This is Australian Financial Review’s own summary of lead items in its online education supplement. As this is a subscription service, you or your organisation will need to have a subscription to The Australian Financial Review to view the full article.
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Local MOOCs record high completion rate
Open Universities Australia report a course completion rate of over 25 per cent, higher than other providers such as Coursera and edX.
Indigenous women graduates far outnumber males
There was a sharp rise in indigenous graduates in 2011, and women far outnumbered men.
Sydney MBA students gain insight into China
As part of the MBA program at the University of Sydney Business School, students will have the opportunity to advise Chinese enterprises that want to do business with Australia.
Indonesia’s finance minister has PhD from ANU
Australian National University’s Indonesia Project has long had close ties with top Indonesian economic officials such as Muhamad Chatib Basri, appointed that country’s finance minister last week.
Gates foundation awards $200,000
Australian-based scientists have won two $100,000 Grand Challenges Exploration grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
China in talks to open campus at former BBC site
One of China’s leading universities is in talks to open a campus at the former site of the BBC in London in the latest push to extend Chinese influence across the globe.
Academia can’t be limited to 26-week calendar year
Faster learning would reduce students’ living costs, get them into work sooner, and lower the costs of education.
Bill Scales calls for reform of VET sector
Both major parties should commit to a comprehensive review of the vocational educational and training (VET) sector as part of their election pitches, says former Productivity Chairman and Swinburne University of Technology chancellor Bill Scales.
The bones of Gonski are good, but they’re all but buried
If Opposition Leader Tony Abbott wins the September 14 election, he is expected to tear the Gonski reforms apart but given how far down the political timeline they have been pushed it seems increasingly unlikely they will be implemented even if Prime Minister Julia Gillard does get back into office.
Philanthropists dig deep for Australian universities
Big names including Allan Myers, John Higgins and Leigh Clifford are giving their money to universities on the back of ambitious, American-style fundraising campaigns.
