18 Times Higher Education8 February 2018
ALAMY/GETTYAmazon’s prime candidate
A leading edtech pioneer has taken a leave of
absence from Stanford University to join an
online retail giant. Candace Thille (pictured),
an assistant professor in Stanford’s Graduate
School of Education, will be director of learning
science and engineering at Amazon, Inside
Higher Ed reported. She will work “with our global
learning development team to scale and innov-
ate workplace learning at Amazon”, a spokes-
woman said.The move by Dr Thille, founding
director of the Open Learning Initiative at Car-
negie Mellon University, is seen by some as an
indication that much digital learning activity has
moved out of higher edu-
cation and into the
corporate sector.Hung up on anglophone
programmes
Dutch students are losing out
on university places owing to
growing numbers of foreign
applicants attracted by degrees
taught in English, the Nether-
lands’ biggest-selling newspaper
has said. In an article titled
“Stop the English Madness”,
De Telegraafsaid that the sharp increase in foreign applications
to study in the Netherlands had made it extremely difficult for
Dutch students to gain a spot on their preferred degree, particu-
larly when student places were limited on a course.The piece
follows news that applications from international students out-
numbered those from domestic students on many courses.
Some 594 Dutch students applied for the 600 places to study
psychology in English at the University of Amsterdam – as had
1,260 foreign students, according to the website Dutch News.Mugabe University ‘not a
priority’
Controversial plans to build a new university named
after Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s former president,
are no longer a priority of the country’s government.
Amon Murwira, the minister for higher and tertiary
education, said that the focus was now on three other
new institutions: Gwanda State University, Marondera
University and Manicaland University, according to a
report inNewsDay. But he said that the ministry is still
looking at the idea of the proposed Robert Gabriel
Mugabe University so that it can reach an “informed
decision” on the $1 billion (£708 million) scheme’s
future.The government had previously planned to
build the controversial university, which was to be
funded by a government grant, on Mr Mugabe’s private
property in the Mashonaland Central province.ZimbabweUnited States The Netherlands The NetherlandsMexicoUnited StatesHola! No walls in sport
The sports regulator for US universities has made
history by voting to allow Mexican colleges to
apply for membership with the organisation for
the first time.There are currently five Mexican
institutions with US accreditation that will be
able to apply for National Collegiate Athletic
Association membership, allowing students and
those associated to cross the border for sports
matches with US institutions.The move follows
months of campaigning from the Center for
Technical and Higher Education (CETYS) Univer-
sity, a private institution based in Baja California,
Mexico, which is set to be the first US-accredited
Mexican institution to join the NCAA.‘Trump effect’
deterring graduates
The number of prospective international
students applying to and enrolling at
US graduate programmes has declined
for the first time in 13 years, figures
show.Applications from prospective
overseas graduate students declined
by 3 per cent between autumn 2016
and autumn 2017, while first-time
enrolment of international graduate
students dropped by 1 per cent,
according to a survey from the Council
of Graduate Schools. It is the first time
that the survey has registered declines
for both applications and enrolment
since autumn 2004.The report,
which was based on a survey of 377
US graduate institutions, cites recent
changes in US immigration policy,
including the travel ban, as a potential
reason for the declines.Plans shelved
A Dutch university has scrapped
plans to offer full degrees on a new
campus in China after a row in the
Netherlands about academic free-
dom and high costs.The University
of Groningen said on 29 January
that it had decided not to seek
approval from the Dutch minister
of education, culture and science
as there was “insufficient support”
from the university council.
In 2015, the university announced
plans to create a joint campus in
Yantai, a port city south-east of
Beijing, with China Agricultural Uni-
versity, offering degrees at under-
graduate, master’s and PhD level.