on by Editorial Team

During the last decade, countries across Asia have experienced fundamental changes caused by a combination of new technologies, shifting economic forces, and the impact of Covid-19.

Understanding what it means for the workforce is not always easy. But scholars at Lingnan University have been tracking trends, analysing key factors, and stating their views on what to expect next.

Some of these research projects can be grouped under the heading of employment, youth transition and well-being in Hong Kong.

However, the work also takes account of international and comparative dimensions and how higher education systems in Asia should evolve to meet new challenges.

For instance, governments encourage greater focus on courses designed to speed up the transition to a knowledge-based economy. They want more entrepreneurial, innovation-driven graduates ready to enter the workplace.

That is great in principle, but amid the Covid-linked slowdown in hiring, these efforts have exacerbated the problems of graduate unemployment or underemployment.

Analysis shows the rapid increase of people qualified in favoured disciplines has outpaced actual market demand. And that realisation has sparked public policy debate and extensive academic research into the social and economic consequences.

To contribute, Lingnan University formed a research team to explore different aspects. These ranged from the “massification” and privatisation of higher education to the changing social production of labour. They also included the transition made by young people entering the workplace and youth well-being in a time of stress and uncertainty.

In line with Lingnan’s “Impact with Care” philosophy, each research project is linked to one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These give countries a clear roadmap for the 21st century and promote partnerships that can address regional and global issues more effectively.

In that respect, Lingnan has established strong research links with prestigious partner institutions in Europe and Asia. The list already includes centres at the University of Oxford and the University of Turku in Finland, plus the Graduate School of Education at Peking University.

An immediate benefit of such tie-ups is the platform they provide for professors and postgraduates to test out theories and exchange ideas. But they also create opportunities to co-host international conferences, collaborate on papers, and publish findings in highly respected peer-reviewed journals.

Three recent publications by Professor Ngai Pun, head and chair professor of Cultural Studies in the Department of Cultural Studies, neatly illustrate the scope of the research.

One examined the making of the new Chinese working class, whose efforts and struggles are significantly reshaping the future of class relations in China.

Another involved a critical policy analysis of unemployment insurance in Hong Kong. And a third addressed the question of mobilising truck drivers in China, with its implications for the new migrant struggle and the emergence of “infrastructural capitalism”.

Other scholars have studied the effectiveness of working from home during Covid; the psychological distance among Hong Kong’s working adults with regard to the Greater Bay Area; and personal income and happiness in a rich global city.

All the latest Lingnan University publications related to employment, youth transition and well-being can be found in the webpage.

London Academy of Trading, Australia’s ISP Pty to market courses together

Posted on by Global University Systems

London Academy of Trading is set to market its range of financial courses in a partnership with Australia’s ISP Pty.

A dual-accredited provider of financial trading education, LAT, which prides itself on being the most trusted trading skills educator, will partner market its range of courses in Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific with ISP Pty.

“LAT’s curriculum and teaching approach develops students’ creativity, resilience and practical skills to enhance their opportunities for employment or for trading financial markets,” says Paddy Osborn, MD and Academic Dean. “LAT develops its curriculum and utilises the diversity within its student community to maximise the effectiveness of its courses and enhance the experience for all students.”

Based in Sydney, ISP is a strategic marketing, recruitment consulting and operational company, specialising in supporting clients across different global education sectors, from online international education to local face-to-face educators.

“We have more than 30 years’ experience in providing a range of innovative and sector changing outcomes in the Australian and international education arenas,” says Mark Skinner, Chair and Founder of ISP. “LAT opens a unique window for Australians and New Zealanders seeking to gain the necessary insights into the fast-changing specialist world of equities, crypto currencies, wealth management and global financial market development.

“Being based in one of the two great financial capitals of the world, with a 12-year history of high-quality, modern teaching and hands-on tutors available throughout the day, LAT’s established online services provide great opportunities to provide insights that the market seeks.”

The LAT faculty is composed of experienced traders and analysts from major institutions such as HSBC, Bank of America and Bloomberg. All LAT academic staff trade live accounts daily and are available 10 hours a day to provide students with one-to-one help and guidance.

“The research we undertook in Australia and New Zealand confirmed that a significant sector of the market is looking for a better global understanding, balanced with local inputs from people with proven records across different markets and trading aspirations”, says Mark Skinner. “LAT has been doing that successfully for many years for students across the UK, EU, Middle East, Far East and Africa.”

