Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Higher education: policy and security

Who Needs College?

Niall Ferguson — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:57:45 -0500

Will higher education the next big bubble to pop? Niall Ferguson, a noted historian and member of the Belfer Center's Board of Directors, thinks so. In a new op-ed, Ferguson argues that despite the United States having 22 out of the top 30 world universities, "all is far from well in the groves of American academe."

Harvard Kennedy School Receives Gift from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences

Doug Gavel — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:17:45 -0500

July 13, 2012

The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) has given $8.1 million to Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) to support the continuation of the Kuwait Program at HKS Belfer Center's Middle East Initiative. The gift will be used to develop leaders with the capacity to address the many challenging public policy issues facing the region. It will also fund research issues of vital importance in the region, such as education, energy, and water.

Juma Lauded for Role in First Innovation Advisory Council

Dominic Contreras — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:15:48 -0600

Calestous Juma, director of the Belfer Center’s Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, played a central role in creation of the Lagos Innovation Advisory Council, the first of its kind in Africa.

Southern Sudan Has Many Lessons to Learn from Juba University

Calestous Juma — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:28:51 -0500

"Critics of the role of universities in economic transformation argue that higher education takes too long to show results and that its focus is usually too academic. However, the evidence suggests that practically oriented universities offer the fastest and most durable ways to incubate new states. With the right vision, universities can confer their attributes to a new state."

Human Capacity

Calestous Juma — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:46:02 -0500

"Nowhere is the missed opportunity to build human capacity more evident than in the case of women and agriculture in Africa. The majority of farmers in Africa are women. Women provide 70%–80% of the labor for food crops grown in Africa, an effort without which African citizens would not eat. Female farmers make up 48% of the African labor force. This work by women is a crucial effort in nations where the economy is usually based on agriculture."

From the Director

Graham Allison — Mon, 16 May 2011 09:19:45 -0500

“There are decades when nothing happens, and then there are weeks when decades happen.” So Lenin once observed, and as the impetus for the revolution that transformed Czarist Russia into the Communist Soviet Union, he had grounds for this insight. In the spaces analyzed by those of us at the Belfer Center, more things seem to be happening more rapidly with greater impact on a broader array of American interests than any time in recent memory.

Schlesinger Honored with Professorship in his Name

Mon, 16 May 2011 09:18:20 -0500

James R. Schlesinger, chair of the Belfer Center International Council and Harvard alumnus, has been honored by Harvard Kennedy School’s establishment of the James R. Schlesinger Professorship of Energy, National Security, and Foreign Policy.

The Brain Drain We Don't Hear About

Ilai Saltzman — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:26:58 -0500

"The finance and education ministers and the heads of the academic planning institutions have to understand that when they plan new "centers of excellence," it is important to include, in the correct proportions, the fields of philosophy, political science, history and communications, among others. These are not necessarily subjects that encourage national economic growth by luring investors or making technological breakthroughs, but they definitely meet an academic demand and undoubtedly can help address the non-material needs of Israeli society, thereby contributing to its strength and vitality."

Young Arab World Arising

Rami Khouri — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:06:45 -0600

February 10, 2010

DUBAI -- When the public policy institute that I work for, the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, organized a regional seminar this week on researching "youth identity and values" in the Arab world, we decided to hold it in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in a Gulf region where "identity issues" are widely debated because nationals tend to account for less than twenty per cent of total populations.

Working-Class Kids Need Help to Help Themselves

Azeem Ibrahim — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:05:18 -0500

"We have offered ideas to introduce more young people to internship opportunities, help them find affordable accommodation if they live far from the city and use student loans to help pay for the period of unpaid internship. If our ideas are successful, the best and most talented will be able to compete for internship places based solely on intellect, talent and potential. These ideas won't solve all the inequalities in the country, but they will be a step in the right direction.

However, while the government and society can support aspiration, it is individuals themselves who hold the key. Fostering a culture of aspiration requires, in many cases, individuals and families to change their attitudes."

Foreign Students are an Opportunity, Not a Threat

Azeem Ibrahim — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:42:45 -0500

"...[W]e should resist the temptation to react to the fear of terrorism by turning inwards, reducing ties to foreign countries, and denying more students entry. Reducing the number of foreign student Visas would be counterproductive. The US tried it after September 11th, but has now reversed its approach, realising the harm it is doing. To do the same would be to be cowed into becoming a more closed society. We must remain open, outward-looking and vibrant. It is precisely many of these foreign students who will help their countries to reduce terrorism over the long run."

