Latest news with #universities
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Unis face uncertain future as funding fails to keep up
education about 1 hour ago Universities face an uncertain future as they contemplate yet another year in which funding fails to keep pace with rising costs. Here's our education correspondent John Gerritsen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
CNET
7 hours ago
- Business
- CNET
I'm a College Professor. Here's How I'd Recommend Using Claude AI to Find Your Dream School
Education and AI are skipping hand-in-steely-claw toward either a wide-open utopian field of better, faster-informed students, or a hellish landscape of monotone slop masquerading as original academic thought. A slew of universities, including my own, are touting AI being implemented into educational tools as a techno-revelation, poised to democratize the field and empower students and educators alike. If you or your kids are heading into the final couple years of high school, or you're exploring further education options later in life, these AI tools can be massively useful for prospective students burdened with balancing evolving concerns around cost, prestige, political climate and the ultimate value of an education. Here's how you can use AI to find the school that's best for you as you embark on the process of making a potentially life-changing decision about where to do your learning. Just be sure you double-check everything with each college's official website before you apply, in case AI hallucinated info about your desired course or school. Degree programs and class offerings According to a recruiter I asked at the college where I'm a professor, deciding on what to study is one of the first things a prospective student should do before diving into applications. AI tools can comb through the often dense and dizzying materials associated with course catalogs, degree program requirements, outcomes and classes at multiple schools. Claude, an AI engine developed by Anthropic, gave me a useful top-level breakdown of programs in my chosen speciality, woodworking and furniture design, and helped me narrow the search to a school with more specific courses in that field of study. RISD was the only school that offered a furniture design course load robust enough to make you into a carpenter. Claude/Screenshot by CNET Trade school, community college or research institution You might not be looking to launch into a long and expensive four-year degree program, and instead want to brush up on a specific skill or gain the technical knowledge necessary to break into a new field. AI tools like Claude are capable of reviewing a cross-section of complicated requirements, like only being available for night courses or needing a certification within a specific time frame. I tasked the tool with finding some hands-on, in-person classes designed to teach the fundamentals of construction over a specific time period. Although there were no programs as short as I'd specified, Claude AI came up with a program that was free, in-person and based in the state I needed. Claude/Screenshot by CNET Rate My Prof on steroids Students may commonly use professor review sites like Rate My Profs to test the waters before signing up for what might turn out to be too much work or becoming saddled with a professor who has a reputation for any number of annoyances students commonly complain about on public message boards. AI tools like Perplexity, a generative AI tool spearheaded by an ex-OpenAI employee, can look through those reviews by institution and give you insight into whether the faculty in your targeted program is a good fit for your style of learning. I asked for a top three list of schools with the most dedicated, friendly professors around, and Perplexity was able to comb through student-led sources, like professor rating sites and Reddit threads, to give me the insights I wanted. Perplexity/CNET Student loans, grants and other money matters Tuition and cost-per-credit are unsurprisingly top of mind for students I asked about their decision-making on where to pursue their education. Perplexity was particularly adept at reviewing costs associated with programs you can find online. Details like hidden costs may also be at the tips of your AI tool's intelligent tentacles if current and past students have made posts about the cost of things like books, tools, gear and other associated purchases made mandatory in some learning environments. Perplexity/CNET Political climate and community Educational institutions are facing increased scrutiny on everything from curriculum to the actions of their student bodies. Perplexity quickly scanned searchable current and past media coverage, as well as determined sentiment on college campuses around key hallmarks of the academic experience, like free speech, donor influence and campus-related activities and groups. Perplexity offered a highly structured, well-researched and sourced overview of the most liberal and most conservative colleges in the US in an easy-to-digest format. Perplexity/CNET Wherever and however you decided to pursue your educational goals, AI tools can offer you a much wider perspective on the experience you can expect than a traditional search. But the best way to get a real feel for what your educational experience will look like is to visit a campus yourself, sit in on a class if it's allowed and drop a note to a professor teaching a course you're interested in.
National Post
15 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
Christopher Dummitt: Systemic discrimination is legal in Canada
Article content One wonders whether it even comes up when employers or universities set about establishing discriminatory affirmative action programs. Or, more likely, are they working from a consensus within the institution that there really are disadvantaged groups — and that this is obviously caused by discrimination? Article content We should be clear: it's entirely possible that disadvantages are caused by subtle forms of discrimination that continue despite Canada's now very equal legal system. It's certainly possible — and the idea ought to get a fair hearing. Article content But in many progressive circles today, it's now considered rude to even ask the question — to wonder whether social and economic differences between groups might be caused by something other than prejudice. Article content This is why the topic of viewpoint diversity — in our universities, our law schools, in the world of expertise — isn't the esoteric topic it might seem. Article content Even as the wider Canadian society seems to be retreating from the excesses of cancel culture and woke shibboleths (good news on that front), the staffing of our knowledge institutions, our universities and our law schools still overwhelmingly comes from those on the left — from the same groups who assume that socioeconomic variation is, de facto, linked to discrimination. Article content Article content These are the people who get to decide when — if ever — the only legal form of systemic discrimination allowed in Canada (affirmative action) will ever end. Article content There's plenty of evidence coming out of think-tanks and even Statistics Canada that the Canada of 2025 has moved a long way from the Canada of 1981, where affirmative action was justified. The most economically well-to-do Canadians are not those of European ancestry — despite the popular perception to the contrary. The groups of Canadians with the highest income — and highest levels of educational attainment — are those of South Asian and Chinese ancestry. Whites tend to come in the middle of the pack, while Black Canadians and Indigenous people are lower down the economic scale. If affirmative action is going to continue, the public needs to be reassured that those justifying its existence, at the very least, keep up to date with which groups are up and which are down — though even this framing shows how divisive such policies would be. Article content Article content There's also plenty of evidence that the 'race conscious' programs allowed by the Charter — and pushed by DEI advocates — actually exacerbate ethnic conflict in Canada. Article content Article content Article content
Zawya
15 hours ago
- 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:
Khaleej Times
15 hours ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
UAE approves mandatory higher education criteria for Emiratis studying abroad
UAE has approved certain criteria for Emirati students pursuing higher education in universities abroad. The decision grants citizen students currently studying overseas a one-year period to adjust their academic status.