The ISP team has won two Australian Government Export Awards for educational development success, created the largest student accommodation network in the Southern Hemisphere (Unilodge), and developed programs now taught in 12 different countries and recognised by over 250 universities around the world.

LAT recently won the “Most Outstanding Trading Courses Provider 2022 – UK” in the Global 100 Awards, to add to its other two awards already achieved in 2022.

The University of Europe for Applied Sciences announces cooperation with Magnum Photos

Posted on by Global University Systems

The University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) has announced it has partnered with the renowned photo agency Magnum Photos with immediate effect. As part of this partnership, Magnum Photos will offer two workshops a year for UE students in Berlin and Hamburg, with the aim to bring Magnum and aspiring photographers together to learn from each other.

With this cooperation, UE continues its collaboration with leading Industry partners and underlines its expertise in the field of practice-oriented sciences.

Long-term cooperation with Magnum Photos

Commenting on the cooperation, Heike Ollertz, Dean of the Faculty of Art & Design and Professor of Photography and New Media at UE, said: “With Magnum Photos, we now have the world’s most renowned photo agency at our side and can give our students the best insight into the practical side of their studies.

“The cooperation with Magnum Photos is designed for the long term for our UE locations in Berlin and Hamburg and brings our young photographers early in contact with international and very successful professionals from the practice.”

Personalised support from internationally recognised photographers

UE students will receive one-to-one support and feedback from renowned photographers including Nanna Heitmann and Yael Martínez, who will lead the September workshop at UE. Nanna Heitmann, who has won the World Press Photo Award, among others, is a German-Russian documentary photographer currently living in Moscow. Mexican photographer, Yael Martínez, has established himself through group exhibitions in America, Europe, Asia and Africa. He was also recently announced as a World Press Photo winner. Works by both have been published in a number of high-profile publications including TIME Magazine, National Geographic, Stern and Vogue.

Sonia Jeunet, Education Director of Magnum Photos, added: “We are delighted to launch a partnership with the University of Europe for Applied Sciences through our first workshop aimed at the photographers from their campuses in Germany. This collaboration contributes to our mission of offering photographic education to practitioners at different stages in their careers.”

The first exclusive workshop for UE students, including lectures, will take place at the beginning of September as part of Berlin Photo Week. Here, participants will photograph according to Magnum photographers’ specifications, perform editing and sequencing exercises, participate in group critiques, receive constructive feedback and learn the basics of the editorial market.

Magnum Photos will host another workshop for UE students later in the year.

Taipei Medical University’s Dr Lin-Yi Tseng wins research award

Posted on by Taipei Medical University

Dr. Lin-Yi Tseng is currently an associate professor from the Center for General Education at Taipei Medical University. Her work on “the Development of Western Medicine in Dadaocheng(大稻埕) in Modern Taiwan” recently won the 8th Professor Shutsung Liao Research Award by North America Taiwanese Professors’ Association (NATPA).

According to Dr. Tseng, Dadaocheng played a very important role in the modernization of Taiwan’s medical care, and was the location of many firsts, such as Taiwan’s first general hospital, “Hongji Hospital”; Taiwan’s first female physician, A-Hsin Tsai (蔡阿信); Taiwan’s first dentist, Dr. Tseng-Chyuan Chen (陳增全) (Tseng-Chyuan Dentistry); and the first Indigenous Taiwanese physician (from the Puyuma tribe) to complete a Western-style medical education path, Dr. Tang-Shan Hsieh (謝唐山). In addition, from the Japanese Colonial Period to the early Post-War Period, Dadaocheng had a large number of western hospitals and pharmacies, such as Watsons Pharmacy and Taihetang Pharmacy, etc., which influenced the medical development of not just Taipei, but arguably even all of Taiwan. Unfortunately, Dadaocheng’s medical history and contributions are rarely covered in our history textbooks, and there is a dearth of complete and comprehensive professional research, which is a pity.

Dr. Tseng’s research depicts the evolvement of medical care over decades. The Japanese colonial period brought modern medical care to Taiwan. Through the establishment of new medical schools and hospitals, as well as various medical experiments, the medical foundation of modern Taiwan was laid. Among them, Dadaocheng is an important area for the attainment and practice of medical knowledge.

