Asia - Europe
Member states of the Asia-Europe ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM) adopted the Seoul Declaration in Seoul, Korea, on 21-22 November. This Declaration outlines efforts to promote mobility between Asia and Europe.
http://www.aseminfoboard.org/sites/default/files/documents/Seoul%20Declaration.pdf

Bilateral Initiatives

Benin - France
The French Embassy in Benin is offering PhD study grants for the academic year 2018-2019. Closing date for applications: 9 March 2018
https://bj.ambafrance.org/Appel-a-candidatures-Attribution-de-bourses-doctorales-pour-la-formation-d (in French)

Estonia - Vietnam
Estonia and Vietnam concluded a cooperation agreement on education and research on 22 November 2017. The agreement also addresses exchange of students, experts and researchers.
https://www.hm.ee/en/news/estonia-signed-cooperation-agreement-education-and-research-vietnam

Pakistan - Turkey
In January, the Higher Education Commission in Pakistan and the Council of Higher Education in Turkey approved 11 joint research projects under Pak-Turk Researchers Mobility Grant Programme.
https://nation.com.pk/23-Jan-2018/pak-turk-higher-education-bodies-approve-11-joint-research-projects

Qatar - El Salvador
The Minister of Education and Higher Education in Qatar and the Foreign Minister of El Salvador signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in January which covered educational cooperation, including the exchange of expertise and best practices.

Algeria

Australia

Canada

Chile

Denmark

France

India

Ireland

Kenya

Lesotho

Malaysia

Qatar

Saint Kitts

South- Africa

United Kingdon

United States

 Algeria
Inter-Regional Initiatives

National and institutional initiatives

Canada

Technology funding - British Columbia
The Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, Melanie Mark, has announced CAN$4.4 million in new funding for 2,900 undergraduate and postgraduate places in engineering, computer science and information technology related programmes.
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018AEST0008-000046

New Minister - Ontario
The Government of Ontario has appointed Mitzie Hunter, previously Education Minister, as Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development. Her appointment has been welcomed by the Council of Ontario Universities.
http://cou.on.ca/articles/statement-ontarios-universities-welcome-minister-mitzie-hunter/

Campus food report card
The first campus food report card based on a survey of 2,668 Ontario university students as well as university administrators has been released. Published by Meal Exchange, a student charity, the results show a wide gap between administrators and students ratings of campus food for healthiness, affordability, and accessibility to local and sustainable foods.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5941c85ae4fcb533d8d82767/t/5a54b5bb652deace1b6d80da/1515501008089/Campus+Food+Report+Card%2C+full%2C+Jan+5+2018+-+min.pdf

France

Student enrolment
Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation figures of students enrolled in French universities in 2016-2017 show a 2.8 % increase in undergraduate enrolment but a decrease in doctoral enrolment (- 2.3 %).
http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid124877/les-etudiants-inscrits-dans-les-universite-francaises-en-2016-2017.html

Combating sexual violence in higher education
The French Minister of Higher Education and Research, Frédérique Vidal, underlined the French Government’s action in 2018 to combat sexist and sexual violence in higher education in a speech at a conference held in December 2017 at the University Paris Diderot (Paris VII).
http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid124837/colloque-sur-les-violences-sexistes-et-sexuelles-dans-l-e.s.r.-intervention-de-frederique-vidal.html

Make our Planet Great Again - research grants
18 researchers from 6 different countries have been awarded grants from the research programme ‘Make our Planet Great Again’ launched by the French President following the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. The 18 laureates will conduct research projects on climate change.
http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid124906/make-our-planet-great-again-presentation-of-the-18-first-researchers.html

European higher education challenges
Documents and presentations from the seminar on European Higher Education ‘Challenges for students and institutions’ which took place at the CIEP in Sèvres, France in December 2017 are now available online. This event, was organised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in the context of the forthcoming Ministerial conference for the European Higher Education Area to be held in Paris in May 2018.
http://www.cdefi.fr/fr/actualites/bologne-2018-la-france-dans-leurope-et-lenseignement-superieur

