Daily Higher Education News: 27 November 2012

The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 27 November 2012.

University of Cambridge research group to study possibility of robot apocalypse

A new multidisciplinary research group at the University of Cambridge is to study the possibility of killer robots overthrowing humanity, reports The Huffington Post. The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk will also look at the possibility of other mass incidents which could be disastrous for the human race, such as the collapse of essential international networks or climate change. The group presently consists of philosopher Huw Price, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn and Sir Martin Rees, who explains in The Guardian why it is important to study the possibility of massive disasters.

Californian public university to open world’s first marijuana institute

Humboldt State University, part of the California State University system, is to open what is thought to be the world’s first institute dedicated to study of marijuana, reports The Times-Standard. The institute, which will host public lectures as well as conducting research, will take a multidisciplinary approach, looking at the scientific, economic and sociological issues surrounding the substance. The topic is considered particularly pertinent in the US at present, with the states of Colorado and Washington recently legalizing the cultivation and recreational use of marijuana.

More US universities move to ban smoking on campus

The University of Washington is the latest of around 800 US institutions to implement a smoking ban on and around its campus, reports The Independent. The ban, which will come into force next year, was met by anger by smokers, who chain-smoked cigarettes in the university’s plaza to protest the ban. More and more universities in the country are banning smoking on their grounds, with advocates of anti-smoking policies crediting the US Department of Health’s Tobacco-Free College Campus Initiative. The number of US students who smoke fell from 31% in 1999 to 15% last year.

No students choose to live in University of Colorado ‘gun-dorm’

Not a single University of Colorado student has chosen to live in special dormitories in which residents are permitted to keep firearms, reports The Denver Post. The dorms were opened earlier this year at the university’s Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses, following a ban on handguns in its standard accommodation. They are open to students over the age of 21 with the appropriate concealed weapons permit. The university has also banned guns at cultural and sporting events. The issue was pushed into the spotlight earlier this month when a staff member at the university’s medical campus accidentally shot a co-worker (no one was hospitalized in the incident).

Amity University to open London campus for international students

Amity University, one of India’s most prominent private institutions, has announced plans to open a campus in London, reports The Independent. The US$160 million (approx) campus, which will host 15,000 students, is intended to cater for international students. London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, currently on a tour of India to strengthen ties between the two countries, gave the project ‘vocal backing’. He emphasized the importance of continuing to attract Indian students to the UK, amid fears that tougher visa regulations (not intended to affect degree level students) will put off international students.