Dr. Tseng indicated that “humanities” are also of great significance to medical research. With the passage of time, many important medical materials in Taiwan may gradually disappear. As a historian, one has the responsibility of getting Taiwanese people understand the medical history of modern Taiwan through interviews, studies, writing and publications. Furthermore, as a lecturer at a medical university, it is one’s responsibility to get students to understand the medical development of modern Taiwan. The research results should also be published as a historical publication so that more people can understand the deep relationship between Dadaocheng and Western medicine.

UPI successfully holds international conference on language, literature, culture, education

Posted on by UNIVERSITAS PENDIDIKAN INDONESIA

Faculty of Language and Arts Education, FPBS, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI), Bandung held the sixth International Conference on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education (ICOLLITE) with the theme “Revitalization of Language, Literature, Culture, an Education in The Era Digital Era”.

This conference was conducted online on Wednesday, 03 August 2022, presenting Prof. Dr. Yayat Sudaryat, M.Hum (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia) and Prof. Kimura Toshiaki (Universitas Tohoku, Japan) as the keynote speakers; Prof. Julian Millie (Monash University, Australia) and Dr. Luh Ade Mayani, S.S., M.Hum. (Director of SEAMEO QITEP in Language/Language Development and Fostering Agency, Indonesia) as the Plenary Speakers; and Dr. Ida Widia. M.Pd and Dr. Asep Sopian, S.Pd., M.Ag (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia) as the Featured Speakers.

This seminar was officially opened by the Vice Rector for Education and Students Affairs, Prof. Dr. Didi Sukyadi, M.A. in his opening remarks, he congratulated and extended his appreciation to all committee of The 6th ICOLLITE for successfully conducting this seminar. “This seminar is very important for discussing language-related issues in this digital era,” he added. This was the sixth international seminar held by the Faculty of Language and Literature Education attended by professors, scholars, researchers, Indonesian language activists, students, and speakers from other countries such as Algeria, Andorra, Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia and so son as many as 23 participants. This seminar was livened up by a show from Katumbiri, one of Student Activity Units of the faculty.

This seminar aimed at revitalizing language, literature, culture and education in facing the dynamics of the changes in the digital era. The Dean of FPBS, UPI, Prof. Dr. Tri Indri Hardini, M.Pd. expected that it will result in extraordinary insight related to language and there will be mutual support and cooperation in order to be able to implement Kurikulum Merdeka Belajar (Freedom of Learning Curriculum) imposed by the Ministry of Education and Culture, Republic of Indonesia. The scope of this seminar was related to various aspects of language, literature, culture, and education as the place for experts and professionals to share their research and experience on this issue. In this seminar, presenters and participants were encouraged to discuss and disseminate the current issues and offer solutions for the challenge of this era. Discussion on digital literacy trend this time was expected to pave the way to learn from each other for the advancement of the global community regardless of the social, economic, and cultural background.

In this 6th ICOLLITE 6, the presenters and participants were not only provided with materials from the speakers, but also some Sundanese traditional art show presented by UKM Katumbiri, FPBS. This was not only to give entertainment, but also as an effort to promote Sundanese traditional arts to the international world. To close this session, Dr. Rudi Adi Nugroho, M.Pd., the Chair of the 6th ICOLLITE said that this event was held successfully, attended by not only local presenters but also international presenters from many countries. He further stated that this activity was made possible due to the cooperation and assistance from various parties, including lecturers, administration staff, and students of FPBS. He expected that this event will generate some ideas and solutions in revitalizing language, literature, culture and education to face the global challenges in this digital era.

SMU advances interdisciplinary education with new College of Graduate Research Studies

Posted on by Teo Chang Ching

SMU College of Graduate Research Studies will build strong intellectual content through credit-bearing interdisciplinary courses focused on advanced methods and interdisciplinary research, and a professional development programme focused on skill-based trainings.

It will enhance ‘co-learning’ experiences and academic exchanges across SMU Schools for postgraduate research students and graduates, facilitate the collaboration of faculty members from different Schools and disciplines, as well as strengthen the development of research which is more applied.

Additionally, it will strengthen networking, cohort building and collaborative opportunities for postgraduate research students across the various programmes, facilitated through the student and alumni groups.

With interdisciplinary training, graduates of the new College will be more well-rounded, more relevant, and better able to provide applied contributions to Singapore’s development needs.

The Singapore Management University (SMU) has established its eighth school – the College of Graduate Research Studies (CGRS). The new College aims to develop world-class thought leaders who are trained to undertake cutting-edge research across disciplines, bringing about significant impact to businesses, societies and public institutions worldwide.