Germany
Integration of Refugees in German Universities, a report from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), shows that 6,806 refugees participated in university preparation programmes in 2016.
https://www.daad.de/medien/der-daad/studie_hochschulzugang_fluechtlinge.pdf

Hong Kong
In January, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) launched an electronic application platform (QA i-Portal) for online qualifications assessment.
https://www.hkcaavq.edu.hk/en/news/the-launch-of-the-hkcaavq-qa-i-portal

India

Survey on higher education
The All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), was released by the Government in January. The results reveal that the number of students enrolling for higher education in 2016-17 increased by 0.7 per cent over the previous year to reach 25.2 percent gross enrolment ratio (GER). The survey also showed that the number of universities in the country rose to 864 from 799 in 2015-16.
http://aishe.nic.in/aishe/viewDocument.action?documentId=239

Call for applications
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is seeking applications for the post of Director of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Karnataka. Deadline: 12 February (online) 19 February (postal).
https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/4484598_Full-advertisement-of-director-naac.pdf

Ireland
The Higher Education Authority has published What Do Graduates Do? a survey of over 18,000 graduates of Irish universities in 2016. The study shows that 54% of 2016 graduates are now employed in Ireland, 8% are employed overseas, and 31% are in further studies.
http://hea.ie/assets/uploads/2018/01/HEA-What-Do-Grads-Do-2016.pdf

Japan
In 2017 there were 267,000 international students in Japan, an increase of 11.6% since 2016, according to a urvey carried out by the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO). http://www.jasso.go.jp/en/about/statistics/intl_student/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2017/12/25/data17_brief_e.pdf

Kenya
ANIE - Annual Conference Report now available
The African Network for the Internationalisation of Education has just released the report from its 8th Annual Conference, which took place at the University of Tourism, Technology and Business Studies, Kigali, Rwanda, in October 2017.
https://anienetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/4-ANIE-Report-30th-November-2017.pdf

Morocco
A draft framework law introducing student registration fees in public higher education institutions was adopted by the Moroccan governing council on 4 January. It is in line with the recommendations of the 2015-30 vision of the the Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research (HCETSR) and will come into effect in 2018-2019 if adopted by the parliament.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86664

Pakistan
Call for papers
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has issued a call for papers for the International Conference on Professional Development in Higher Education to be held in Islamabad on 19 - 20 March 2018. Deadline for abstracts: 10 February 2018.
http://hec.gov.pk/english/HECAnnouncements/Pages/ICPD.aspx

Higher Education TV channel
The HEC has also launched a Higher Education TV channel to uplift the standard of higher education culture and also offer education advice services.
http://hec.gov.pk/english/HECAnnouncements/Pages/Education-TV.aspx

Senegal
CODESRIA 2017 Gender Institute: Feminist Scholarship, Universities and Social Transformation in Africa - call for applicants
The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) has launched a call for applications from academics and researchers in African universities and research centers to participate in the 2017 session of the Gender Institute, which will take place on 14 - 25 May, in Dakar, Senegal. Deadline: 15 March 2018
http://www.codesria.org/spip.php?article2823&lang=en

Spain
Crue Universidades Españolas (CRUE) and the Conversation, an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community, concluded an agreement to launch a Spanish edition.
http://www.crue.org/Comunicacion/Noticias/Convenio%20Crue%20The%20Conversation.aspx

Taiwan
The Ministry of Education has launched a 5-year project equivalent to $2.9 billion investment called Higher Education Sprout Project: Sustained progress and Rise of universities in Taiwan. It aims to enhance the quality of universities, promote the diversification of higher education and to reinforce international competitiveness
http://english.moe.gov.tw/public/Attachment/7121917593271.pdf

