Universities should not underestimate the value of international alumni in advancing the purpose and agenda of global universities, contributing to universities’ internationalisation objectives such as corporate affiliations, partnerships and student recruitment. Nick Miles from University of Nottingham spoke of the career-enhancing value of UNNC alumni diaspora for all Nottingham graduates Amy Baker is a founder of The PIE News and has been writing …

Immigration lawyers condemn Home Office practice of recruiting undergraduates to make potentially life-or-death judgments A Ugandan asylum seeker whose fate may be decided by a student with five weeks’ training. Photograph: David Levene for the Observer Gap-year students are being recruited by the Home Office to make potentially life or death decisions on asylum claims, the Observer has learned. The …

Here are our tips on how to pitch a strong idea and write a successful piece for the Higher Education Network We want to hear your ideas about life in universities. Photograph: Alamy We have a large and active community of members on the Guardian Higher Education Network, many of whom write blogs and comment pieces for us. We value …

Six language schools in Australia, Malta, France and Germany have become new members of the International Association of Language Centres this month, bringing the total membership to 158 schools. BELS in Malta and Gozo is one of the schools which has recently become a member of IALC. Photo: The PIE News. Natalie is a journalism graduate from City University London, who …

The longer this accreditation process drags on, the more it is going to be a real problem, warns union leader Well over half of the new GCSE, AS and A-level qualifications being introduced in September have still not been officially approved, just 18 school weeks before they are due to be taught, TES can reveal. Figures from exams watchdog Ofqual …

David Cameron has named and shamed Kingston University for our choice of guests, but it’s our job to protect freedom of speech ‘Am I being reckless? No. I am being true to my obligations as a university vice-chancellor.’ Photograph: Alamy Kingston University, where I am vice-chancellor, was named and shamedby the prime minister last year for allegedly hosting Islamic “hate …

The National Curriculum now requires that children in Years 5 and 6 be taught to “propose changes to vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to enhance effects and clarify meaning”. The Department for Education would have done well to follow this directive when publishing its recent complaint, in which it accused teachers and union leaders of being ‘disingenuous’ when complaining that the …

ELT providers in the UK are waiting anxiously to find out if funding for Italy’s PON scheme, which provides group scholarships for language study abroad in Europe, will be released this year. This, along with the programme’s challenges and opportunities, was a hot topic of discussion among providers in London this week. Jimmy Hordon, Target English International, outlined some of …

Want to get your ideas out to a wider audience? Get involved in the busy, brilliant world of anonymous academics on Twitter ‘Creative, flexible academic voices are emerging, more closely linked with the public rather than the ivory towers.’ Photograph: Alamy The rise of social media is viewed by many as yet another means of procrastination. Yet academics are increasingly …

Trust in teachers, respect for teachers, Ofsted reform, league table abolition, pay rises and seven more targets… Surely the question on the lips of every individual who is passionate about education is this: “How do we break this cycle of negativity which is engulfing our profession?” Of course, this is no easy matter. However, I offer 12 points which, if addressed, could …