To this end, the College will equip SMU postgraduate research students with knowledge and competencies to develop novel solutions that are relevant to some of today’s most challenging issues through the integration of disciplines, culture and industry. It will enhance integration and interdisciplinarity across the various SMU postgraduate research programmes that will enable our students to gain a holistic learning experience and well-grounded approach to their research. This will be achieved through interdisciplinary programmes, shared courses and professional training workshops. Furthermore, the College will strengthen networking, cohort building and collaborative opportunities for postgraduate research students across the various programmes, facilitated through the student and alumni groups.

Mr Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman, SMU said “The establishment of CGRS is in line with the national strategy of building a robust base of research capabilities and peaks of international excellence, as well as nurturing a strong research and innovation talent pipeline. Our community of learners will benefit from the diversity of expertise, disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge and perspectives that will be shared within the College. This enhances the learning experience of postgraduate research students as they become better equipped to understand complex issues and challenges affecting the world across boundaries, and create significant, long-term impact. It will also make them more sought after by academic institutions and industry organisations that have interdisciplinary opportunities. Besides providing a holistic education, the College will also enhance the community-based experience.

“In addition to benefitting our students, the interdisciplinary approach also enables our faculty members to address societal challenges through their thought leadership and research. They increasingly collaborate with colleagues in other Schools, academics in other universities as well as with industry to enhance and accelerate the generation of knowledge.”

Sir Nigel Thrift, Chairman, Academic Affairs Committee, SMU said “The College of Graduate Research Studies is another step towards providing a superlative student experience at SMU, this time for graduate research students. Not only will it establish interdisciplinary programmes and the opportunity to access more interdisciplinary topics and workshops but it will, as a result, allow graduate researchers to gain access to broader research horizons and to discuss these new horizons with many more of their peers.”

Since 2006, SMU has trained over 400 postgraduate research graduates, and is currently training over 580 such students. About 65% of its graduates in academic research PhD programmes are working as faculty members or postdoctoral fellows in prestigious academic universities or institutions in Singapore and internationally, whilst about 35% work on R&D in industries locally and abroad.

Key Elements of CGRS

1. Building strong intellectual interdisciplinary content

(i) CGRS provides postgraduate research students with two categories of courses: Graduate Research Interdisciplinary Topics (GRIT) and Graduate Research Professional Development (GRPD) programme.

GRIT is a series of interdisciplinary courses in curated topics which are either ‘required’ or ‘electives’ depending on the academic research PhD programme. The inaugural interdisciplinary course on ‘Machine Learning for Social Science’ was held in Academic Year (AY) 2021, Term 1. This was followed by the course on ‘Applied Econometrics in Social Science’ in AY2021, Term 2. The course on ‘Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research’ will run in AY2022, Term 1.

GRPD will include two sub-components, comprising Foundation courses (e.g., graduate teaching) and Elective courses (e.g., scientific writing and presentation). This new format, which is credit bearing, will take effect for incoming academic research PhD students from the non-STEM disciplines from AY2022 onwards.

(ii) CGRS will also play an important role in the development of interdisciplinary programmes.

· PhD in Law, Commerce and Technology

CGRS has, together with the Yong Pung How School of Law (YPHSL), launched a new interdisciplinary programme – PhD in Law, Commerce and Technology which will welcome its first students in August 2022.

The first of its kind in Asia-Pacific and among a handful of interdisciplinary research doctoral programmes offered by law schools around the world, the programme is built on YPHSL’s research strengths, particularly in the areas of commercial law, and law and technology.

The programme adopts an industry-focused and policy-oriented approach with the purpose of producing cutting-edge research that can help regulators, companies and society as a whole face the challenges of today’s changing world.

It aims to train future thought leaders in academia, judiciary, regulatory agencies and international organisations, as well as prepare students for a career at leading research-oriented institutions.

· Master’s and PhD programmes in Asian Urbanisms

CGRS has also worked closely with the SMU’s new College of Integrative Studies to launch a Master of Philosophy in Asian Urbanisms and Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Urbanisms, upcoming in AY2023.