Timor-Leste
The Prime Minister, Marí Alkatiri, stressed the importance of higher education as fundamental to the country’s Strategic Development Plan in a Keynote speech given during the international seminar ‘Raising the Quality of Higher Education as a Key Factor to Increase the Employability of Graduates’ held on 22 November, at the Ministry of Planning and Finance in Dili. http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=19120&lang=en&n=1

Tunisia
On 9 January in Tunis, the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and the Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED), opened the kick-off meeting of the SAGESSE Project which aims to modernise the higher education system in Tunisia by strengthening its quality assurance system, governance mechanisms and results based funding and promoting university autonomy.
http://www.uni-med.net/en/global-reform-of-higher-education-in-tunisia-unimeds-commitment-to-universities-through-the-sagesse-project/ (English)
http://www.mes.tn/detail_evennement.php?code_menu=548&code_evennement=2095 (French)

Turkey
Scholars at Risk, an international network that works for academic freedom, has written to he Turkish President, Recep Erdogan, in the context of continuing attacks on Turkey’s higher education community. Since July 2017, 438 academics in Turkey have faced criminal detentions, investigations and prosecutions and 698 have been dismissed or expelled from their institutions and subjected to restrictions on their ability to travel.
https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/2018/01/sar-turkey-letter-january-2018/

United Kingdom

New universities Minister
On 9 January, Sam Gyimah MP was appointed Minister for Higher Education for England, replacing Jo Johnson.
https://www.gov.uk/government/people/sam-gyimah#current-roles

Commonwealth scholarships - call for applications
The Association of Commonwealth Universities is seeking applications for 2018 Commonwealth Scholarships in low and middle income countries. Closing date: 11 March 2018
https://www.acu.ac.uk/scholarships/commonwealth-scholarships/

International students
The Higher Education Policy Institute have published a research paper detailing the costs and benefits of international students by region. It shows that international students contribute a net impact of £20.3 billion to the UK economy. http://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Economic-benefits-of-international-students-by-constituency-Final-11-01-2018.pdf

Mayors’ letter
The six metro mayors in England, and the Mayor of London, have signed a joint letter highlighting the positive impact international students have on cities and regions. They also call for a ’more open and welcoming message to international students’ and for improved work opportunities in the UK for international graduates.
Mayors’ letter: http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/news/Pages/Metro-and-city-mayors-sign-letter-highlighting-regional-impact-of-international-students.aspx?utm_content=buffer8df69&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=UUK

International Branch Campuses (IBCs)
The second of a two-part report released by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) in December 2017 offers updated statistics on IBC development and further explores why some IBCs succeed while others struggle.
http://www.obhe.ac.uk/documents/view_details?id=1076&utm_campaign=OBHE_REPORT_Q4_IBC2017&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=59129822&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8OPEXoHuSGYkAKLL2aIg17Is3kh2NH7KNepFww1A7dMfyqcEWnA4ArVEMENj2WyBdWN5FGGTsdLStDTmaEQyBNIOSUgg&_hsmi=59129822

United States

Dreamers
The American Council on Education (ACE), an IAU Member, has urged the US Government to reach a resolution on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy which protects the status of ‘Dreamers’, young people brought to the United States as children. Their status is due to end on 5 March 2018. An estimated 241,000 students with DACA status are enrolled in higher education. http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Status-of-Dreamers-Remains-in-Limbo-as-Talks-Continue-in-Congress.aspx
State policy issues 2018
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has published Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2018. Underlining a policy landscape marked by political uncertainty, the paper details effects on higher education of federal policy changes, budgets and affordability, performance funding, employment, immigration and free speech.
http://www.aascu.org/policy/publications/policy-matters/Top10Issues2018.pdf
Higher education data
The National Center for Education Statistics has released the provisional data on 2017 enrollment, finance, employees in higher education and academic libraries.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018002.pdf
Science and Engineering indicators
The National Science Foundation 2018 Report on Science and Engineering contains comparative data on the national and global science and engineering. Statistics on research in higher education, STEM education, doctoral employment and international students are also provided.
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsb20181/