Net Access for African Universities Would Boost Continent

Calestous Juma — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:48:25 -0500

"African universities could be the continent's gateways into the global knowledge economy for local diffusion of new technologies. But this potential remains unrealized because universities and research institutes in Africa remain digitally isolated from the rest of the world. This is partly because of government neglect and lack of strategic policies on Internet access....Providing low-cost, high-speed Internet access to African universities will help Africa build the capacity it needs to solve its own problems. It is one of the most strategic investments that the G-8 countries can make in Africa in the coming few years."

Lower Africa's Voting Age to 16

Calestous Juma — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

"The law that set the minimum voting age at 18 has yet to catch up with Africa’s economic and political realities. People aged between 12 and 18 years work, send text messages, get married and give bribes. Yet they cannot vote. Their voice should count on key issues that affect their lives such as education; health; and employment...."

Africa's 'Text Generation' is Here

Calestous Juma — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

"Kenyans will elect a new president in December. But unlike in previous elections, the president will preside over a country dominated by the youth who have a new outlook on life....Performance standards will soon take centre stage and will start to directly challenge patronage as a management style....The "text generation" will be more interested in a functioning economy and less in ethnic politics that has dominated Kenya and most of post-colonial Africa."

Universities as Agents of Prosperity

José A Zaglul and Calestous Juma — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"Costa Rica, which shares commonalities with many African nations in terms of climate and resources, has been privileged to have visionary leaders who have understood the importance of education and, since 1949, has had a free and mandatory educational system through elementary school.

In this same era, the army was abolished, arms were exchanged for books and canons for school desks and state universities offering a world-class education were established. Costa Ricans are very proud of this and stable."

Reaping Benefits of Technology Revolution

Calestous Juma — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"The market release of the iconic $100 laptop (XO) later this year promises to do for education what the cell phone did for telecommunications....Like the cellphone, new educational technologies such as the XO will demand greater flexibility in educational systems....Existing curricula are like landlines; fixed in place and dependent for their functioning on centralized bureaucracies."

Africa Needs More Technical Universities

Calestous Juma — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"Meeting safety requirements in international markets will involve the use of sophisticated information systems that allow regulators to effectively trace the movement of products through the entire food chain.

Having technical capacity to manage safety information will help African countries to add value to their produce."

Innovation System Needs Reforms

Calestous Juma — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

African countries are increasing the allocation of funds to scientific research. But such investments will be wasted if they are used for basic research rather than product innovation.

Food Security, Agriculture, and Economic Growth: Opportunities for Cooperation between the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa

Calestous Juma — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Testimony of Calestous Juma before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Hearing on Food Security in Africa: The Impact of Agricultural Development

Education for the Long Term

Nolan Bowie — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"I wish to share my vision of a possible future where the digital divide — a term that implies inequality of access to Internet connectivity, to relevant information, education, knowledge, and opportunity in digital formats and in digital networks — is eliminated in the United States by adapting a national ubiquitous high-speed broadband policy."

Power to the People

Calestous Juma — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Innovation can help secure the universal access to modern energy and sustainability that Africa so sorely needs, says Calestous Juma.

Universities as Business Incubators

Calestous Juma — Fri, 04 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500

May 4, 2007

Technological Learning and Sustainability Transition: The Role of Institutions of Higher Learning in Africa

Calestous Juma — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

April 30, 2007

Innovative Approaches Key to Financing Higher Technical Education

Calestous Juma — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

April 27, 2007

"There are other long-term measures to support technical higher education, which include providing tax incentives to private individuals and firms that create and run technical institutes on the basis of agreed government policy.

Governments too need to formulate policies that allow experienced government, industry and civil society staff and other professionals to serve as faculty and instructors in these institutions. This can be implemented as part of a national service system or as an effort to expose students to practitioners."

Building Engineering Capacity Key to Africa?s Development

Calestous Juma — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

April 20, 2007

Making Higher Education Relevant to Development

Calestous Juma — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

April 13, 2007

Overhaul Universities Curricula to Meet Local Needs

Calestous Juma — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

March 30, 2007

How Technology Will Shape Africa's Diplomacy

Calestous Juma — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

March 23, 2007

African countries have spent the last decade using traditional diplomatic tools to negotiate better trading conditions for their exports....

Regional Trade Blocs Hold Key to Technology Gains

Calestous Juma — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The ongoing effort by the three East African countries to educate citizens on the benefits of an East African Federation represents an important step on the road to greater regional integration....

Linking Knowledge and Business

Calestous Juma — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0600

March 9, 2007