The programmes aim to provide an opportunity for Singaporean students, and for students from the Asia region and (eventually) beyond, to access postgraduate-level degrees in urban studies in Singapore that will be theoretically and empirically focused on Asia. With interdisciplinarity at the heart, the programmes integrate courses and supervision from various SMU Schools, especially those with particular urban expertise. Students will develop deep knowledge of the theory and practice in at least one area of urban Asia, and one related area in sustainability, culture or technology. They will also attain the ability to critically analyse problems using either quantitative and/or qualitative research methodologies commonly used in advanced-level scholarly and applied research to address problems of interest to industry partners that can be translated for practical business scenarios.

Professor Wang Heli, Dean of CGRS, said “The launch of the PhD in Law, Commerce and Technology, as well as Master of Philosophy and PhD in Asian Urbanisms, will be our first steps in 2022 and 2023 respectively, to strengthen SMU’s interdisciplinarity in research. The programmes are both academic- and industry-oriented, and our postgraduate research students in these programmes will be expected to bear both intellectual depth and material industrial relevance in their dissertations.”

2. Enhancing ‘co-learning’ experiences and academic exchanges across SMU Schools for postgraduate research students and graduates

CGRS will strengthen the ‘co-learning’ experiences for postgraduate research students via sharing and interdisciplinary learning across Schools through the development and delivery of intellectual content. This intellectual content includes the introduction and facilitation of shared interdisciplinary courses, interdisciplinary programmes (e.g., PhD in Law, Commerce & Technology), as well as interdisciplinary events (like seminars and brown-bag sessions). The College will explore both internal and external resources (e.g., Visiting Fellows) to ensure quality offering of the above-mentioned intellectual content.

3. Strengthening networking, cohort building and collaborative opportunities

The College will ensure that there is enhanced academic and social engagements through the planned Graduate Research Student Society (GRSS). The main objective of the GRSS is to deepen interactions amongst the students through academic events/activities (e.g., brown-bag seminars, poster competitions, and possibly over time an annual Doctoral Conference), and social activities (e.g., get-together or sports sessions). The GRSS will also build strong ties with the planned Graduate Research Alumni Chapter (GRAC), so as to enhance collaborations and source for placements. The GRAC will enhance engagement amongst SMU’s postgraduate research graduates.

How Chinese–English bilingual fourth graders draw on syntactic awareness in reading comprehension

Posted on by eduhk

Improved reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of all models of reading development and programmes of reading instruction. Syntax, or sentence structure, plays a key role in reading comprehension. Syntactic complexity has been consistently identified as the most important determinant of text readability.

But how students draw on their awareness of syntax in their reading remains unclear; the mechanism is even more ambiguous in bilingual students. The research by Dr Tong Xiuhong, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology (PS), The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), explored learners’ understanding and awareness of sentence structure – whether and how syntactic awareness supports reading comprehension both within and across first-language (L1) Chinese and second- language (L2) English for Hong Kong bilingual readers.

The study evaluated the direct and indirect contribution of syntactic awareness on L1 and L2 reading comprehension among 227 Hong Kong Chinese–English bilingual fourth graders. The researchers designed language-shared and language-unique tasks of syntactic awareness, assessed reading comprehension in both Chinese and English, and took other reading-related cognitive and metalinguistic measures. The broad goal of the study was to determine how syntactic awareness supports reading comprehension. It addressed this goal with two research questions: (1) whether syntactic awareness is directly and/or indirectly related to reading comprehension in both languages of bilingual students: L1 Chinese and L2 English; and (2) whether and how syntactic awareness contributes to reading comprehension across languages in these bilingual students.

The study measured nonverbal intelligence, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, word reading and reading comprehension in both Chinese and English.

The researchers found a statistically significant direct effect of syntactic awareness on reading comprehension in both L1 Chinese and L2 English, along with indirect effects via word reading. Moreover, in both their English and Chinese reading comprehension, students drew on awareness of syntactic features that are shared between English and Chinese more than those unique to either language. The students were also generally more accurate with language-shared than language-unique items, further pointing to the possibility of transfer.

The authors concluded that together these findings from analyses of variance and modeling of within- and cross-language effects takes us a few steps closer to identifying a mechanism that might drive the transfer of syntactic awareness, as the experience of bilingualism appears to build up knowledge of language-shared sentence structures.

Turning to theories of reading comprehension, the findings encourage the inclusion of syntactic awareness as a direct supporter of reading comprehension, and an indirect one via word reading. There are also educational implications of the findings. Since learning to read in L2 can be challenging, the findings suggest that instruction helping bilingual students become more aware of sentence structures that occur in both languages could scaffold learning of L2 syntax via L1 syntax. This teaching might benefit reading comprehension in both L1 and L2.

