Harvard debate
Second surprise: Harvard is a monastery. Wake up at 5.30 am, exercise; breakfast at 7 am, classes from 8 am to 4/5 pm. Dinner at 6.30 pm. Then, living-group homework between 8-11 pm. Later, revise next day's case-studies. To sleep five hours, was a pure aspiration. Weekends involved incremental classes, meetings, working-dinners. We read cases during mealtimes, in taxis, even at the barbers.
The Professors were brilliant. Professor Yoffie taught us to encompass the strategy of corporations, in one simple line. Nobel Prize laureate Robert Merton explicated causes leading to financial meltdowns. Prof. Vietor reduced country budgets to ordinary balance sheets. 'Identifying a consumer need is the seed of successful businesses,' opined Prof. Quelch. It was an intravenous injection of concentrated knowledge.
Prof. Kotter lectured a whole day on leadership. Then counselled, even though we may learn 7,000 new ideas at the course, on return we should focus on just two. His ultimate warning was, 'If I meet you at some airport, five years hence, I will only ask you, 'What are you doing in your life?''
Rajendra Aneja,
Mumbai, India
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Gulf Today
06-08-2025
- Gulf Today
UAE a go-to hotspot for international students who fear being denied access to US
In China, wait times for US visa interviews are so long that some students have given up. Universities in Hong Kong are fielding transfer enquiries from foreign students in the US, and international applications for British undergraduate programmes have surged. President Donald Trump's administration has been pressuring US colleges to reduce their dependence on international enrolment while adding new layers of scrutiny for foreign students as part of its crackdown on immigration. Countries including the United Arab Emirates have invested heavily in attracting international students by partnering with universities elsewhere to host branch campuses. These arrangements could appeal to students who fear being denied access to the US. Dubai, which has designs on becoming a global education hub, hosts dozens of international institutions' satellite campuses. It saw international student numbers grow by a third in 2024-2025. Lisa Johnson, principal of Dubai's private American Academy for Girls, said her mostly Emirati student body is increasingly looking away from the US for college. "Every student wants and dreams to go to Harvard,' she said. "But as college options increase in the United Arab Emirates, more and more students are staying." Donald Trump Kazakhstan has similar ambitions, said Daniel Palm, who has helped US universities set up campuses abroad. Illinois Tech and the University of Arizona are among colleges offering degree programmes in the Central Asian country, drawing students mostly from China and Russia. "All of a sudden US colleges are asking how to provide diversity, provide access," Palm said, "because you have students who want to come to the US and can't." The US government has sought to deport foreign students for participating in pro-Palestinian activism. In the spring, it abruptly revoked the legal status of thousands of international students, including some whose only brush with law enforcement was a traffic ticket. After reversing course, the government paused new appointments for student visas while rolling out a process for screening applicants' social media accounts. Affecting America's economy The US remains the first choice for many international students, but institutions elsewhere are recognizing opportunity in the upheaval, and applicants are considering destinations they might have otherwise overlooked. The impact on US universities – and the nation's economy – may be significant. New international enrolment in the US could drop by 30% to 40% this fall, according to an analysis of visa and enrolment data by NAFSA, an agency that promotes international education. That would deprive the US economy of $7 billion in spending, according to the analysis. Many international students pay full price, so their absence would also hurt college budgets. Britain 2nd most popular attraction for students As the second most popular destination for international students, Britain is positioned to benefit. The country's new Labour government has vowed to cut migration, and officials have imposed time limits on post-study visas allowing graduates to stay and work. But admissions consultants say the United Kingdom is still seen as the most welcoming of the traditional "big four' English-speaking destinations in higher education – the US, UK, Canada and Australia. An Emirati student arrives at the building of the University of Wollongong in Dubai. File/Associated Press After declining last year, the number of international applications for undergraduate study in the UK this fall grew by 2.2%, official figures show. A record number of applications came from China, up 10% compared with the previous year. Applications from the US also reached nearly 8,000 students – an increase of 14% and a 20-year high. Acceptances of international students for graduate programmes in the UK grew an estimated 10% from last year, driven by demand for business and management courses in particular, according to data from UniQuest, which works with many British universities on admissions. Data showing the extent of any impact will not be available until fall, said Mike Henniger, CEO of Illume Student Advisory Services, a consultancy that works with colleges in the US, Canada and Europe. "But the American brand has taken a massive hit, and the UK is the one that is benefiting," he said. Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia universities also in demand Demand from Chinese students has risen rapidly for universities places in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, said Will Kwong, managing director of AAS Education, a consultancy in Hong Kong. Many Western universities have offshore campuses there that are more affordable than going to the US or UK. "Opting for study in Asia has been a trend since the easing of COVID-19,' Kwong said. "But obviously it's been exacerbated by the change of administration in the US.' Some Asian families have told him the US is no longer their clear first choice because of political turbulence and visa difficulties, many are still waiting for US visa interviews and will likely miss the start of the fall term, Kwong said. Chinese college student Alisa, who is studying data science, plans to attend an exchange programme this fall at the University of California, Berkeley. She hopes to pursue a master's degree in the US. But she is also looking into other options "just so I could still go to school if the extreme scenario occurs,' said Alisa, who spoke on condition of partial anonymity out of fear of being targeted. Hong Kong will welcome any students who are denied entry to the US., the city's leader John Lee has said. Last year, the Chinese territory decided to allow international students to work part-time. Hong Kong University said it has received over 500 enquiries from students in the US and is processing around 200 applications for transfer. At another school, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, international undergraduate applications have surged by 40% from last year, said Alison Lloyd, associate provost on institutional data and research. Associated Press
Gulf Today
25-07-2025
- Gulf Today
Harvard debate
This is referring to the ongoing debate on the relevance of Harvard. Harvard is not glamour. It is sheer hard work. I landed at Harvard Business School, with over 100 managers, directors, army leaders, bureaucrats, from 55 countries to school for eight weeks. First surprise: Clergyman John Harvard, whose name the University bears, bequeathed only £779 (50% of his estate), but also 400 books. Thus, the Harvard monogram proclaims, 'Books tell the truth.' Second surprise: Harvard is a monastery. Wake up at 5.30 am, exercise; breakfast at 7 am, classes from 8 am to 4/5 pm. Dinner at 6.30 pm. Then, living-group homework between 8-11 pm. Later, revise next day's case-studies. To sleep five hours, was a pure aspiration. Weekends involved incremental classes, meetings, working-dinners. We read cases during mealtimes, in taxis, even at the barbers. The Professors were brilliant. Professor Yoffie taught us to encompass the strategy of corporations, in one simple line. Nobel Prize laureate Robert Merton explicated causes leading to financial meltdowns. Prof. Vietor reduced country budgets to ordinary balance sheets. 'Identifying a consumer need is the seed of successful businesses,' opined Prof. Quelch. It was an intravenous injection of concentrated knowledge. Prof. Kotter lectured a whole day on leadership. Then counselled, even though we may learn 7,000 new ideas at the course, on return we should focus on just two. His ultimate warning was, 'If I meet you at some airport, five years hence, I will only ask you, 'What are you doing in your life?'' Rajendra Aneja, Mumbai, India
The National
21-07-2025
- The National
IMF's Gita Gopinath to leave fund and rejoin Harvard University
Gita Gopinath, the second-highest ranking official at the International Monetary Fund, will be leaving her role next month to rejoin Harvard University, the IMF said on Monday. The IMF said Ms Gopinath will return to the Ivy League university, where she will be the inaugural Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics. She first joined Harvard in 2005 before being appointed to the IMF as its first female chief economist in 2019. Ms Gopinath was promoted to first deputy managing director in 2022. 'She came to the Fund as a highly respected academic in macroeconomics and international finance,' IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement. Ms Gopinath served as the fund's chief economist during the Covid-19 pandemic, which Ms Georgieva said was an 'unprecedented challenge to our membership'. Ms Gopinath also co-authored the fund's pandemic plan on how to end the Covid-19 crisis, which the fund touted as a key contribution in setting global vaccination targets at a doable cost. As first deputy managing director, Ms Gopinath oversaw the fund's surveillance and analysis on fiscal and monetary policy, debt and international trade. She most recently represented the IMF at the G-20 summit in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. There, she warned that economic uncertainty remains high due to downside risks dominating the global outlook. The fund is due to release its updated global economic forecast later this month. She also laid out multiple priorities for policymakers, including building resilience and boosting medium-term growth. The fund said Ms Georgieva will name Ms Gopinath's replacement 'in due course'. 'I am truly grateful for my time at the IMF, first as Chief Economist and then as First Deputy Managing Director,' Ms Gopinath said in a statement. 'I now return to my roots in academia, where, I look forward to continuing to push the research frontier in international finance and macroeconomics to address global challenges, and to training the next generation of economists.'
