The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 27 March 2013.
US: University of Missouri teaching journalism students to fly drones
Drones are mostly known as the controversial killing machines currently operating in conflict zones where countries don’t want to send their troops. But if the University of Missouri is anything to go by, soon journalists will not just be reporting on drones, but using them to help them do their jobs. The university has introduced a module on its journalism course which will see students learn to operate the machines, reports Time. It is thought that they could be used to report on dangerous situations where it is unsafe for journalists to go, such as warzones or areas affected by natural disasters.
Canada: Diabetes drug could slow ageing process, discover Université de Montréal researchers
Researchers at Université de Montréal have found that metformin, a drug used to treat diabetes, could slow the ageing process and help the body fight cancer, reports Eurekalert. The process through which the drug – common and considered to be very safe – has these effects, the researchers stated, reveal a lot about how the body defends naturally itself from cancer.
Read full article > (warning: quite heavy on the science)
Australia: University of Sydney protests lead to five arrests
A disruption of a lecture at the University of Sydney in support of a strike by academic staff led to five arrests on Tuesday, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. Around 80 people were thought be involved in the protest, which targeted a lecture given by a professor who had chosen not to strike. Two of the five who were arrested were students at the university, while the other three had no connection with it. Faculty members were striking in response to what they perceive as a disproportionate amount of power being wielded by university management.
US: No takers for free Princeton University houses (there is a massive catch…)
In what sounds like one of the giveaways of the century, Princeton University is offering up seven houses free of charge to anyone who’ll take them. There’s one small snag, though: by take them, they mean quite literally take them. The houses must be removed from the university’s land and taken somewhere else – quite an undertaking, as we’re talking full blown houses with foundations. The university wants to get rid of them in order to construct a new series of buildings dedicated to the arts, reports NJ.com. At the time of writing, none of the houses have been accepted. Interested? You have until April 30th…
US: Students’ and parents’ hopes and worries revealed in survey
The Princeton Review’s ‘College Hopes and Worries Survey’ has revealed that Stanford University is the institution most students (and their parents) wish they could attend, finances are a major concern for both parties and the application process is extremely stressful (no surprise there!). The annual survey draws on the opinions of nearly 10,000 students and 4,200 parents. Interestingly, students and parents are generally in agreement about most things, though parents seem to believe university will be more expensive and are keener for their children to attend universities that aren’t too far away…