The study was conducted together with Dr Joyce Kwan Lok-yin, Assistant Professor at PS of EdUHK; Dr Shelly Tong xiuli, Associate Professor in the Department of Human Communication, Development, and Information Sciences at The University of Hong Kong; Professor Hélène Deacon in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the Dalhousie University.

Systematic review for researchers and academics

Posted on by drchenxw

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses occupy the highest rank in the hierarchy of evidence in evidence-based medicine and practice. This understanding is crucial for clinicians and health researchers who wish to practice evidence-based medicine, conduct high quality research, or make use of (interpret) existing studies. However, not many academics and researchers are adequately exposed to systematic reviews, despite their importance and the feasibility to conduct this type of study without the need for huge financial resources.

On 29 June 2022, the Faculty of Medicine of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) organized a talk titled “Systematic Review: What’s New?” as part of its effort to promote high quality research among its staff and students. The event was organized by the Biostatistics Consultancy Service (BCS) team in collaboration with the Department of Public Health Medicine and the office of Deputy Dean (Research & Innovation). The talk aimed to: (i) expose new researchers (beginners) to systematic reviews in order to cultivate interest in, and familiarize them with, this study design; (ii) inform the audience (researchers and academics) of the latest developments about systematic reviews and how to address emerging/new challenges, and (iii) further polish the skills of researchers with experience in systematic reviews.

UiTM was privileged to have Professor Dr. Philip Baker as the speaker, who is a Professor of Epidemiology and currently teaches at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. Dr. Baker completed a BSc from the University of Toronto and a PhD from QUT. His areas of expertise span across evidence-based practice and clinical epidemiology, systematic reviews, knowledge translation in public health decision-making, and public health epidemiological services that include health surveillance of communicable and chronic diseases. Dr. Baker also collaborates with the USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a Member of Cochrane Collaboration, and was nominated as American College of Epidemiology Fellow.

In the opening ceremony officiated by the Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Associate Professor Dr Fazah Akhtar Hanapiah, she highlighted that the talk was an opportunity for international engagement to enhance research and academic collaborations with external academic institutions. More specifically, this would pave the way for more meaningful academic endeavors such as exchange of students and lecturers, cross-country research work and data sharing, and incorporation of diverse and global perspectives.

Approximately 100 participants from various local universities (such as Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Universiti Sains Malaysia), private medical institutions and members of the public participated in the event. It is hoped that the talk has promoted a greater understanding about systematic reviews and inspired more students, academics and researchers to employ this study design in their work.

Prepared by Dr Chen Xin Wee, Department of Public Health Medicine

Supporting refugees

Posted on by Niamh Ollerton

Educational access for refugees and those seeking asylum can experience a number of barriers, including limited available infrastructure and steep financial hurdles. Niamh Ollerton explores how institutions are helping refugees overcome these hurdles.

In 1948, the United Nations, through article 26 of its Universal Declaration, enshrined education a fundamental human right that “shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”. In 2022, however, access to education is more of a privilege than a right for many children, teenagers, and adults across the globe.

“Access to education is more of a privilege than a right for many across the globe.”

Whether through a lack of schools, low family earnings, discrimination, or oppression from governing bodies, many prospective students suffer. There are thousands more fleeing war-torn countries for safety, and even after undertaking these courageous emigrations for a better life, many find themselves locked out from the education system in the countries they would like to call home. To quote Muzoon Almellehan, Syrian refugee and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, “Education gave me the strength to carry on. I wouldn’t be here without it.”

Frameworks to help refugees
There are positive frameworks where institutions, governments, and global governing bodies are offering their assistance. The European Qualifications Passport for Refugees, for example, is a specially developed assessment scheme for refugees. The scheme includes provisions for those who have incomplete documentation of their qualifications, providing an assessment of the level of higher education attainment based on what is available of their documentation and a structured interview. In Germany, asylum-seeking students have the same rights to access higher education as local students and can apply for exemptions to university fees.

UNHR shared its Refugee Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugees, in 2019, which aims to directly contribute to the goals of easing the pressures on host countries, enhancing refugee self-reliance, and supporting conditions in countries of origin for return in safety and dignity. The strategy’s vision is that inclusion in equitable quality education in national systems contributes to resilience, prepares children and youth for participation in cohesive societies, and is the best policy option for refugees, displaced and stateless children and youth, and their hosting communities.

