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Challenges Key Insights

How five blind spots have trapped higher education in a fog of its own making

There is a powerful sense of déjà vu that haunts the halls of higher education. We are, by any measure, in a state of perpetual, frantic activity. Our calendars are […]

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Challenges University World News Contributions

On overcrowding and infrastructure: The ‘great unlearning’

This article first appeared on University World News Massification has a triumphant sound. It suggests inclusion, a democratic widening of gates that were, for too long, kept narrow. Photographs cooperate: […]

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Challenges University World News Contributions

On outdated curricula: How to stop teaching yesterday

This article first appeared on University World News There is a ritual familiarity to curriculum reform in many African universities. A committee meets. It requests a review. It calls for […]

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Challenges University World News Contributions

As an institution, is the university capable of change?

This article first appeared on University World News In my role as a senior information analyst within an institutional planning department at a university, I occupy a curious position. I […]

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Challenges University World News Contributions

Africa’s HE brain drain: The arithmetic of absence

This article first appeared on University World News There is a polite way to describe Africa’s academic brain drain. It speaks of mobility, opportunity and the global marketplace of ideas. […]

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AI Challenges Commentary

The Great Educational Awakening: How AI Forces Universities to Remember They’re Human

AI isn’t replacing education—it’s forcing education to become authentically human for the first time. By handling all the mechanical parts of learning, AI reveals a profound paradox: the very human […]

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Contemporary Issues Core Theory Key Insights

Internationalization After Geopolitics: Decoupling Without Isolation

Sanctions, visa regimes, and data controls are reshaping the global university. The answer is not retreat but redundancy: diversified partnerships, shared curricula across jurisdictions, and research protocols that function even […]

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Contemporary Issues Core Theory Key Insights

A New Calendar for Lifelong Learning

Semesters were built for a world of stable careers. Today’s learners need modular, stackable, and verifiable learning that unfolds across decades. I sketch the architecture of a new academic time: […]

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Contemporary Issues Core Theory Key Insights

Funding Without Purpose: How Markets and States Are Pulling Universities Apart

Tuition dependence says “maximize enrollment”; public oversight says “serve the public”; research grants says “win prestige.” When all three speak at once, strategy fragments. This op-ed shows how mixed funding […]

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Contemporary Issues Core Theory Key Insights

Free Speech and Safe Learning: How to Disagree Without Freezing the System

Universities wobble between declarations of absolute freedom and demands for absolute protection. Both absolutes immobilize decision-making. I propose a temporal solution: structured disagreement with clear stages, role-safe forums, and time-bound […]