The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest university news from around the world, on 6 June 2013.
China: Tighter safety rules for universities following deaths from poisoning and explosion
China’s Ministry of Education has issued new safety guidelines for universities, following deaths from an explosion at a laboratory, and the presence of toxic chemicals in dorm-room drinking water. Huang Yang, a medical student at Fudan University, died in April, apparently due to the presence of a toxic chemical in drinking water supplied to his student accommodation. Also in April, an explosion at a disused lab at Nanjing University of Science and Technology killed one person and injured three. The ministry’s new guidelines relate to the storage, use and disposal of chemicals, University World News reports.
France: Surge in number of foreign-trained doctors
The number of doctors in France who gained qualifications abroad has increased by 43% in the last five years, International Business Times reports. Those with foreign qualifications now make up 9% of the nation’s doctors. According to the French Medical Board (Le Conseil de l'Ordre de Medecins), France now has 17,835 foreign doctors, most of them specialists, with Algerians, Romanians and Belgians making up the largest groups. However, many parts of France, particularly rural regions, are still reporting shortages of doctors. The government has pledged financial support for newly qualified doctors who go to work in shortage areas.
Iran: Universities told to close during presidential elections
The Ministry of Education in Iran has directed universities to close during the two weeks before and after the upcoming presidential election on 14 June, University World News reports. This means disruption to exams, with some universities bringing them forward and others postponing them to a later date. Some commentators have suggested the aim is to reduce the likelihood of students participating in protests. The University of Lorraine’s Saeed Paivandi, an expert on Iranian universities, said, “Authorities do not want students to be gathered at universities for possible demonstrations or other unexpected actions.”
Europe: Winners of Academic Enterprise Awards announced
Entrepreneurial academics from Denmark, France, Switzerland and the UK have been named the winners of this year’s Academic Enterprise Awards, ScienceBusiness.net reports. The awards recognize European university researchers who have been successful in turning their research into high-potential commercial projects. Universities involved in this year’s winning spin-outs include the Technical University of Denmark and Copenhagen Business School, the University of Cambridge, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and the Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