Universities helping refugees

Imperial College Business School in the UK has been working with community leaders in France to help create a guide for Ukrainian people displaced there. A team of students, faculty, and staff from the business school have been working with the French charity Solidarité Ukraine to create a playbook for communities to help Ukrainian refugees.

Leila Guerra, Vice Dean (Education) at Imperial College Business School says the playbook explains how a community can rally together to identify, transport, welcome, house, clothe, educate, provide healthcare, and employ displaced Ukrainians quickly. It identifies team leads for several categories of support that those fleeing the war require, the steps needed from each to deliver service in that area, and checklists for how to do it well.

Imperial and Solidarité Ukraine’s response was swift. The first published version of the playbook was circulated to community leaders in Saint-Omer on 11 April, about six weeks after the invasion and a month after Mary Meaney, a member of the Business School’s Advisory Board and the Imperial Council had pulled together a first draft.

Guerra says, “The initiative began in Tilques/Saint-Omer in Northern France, which currently has welcomed about 300 Ukrainians (largely women, children, disabled, and elderly), but throughout France, the work that this group has contributed to, has supported many more hundreds of displaced Ukrainians in communities including Lille and Dunkirk.”

Professor Celia Moore and Marina Lobato Moncayola, the lead of student engagement at Imperial College Business School, went to France to better understand how the operation functioned on the ground. “They were able to see first-hand how the community came together so quickly, which helped as they translated what they learned into generalisable knowledge that could be shared more broadly, so that other communities could be as effective in organising their approach to welcoming groups of displaced people,” Guerra says.

Imperial College Business School recently launched a new scholarship fund designed to support students from displaced communities, such as asylum seekers and refugees. “The donor-backed Sanctuary Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships at both undergraduate and master’s levels,” says Guerra. “Imperial is matching donations received for the fund, aiming to award the first scholarships as early as the 2022/23 academic year. The fund currently stands at close to £250,000 of donations and Imperial funding.”

In Germany, the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management recently launched a Hardship Fund, which was intended as a donation scheme aimed at funding refugees’ expenses and degrees. After some consideration, the school ended up setting up scholarships for all students fleeing wars, allowing them to get an education at Frankfurt for free. “The Hardship Fund supports students who suddenly find themselves in a position where they unexpectedly need financial help,” explains Carsten Vogel, Development Director at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

“The starting point for our fundraising appeal, which started in early March, is the war in Ukraine and the wave of refugees fleeing the conflict. Our leadership decided early on that we want to offer students who meet our usual entry requirements what we can do best: the life-changing opportunity of higher education.”

Enquiries have already begun to trickle in, but Vogel notes the fund is reserved for those who were already studying relevant degrees or whose plans were disrupted by their refugee status. He is clear that the Hardship Fund is not designed to replace the classic scholarship model. “Financial need will be reviewed on a continuous basis. If students retain their refugee status, continue, and finish their studies at Frankfurt School successfully, and can prove their financial circumstances qualify them for scholarship support, the degree may be obtained without tuition fees.”

Aalto University School of Business launched similar initiatives for refugee students. Tiina Ritvala, Assistant Dean of Teaching and Education spoke about the Finish university’s initiative to grant study rights without fees and with scholarships to Ukraine’s university students. “This is intended for students who have a valid right to study towards a degree at a Ukrainian university, and who either have Ukrainian citizenship or have been granted asylum by Ukraine, and whose studies have been interrupted by the war.”

So far, 17 students have applied to the School of Business alone through the initiative, all receiving an acceptance letter. In total, Aalto University received and accepted over 50 applications across all its programmes..

In addition to granting study rights without fees and with scholarships to Ukraine’s university students, the business school has also offered places to visiting researchers fleeing the war in Ukraine as well as free-of-charge studies at the Open University for Ukraine citizens.
“In addition, our alumni network has been active and calls our alumni to help Ukraine, for example through donations. We follow the Finnish government’s recommendations carefully and act based on them. If the government suggests further actions, we will follow those recommendations as well,” she says. The university also provides services to support the mental wellbeing of Ukrainian students and those seeking asylum.

Ritvala says, “These students can contact the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS), a health service that is available for all university students, or they can contact the learning services of their school or the Starting Point of Wellbeing, a service that offers students advice and guidance on services related to wellbeing. “Students can also write to a specific email address, and a multi-professional team will read and treat all messages on a confidential basis.”

This article was from the Global Education News Issue 08. Download the full edition.

