Latest news with #researchInstitutions
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Negotiate or fight? Trump has colleges right where he wants them.
President Donald Trump's campaign against two of the planet's best-known universities is laying bare just how unprepared academia was to confront a hostile White House. Schools never imagined facing an administration so willing to exercise government power so quickly — targeting the research funding, tax-exempt status, foreign student enrollment and financial aid eligibility schools need to function. That's left them right where the president wants them. Even as Ivy League schools, research institutions, and college trade associations try to resist Trump's attacks in court, campus leaders are starting to accept they face only difficult choices: negotiate with the government, mount a painful legal and political fight — or simply try to stay out of sight. Groundbreaking scientific research, financial aid for lower-income students and soft power as an economic engine once shielded schools' access to federal funds. Trump has now transformed those financial lifelines into leverage. And the diversity and independence of U.S. colleges and universities — something they've seen as a source of strength and competition — is straining efforts to form a singular response to the president. 'Perhaps it's a failure of imagination on the part of universities,' said Lee Bollinger, the former president of Columbia University. 'It feels now like there has been a naïveté on the part of universities. There's been no planning for this kind of thing.' Schools are accustomed to tension with their faculty, governing boards, legislatures and governors. But punishments for resisting the Trump administration plumbed untested levels of severity this week when the president issued an executive order to bar foreign students from entering the country to study at Harvard University as his administration threatened Columbia's academic accreditation. Even though Project 2025 — The Heritage Foundation's roadmap for a second Trump administration — previewed some of the tactics the administration would use, many school leaders may have underestimated the president's determination. 'It just seemed inconceivable that we would be in this position of having massive amounts of federal funding withheld, threats to have legislation that attacks your tax status, and now these new issues with international students,' Bollinger said. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday night that blocked Trump's directive to restrict Harvard's access to international students. But the administration is brandishing its response to Harvard's resistance as a warning to other schools who might resist, as federal officials pressure schools to negotiate the terms of a truce over the administration's complaints about campus antisemitism, foreign government influence and its opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. "We've held back funding from Columbia, we've also done the same thing with Harvard,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon told House lawmakers this past week. 'We are asking, as Columbia has done, to come to the table for negotiations," she said, just hours before telling the school's accreditor it was violating federal anti-discrimination laws. "We've also asked Harvard. Their answer was a lawsuit.' A Harvard spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. 'What we've seen so far when it comes to Harvard is the playbook for holding these radical schools accountable is way deeper than anyone anticipated or expected,' a senior White House official told POLITICO. 'You're starting to get to the bone, so to speak, of holding these people accountable,' said the official, who was granted anonymity to freely discuss White House strategy. 'Harvard knows they cannot endure this for long, they just can't. They're going to have to come to the table, and we'll always be there to meet them. But this was a test case of what to do.' The university described Trump's latest foreign student order this week as 'yet another illegal retaliatory step.' A federal judge in May blocked a separate administration attempt to prevent Harvard from enrolling international students. Harvard is still locked in a legal fight over more than $2 billion in federal grants the White House blocked after the school refused to comply with demands to overhaul its admissions and disciplinary policies. Trump announced plans to cancel Harvard's tax-exempt status in early May, then later floated redistributing billions of dollars in university grants to trade schools. 'It is not our desire to bring these schools to their knees. The president reveres our higher educational facilities. He's a product of one,' the White House official said. 'But in order to hold these people accountable, we will be unrelenting in our enforcement of the law and hitting them where it hurts, which is their pocketbook.' Many institutions have chosen a more muted response following months of conflict, including major public institutions in states that have also grown reliant on the full-freight tuition paid by international students. 'Universities don't have as many degrees of freedom, at least in the public sector, as you might think they do,' said Teresa Sullivan, the former president of the University of Virginia. 