Australia, India, US: Education News

The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 28 March 2013.

Australia: Visa changes mean foreign students can stay longer

Changes to Australia’s 485 Temporary Graduate visa, effective from today, mean international students can now stay and work in the country for up to four years – compared to the previous limit of 18 months. The visa applies to foreign students who have completed a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate program at an Australian university, and has a time period of between two and four years depending on the course, SBS reports. It’s hoped the change will help attract more top students to the country – but there are some concerns about whether there will be enough jobs to go round.

Read the full article >

More about studying in Australia >

India/China: First Confucius Institute to open in India

India is set to get its first Confucius Institute, to be based at the University of Mumbai’s Kalina campus, DNA reports. Confucius Institutes are non-profit centers affiliated with the Chinese government, with the aim of promoting Chinese language and culture worldwide, and so far there are 350 centers in 180 countries. This first one in India is being established in collaboration with China’s Tianjin University of Technology.

Read the full article >

More education news from around the world >

US: On-campus battles between humans and ‘zombies’

More than 600 US university campuses are subject to attack by ‘zombies’, The Chronicle reports. No need to panic and initiate your emergency zombie epidemic plan though! These are actually just students pretending to be zombies, as part of a popular ‘tag’ style game which can last days, weeks, or even longer. Players at Napa Valley College have been forced to hand in their weapons, however, due to concerns that running around with (pretend) guns might not be appropriate in the context of recent high-profile shootings at US schools.

Read the full article >

Canada: Gives itself an ‘A’ for education

The Conference Board of Canada has awarded the country an ‘A’ grade in its annual Education and Skills Report Card, which compares 16 developed countries on 20 indicators. Only Finland gets a higher score than Canada; Japan, Australia and Switzerland all get ‘Bs’; the US and UK are graded ‘C’, while France trails behind with a D grade. Canada’s strongest points include high school completion rate and equity in learning outcomes, while its lowest score is for number of PhD graduates.

See the report >

US: Teachers not as unhappy as you might think!

According to new analysis of a survey on wellbeing, teachers are not the depressed and demoralized beings they’re often seen as. In fact, they’re apparently among the happiest groups of people in the US, second only to physicians, The New York Times reports. The survey collected data on indicators such as job satisfaction, physical and emotional health, and sense of community and safety. Teachers were the profession most likely to say they had smiled or laughed the day before, and experienced happiness and enjoyment the day before.

Read the full article >

Feeling inspired to become a teacher? Education degrees >