Scientists uncover new therapeutic target for treating colorectal tumours

Posted on by Tokyo University of Science

Colorectal tumors are a common adverse effect of chronic inflammation of the intestine. In a new study, researchers from Japan and China demonstrate that mice models with dendritic cell immunoreceptor (DCIR) protein deficiency are resistant to colonic tumors induced by dextran sodium sulfate and azoxymethane. Further, they identify an antibody that reduces colitis severity and colonic tumor growth, highlighting the potential of DCIR as a therapeutic target.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term for two diseases, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, that are characterized by the prolonged inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. This condition often leads to the development of colorectal tumors. Understanding the pathogenesis of IBD is, therefore, crucial to mitigate the incidence of colonic tumors.

It turns out that innate immune receptors, particularly those expressed in the gut, such as C-type lectin receptors (CLRs), are responsible for the development of IBD. However, CLRs also play a vital role in the regulation of gut microbiota and defense against pathogens. As a result, a balance needs to be struck to maintain intestinal homeostasis.

Dendritic cell immunoreceptor (DCIR) is one such CLR that is responsible for maintaining homeostasis of the immune and skeletal systems. Previous studies have suggested that DCIR negatively regulates both innate and acquired immune responses. Blocking DCIR could, therefore, potentially boost immunity against colon tumor. However, its role in intestinal immunity has remained unclear.

Against this backdrop, a research group led by Professor Yoichiro Iwakura of Tokyo University of Science (TUS) in Japan has now shed light on this issue. In their study, to be published online on 02 August 2022 in the international journal Cell Reports, the group studied the development of colitis and colon tumor in mice models deficient in DCIR.

To this end, the group fed the mice with drinking water containing dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), a synthetic sulfated polysaccharide, and azoxymethane (AOM), a neurotoxic chemical, to induce colon tumors similar to that observed in humans with IBD.

To their surprise, they found that the mice lacking DCIR showed reduced colitis severity and AOM-DSS–induced colorectal tumor growth. Moreover, compared to the wild-type mice (control), the DCIR-deficient mice showed lower body weight loss as well as reduced proinflammatory cell infiltration in the colon.

What do these observations imply? Prof. Iwakura explains, “Our findings point to the fact that intestinal carcinogenesis and inflammation are facilitated by DCIR signalling, which points to the possibility that blocking DCIR might prevent ulcerative colitis and colon cancer.”

Corroborating this possibility, the study further revealed that the use of an antibody called “anti-NA2” against asialo-biantennary-N-glycans (NA2), a ligand (binding molecule) to DCIR, reduced DSS colitis symptoms and prevented colorectal tumor growth.

The researchers are excited by these findings. Speaking about the practical applications of their study, Prof. Iwakura says, “Our results suggest that therapeutics targeting DCIR and its ligands could be used to effectively treat autoimmune diseases, IBD, and cancer, which have been traditionally difficult to treat.”

Sure enough, this study could open doors to novel therapeutic strategies for treating colorectal tumors, improving not only the lives of patients with IBD but also our understanding of the pathogenesis of human diseases.

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Reference

Title of original paper: Blocking DCIR mitigates colitis and prevents colorectal tumors by enhancing the GM-CSF-STAT5 pathway

Journal: Cell Reports

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111158

About The Tokyo University of Science

Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan’s development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators.

With a mission of “Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society”, TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today’s most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field.

Website: https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/

About Professor Yoichiro Iwakura from Tokyo University of Science

Professor Yoichiro Iwakura has been the director of the Center for Animal Disease Models at the Tokyo University of Science (TUS) since 2013, and has published numerous papers since his graduation from Kyoto University in 1970. He started researching interferon proteins at the university’s Institute for Virus Research before moving to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute in the United States to analyze the developmental mechanism of early mouse embryos. In 1985, he moved to the University of Tokyo where he generated more than 100 lines of gene-modified mice as the director of the Center for Experimental Medicine to analyze the pathogenesis of infectious and autoimmune diseases.

He retired from the University of Tokyo and became an Emeritus Professor in 2012. He then moved to TUS. He has been a visiting professor for many universities, including Dalian Medical University in China and Chiba University in Japan. His work involves the development and analysis of animal disease models and research on autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases. He won the Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Award for Medical Science in 2015 and was selected as a highly cited researcher (Thomson Reuters and Clarivate Analytics) for six consecutive years from 2014.