Top 12 Trending International Education News
August 5, 2021
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College Students Weigh Risks and Rewards of Studying Abroad in Pandemic Era
Cautious optimism is the overall mood of travel-hungry students when it comes to international education. Students who were forced to abandon their study abroad programs are already planning a comeback, while those on the cusp of starting one take extraordinary measures to ensure they will not be turned away at the last minute. Some universities, however, are planning to suspend or limit their international education programs until next spring.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Hurdles Await International Students Eyeing Campus Life in Canada
While international students remain determined to pursue their study-abroad aspirations, the lack of recognition of certain vaccine brands by the Canadian health authorities is worrying global learners who intend to live on-campus. As of this writing, four universities say they accept vaccines that are authorized by the World Health Organization, including Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm, in addition to the Health Canada-authorized Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson products. Those who have taken jabs that are not on the approved list, such as Covaxin and Sputnik V, are given a grace period to complete the vaccine requirement and will get help in getting their jabs in Canada.
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COVID Vaccine Will Not Be Compulsory for University Lectures
Ministers are no longer requiring students to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend lectures in England. In the past weeks, the idea to make full vaccination certificates compulsory for face-to-face lectures and on-campus residency was proposed. However, due to possible roadblocks in the logistics of such a move, the idea has been pushed back. Previously, the University and College Union protested that making a vaccination certificate compulsory is “hugely discriminatory against those who are unable to be vaccinated” including international students.
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London Remains Best City in the World to Study in New Rankings
London continues to be considered the best city in the world due to its great institutions and openness to international students and graduate career opportunities. Current students enrolled in an HEI in London rated the capital very highly for its “outstanding cultural, economic, and educational opportunities. Landing second next to London is Munich, while Tokyo and Seoul are tied for third place.
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‘An Endless Loop’: Foreign Students in Food Delivery, Hospitality Battling to Get Jab
The Council of International Students Australia President Belle Lim is calling on the Victoria state and federal government to improve the vaccine pathways for temporary visa holders. Confusion over government vaccination policies has affected more than 500,000 international students that work in high-risk industries. Many are in danger of contracting the infection as they cast about for a way to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, bouncing from state agencies to clinics and back, receiving only conflicting information.
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Australia Sets 80% Vaccine Target to Open Borders
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that Australia will reopen its borders and end lockdowns once 80% of the country’s population has been vaccinated. To ease pandemic fatigue, Morrison describes a series of targets for the gradual easing of restrictions by the end of the year. One target is when 70% of Australians receive their first vaccine dose. However, only 14% have been fully vaccinated to date, partly due to government missteps in the rollout. The Prime Minister did not set firm dates for any of the targets. He is up for reelection in 2021.
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Bill Introduced in US to Change OPT Program for Foreign Students
Republican House Representatives in the US have introduced the “Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act” that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. The bill would eliminate the Optional Practice Training (OPT) program, which currently allows international students to work in the US after graduating under certain conditions. The authors claim the OPT “reflects a complete abandonment of our own workers.” This is the second time the bill has been brought before Congress. If passed, the bill would affect about 80,000 Indian students on OPT.
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Canada Remains Top Destination for Indian Students but Travel Restriction Cause of Concern
Canada remains to be a favorite destination for Indian global learners despite the COVID-19 uncertainty. According to the Canadian High Commission in Delhi, there were nearly 100,000 study permits issued to international students in the first four months of 2021. However, the extended travel ban amid the second wave of the pandemic in India has become a roadblock in the study abroad plans of the Indian international students.
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Canadian Commission Comes to Aid of Student Visa Applicants
The Canadian High Commission in India came up with a special arrangement to clear the backlog in student visa applications. Taking into consideration the increased demand for the Canadian student visa, VFS Global and the High Commission of Canada have opened a dedicated queue on the appointment system with increased capacity. This priority service is available only for study permits, short-term study, and returning students.
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Students from 26 Countries Encouraged to Stay Home Until Korea's Vaccination Drive Picks Up
South Korea’s education ministry has advised international students from 26 countries where COVID-19 variants are prevalent to refrain from entering the country until after 70 percent of the local population has had at least one vaccination shot. The 26 countries are South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Mozambique, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Brazil, Suriname, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Nepal, Russia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Haiti, Angola, Kuwait, and Trinidad and Tobago. As of date, only 34.9 percent of South Korea’s population has had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 13.6 percent has been fully vaccinated.
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Govt Stops Vaccine Registration for Foreign-Bound Students
The Bangladesh government has stopped receiving new registration for the COVID-19 vaccine from students intending to travel abroad for studies. The foreign ministry stopped receiving vaccine intent after the 19-day campaign lapsed last July 31. A total of 23,665 people expressed intent to receive the vaccine to facilitate their travel to study overseas. Some 8,989 of the registrants were intending to go to China, 2,955 to Canada, 2,110 to the UK, 1,896 to India, 1,460 to Germany, 1,310 to Malaysia, 998 to Japan, and 705 to the United States.
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Foreign Students from Extreme Risk Countries Allowed to Stay in Czechia
Foreign students at Czech universities who come from states classified by the Czech government’s coronavirus travel map as extreme-risk countries are now allowed to stay in the Czech Republic for their studies. The decision comes after student communities petitioned Czech authorities to exempt Czech students from the ongoing coronavirus travel ban on extreme-risk states. The Czech Ministry of Health currently lists 18 countries in the extreme-risk states category. They are Botswana, Brazil, Eswatini (Swaziland), India, South Africa, Colombia, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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Featured Institution: Transport and Telecommunication Institute
The Transport and Telecommunication Institute or Transporta un Sakaru Institūts, most commonly known as TSI is the largest technical university in the capital city of Latvia. Originally an institute focused on aviation, TSI now offers a variety of programs in computer science, transport and logistics, electronics and robotics, and business management.
TSI is committed to conducting diverse research and scientific work, making it the only private university included in Latvia’s list of leading scientific institutions. The institute also proudly hosts a thriving international community with students from Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, India, Egypt, Spain, and other countries across Europe.
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Featured Program: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Engineering
The Bachelor of Computer Science Engineering at the University of Pécs provides students advanced research opportunities in the areas of computer engineering, particularly in software engineering, data networks, information systems, cost-efficient solutions in engineering, and manufacturing. Throughout the program, students will gain a solid skill set and cutting-edge knowledge needed for a professional career in the field of information technology engineering. The University of Pécs is a popular destination for international students because of its secure environment, high quality of teaching, reasonable tuition fees, low living costs, and the huge international student community. Being the oldest and one of the largest universities in Hungary, the institution hosts more than 4,500 international students from over 100 countries.
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International Education Conferences & Workshops
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Potsdam, Germany
August 25 – 27, 2021
Toronto, Canada
September 1 to 3, 2021
September 14 - 16, 2021 (Online)
September 28 - 30, 2021 (Online)
Australia’s Gold Coast
October 5–8, 2021
ONLINE
October 18 to 22, 2021 (Online)
October 19 to 22, 2021 in Chile (Online)
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Relevance and Value of Universities to Future Society
October 26-29, 2021, Dublin, Ireland
November 15 to 19, 2021 (Online)
September 28 to October 1, 2021, in Gothenburg, Sweden
December 1 to 3, 2021 in New Zealand
December 8 - 12, 2021 in Miami, Florida
Education: building forward; stronger, bolder.
January 16 to 19, 2022
March 27 to 31, 2022 in Vancouver, Canada
September 13 to 16, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain
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