'One reason they seem to be relatively slow to act is there's a certain disbelief — can this really be happening?' 'We seem to be in uncharted territory, at least in my experience,' Sullivan said. 'All of a sudden, the rules don't seem to apply. I think that's disconcerting. It shakes the ground beneath you, and you don't necessarily know what to do next.' Still, some higher education leaders are trying to confront the government. More than 650 campus officials have so far signed onto a joint statement that opposes 'the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.' Sullivan and a group of other former presidents used an op-ed in The Washington Post to argue the Trump administration's offensive 'won't be confined to Harvard University.' Trade associations including the American Council on Education, Association of American Universities, and Association of Public and Land-grant Universities have joined schools in a lawsuit to block some of Trump's research funding cuts. The Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a collective of school leaders, has also sued to challenge the Trump administration's attempts to target the legal status of thousands of foreign students. 'Your first obligation as president is you don't want to hurt the institution you represent,' Sullivan said of the relative silence coming from non-Ivy League institutions. 'These days it's hard to tell what hurts and what doesn't. I think that's the motive. The motive is not cowardice.' Schools still face a choice between negotiating with the government — and risk compromising on their principles — or inviting Trump's rage by putting up a fight. 'Every school has had an option to correct course and work with the administration, or stand firm in their violations of the law,' the administration official said. 'They have an option, they know very well what to do.' The real question, according to Bollinger, the former Columbia president, is how far the White House will go and how much resistance the schools are willing to put up. 'The power of government is so immense that if they want to destroy institutions, they can,' he said. 'What you do in that kind of environment is you stand on principle."
Zawya
02-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Dubai's RDI Grant Initiative returns to fund groundbreaking research
Dubai: Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) has has opened applications for the second cycle of the Dubai Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Grant Initiative. The programme invites universities and research institutions across Dubai to submit high-impact proposals that can drive progress across technology, economy, society, and innovation. Launched in collaboration with local and international academic institutions, the initiative supports research aligned with Dubai's national priorities and future strategies. This cycle focuses on two main domains: Cognitive Cities and Health & Life Sciences, each comprising four topics that leverage the latest advanced technologies. The first domain, "Cognitive Cities" supports specialised research in smart mobility solutions, next-generation built environments and infrastructure, climate-neutral and resilient urban systems, and the use of urban health intelligence for proactive well-being. The second domain, "Health & Life Sciences," targets four key topics: biological discovery and systems science, clinical and translational health, health innovation and engineering, and biomanufacturing and synthetic biology. Proposals will be evaluated based on several criteria, including alignment with Dubai's RDI priority areas, potential to foster future partnerships, capacity-building value, innovation in methodology and outcomes, sectoral impact, and budget viability. Applications are open until Friday, 13 June 2025, via Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit full proposals, with selected projects receiving financial support for durations of one to three years. In its first cycle, the initiative funded 24 research projects from 13 universities and research institutions, chosen from 374 innovative proposals submitted by 41 academic entities. A total of 219 researchers benefitted across various career stages. Focus areas included Future Cities and Health and Life Sciences, with a strong emphasis on AI and robotics applications. Launched in September 2024 by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Future Foundation, the initiative is part of the broader Dubai Research and Development Programme. It aims to fund bold, future-oriented research and cement Dubai's role as a global innovation leader. Khalifa Al Qama, Executive Director at Dubai Future Labs, DFF, said: 'The initiative is designed to support researchers and innovators, foster RDI opportunities in Dubai, and advance future prospects through high-quality, knowledge-driven, and technologically advanced research. It provides the technical direction and the financial support needed to bring pioneering ideas to life.' He added: 'Through this initiative, DFF is building an integrated platform to encourage scientific research and foresight thinking, enabling the development of breakthrough ideas and reinforcing Dubai's position as a global hub for creative minds.' His Highness Sheikh Hamdan recently approved the goals of Phase Two of the Dubai Research and Development Programme, allocating AED 750 million to accelerate its development. The aim is to enable a diverse and sustainable digital economy, and boost Dubai's global competitiveness across key future sectors. Overseen by DFF, the Dubai RDI Programme is dedicated to delivering tested, knowledge-based, solutions to local and global challenges. It strives to strengthen sector productivity, support emerging industries, and advance Dubai's economic resilience and future-readiness. For more information, please visit:
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Why we need scientists now, more than ever
May 6 - When we look back at human history, most of our great collective achievements have long-term science at their core. Science has saved us many times from the precipice of disaster and given us breakthroughs that have saved millions of lives and opened new frontiers of possibility. If we want to leave a flourishing future for generations to come, science should consistently be nurtured, celebrated and invested in, not dismissed, undermined and attacked. Recent political moves in the United States and in other nations have severely reduced science budgets and abruptly halted critical research; threatening lives, halting innovation, undermining economies and risking planetary stability. Now is the moment for all of us to speak out. The path forward is not guided by ideology, but by evidence. Facts do not waver under political pressure. Research institutions across the globe stand in solidarity. Together, we must continue to support them, to uphold scientific integrity and the pursuit of solutions grounded in knowledge and collaboration. As a collective, we believe in the importance of science to navigate the planetary emergency. In 2023, scientists fully assessed all nine Planetary Boundaries, the critical Earth system processes that ensure planetary stability. This scientific framework is critical, as it allows us to; understand where we are, to prioritise our efforts and to facilitate scaled collaboration. The latest update showed that six of the nine have been breached, heightening the risk of large-scale, potentially irreversible damage to life as we know it. To safeguard a stable, resilient and liveable planet, we must respect all nine, as they collectively define the safe operating space for humanity on Earth. Achieving this requires investment in science and holistic thinking on a planetary scale, which is a great opportunity to ensure we are also protecting human health across all dimensions, such as chemical pollution, freshwater use, biodiversity protection, ocean stability and more. It also requires us to listen to and learn from the wisdom of the original stewards of the planet: Indigenous peoples. You can learn more about the Planetary Health Check here. History offers us hope. Back in the 1970s, courageous scientists such as Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina raised an alarm that CFCs, which were in everything at the time from deodorants to refrigerators, were destroying the ozone layer. Their alarm turned out to be an early warning that was at first dismissed and then attacked, before being proven to be the alarm that would steer us away from catastrophic consequences, as a result millions of cases of skin cancer were averted, eye cataracts prevented as well as the eventual destruction of ecosystems loss that could have led to agricultural system collapse, the list goes on. Fortunately, the world mobilised across political and other divides to globally secure and implement the Montreal Protocol that saved all our lives. Science was at the centre of this collective achievement. This included the importance of the longevity of investment in science that allowed the British Antarctic Survey to irrefutably prove the damage to the ozone layer, thanks to their meticulous tracking of atmospheric data since 1957. The group of scientists and others who mobilised behind them are true collective heroes. Their courage and actions, have allowed us to continue to live on this wondrous planet. This vibrant community, active since long before the protocol's signing in 1987, continues to thrive, driven by dedicated leaders, rotating experts and collaborative institutions such as the Ozone Secretariat. The protocol stands as a powerful example of global cooperation to protect the planet, demonstrating that scientists, citizens, independent research institutions, governments, industry and the U.N. can work together to achieve environmental breakthroughs through diplomacy, trust and shared commitment. We can do this again. This is a planetary emergency, but also a moment of opportunity. Let us not be divided by political narratives, but united by our shared responsibility and grounded in modern and Indigenous people's science. Planetary Guardians: Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Chair), Paul Polman, JM Santos, former president of Colombia, (Co Vice-Chairs) Xiye Bastida, Ralph Chami, Wade Davis, Sylvia Earle, Farwiza Farhan, Christiana Figueres, Jane Goodall, Dr Naoko Ishii, Hiro Mizuno, Sunita Narain, Carlos Nobre, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Mary Robinson, Ayisha Siddiqa, David Suzuki. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Ethical Corporation Magazine, a part of Reuters Professional, is owned by Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News.
