THESIS: Trends in Higher Education Systems in International Spheres

Today we are speaking with Oudai Tozan, who is originally from Syria and moved to the United Kingdom in 2015 where he is now a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. The topic of our discussion today is the state of higher education in Syria before and after 2011 when the conflict started, which Oudai embeds in the context of Syrian higher education in the second half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. Oudai Tozan previously co-founded and managed the International Syrian Association for Education Development. He has taught courses on sociology, migration and mobility, and research methods. He recently launched the Syrian Researchers and Academics Network, UK, which aims to bring together Syrian researchers interested in working on topics related to Syria. Show Notes: Tozan, O. (2023). The impact of the Syrian conflict on the higher education sector in Syria: A systematic review of literature. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 4, 100221. Center for International Higher Education Webinar: The Role of Academic Diaspora in Times of Global Crisis (Youtube link) Milton, Sansom. (2019). Syrian higher education during conflict: Survival, protection, and regime security. International Journal of Educational Development, 64, 38-47. Buckner, Elizabeth. (2013). The seeds of discontent: examining youth perceptions of higher education in Syria. Comparative Education, 49(4), 440-463. DOI: 1080/03050068.2013.765643. Syrian Researchers and Academics Network - UK (SRAN-UK) Contact Information: Oudai Tozan: Twitter SRAN-UK: Twitter Donation Resources: Aftermath of Earthquake in Türkiye and Syria: List of resources from the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies Molham Team AHBAP Association

Today’s episode features two guests, Dr. Hayfa Jafar and Dr. Emma Sabzalieva, who co-wrote a paper titled, “Faculty Experiences of Higher Education Internationalization in Post-conflict Iraq and Tajikistan.” Dr. Jafar is currently the Director of Institutional Effectiveness at the American University of Iraq - Sulaimani, and Dr. Sabzalieva is the Head of Research and Foresight at UNESCO’s International Institute for Higher Education. Both Dr. Jafar and Dr. Sabzalieva received their PhDs in Comparative and International Higher Education from the University of Toronto. Show Notes: Article: Jafar, Hayfa & Sabzalieva, Emma. (2022). Faculty Experiences of Higher Education Internationalization in Post-conflict Iraq and Tajikistan. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 14(2), 47-65. DOI: 10.32674/jcihe.v14i2.3453. Dr. Emma Sabzalieva’s website  UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) UNESCO IESALC’s podcast on Anchor - Perspectivas: Global talks on higher education

In this episode, our guest, Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, shares her perspective on the links between the conflicts of the 1990's in former Yugoslavia, the resulting political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the impact of this political system and recent history on corruption in higher education.  Dr. Ambra Sabic-El-Rayess grew up in Bosnia and Herzegovina and survived the war and genocide in the 1990's. She moved to the US in 1996 where she received her bachelors, masters, and doctorate, and she now teachers at Columbia University. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess's research focuses on the role of education in rebuilding societies. She serves as the Global Ambassador of the Congress of Bosniaks of North America. Her latest book, titled Three Summers: A Memoir of Sisterhood, Summer Crushes, and Growing up on the Eve of the Bosnian Genocide, for middle-aged youth on her experiences growing up prior to the outbreak of the war, will be published in May, 2023.  Other books and articles by Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess: The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival (2013). When Corruption Gets in the Way. Befriending Diaspora and EU-nionizing Bosnia’s Higher Education. European Education, 45 (2), 6-27. (2014). Acting and Reacting: Youth’s Behavior in Corrupt Educational Settings. Peabody Journal of Education, 89 (1), 70-85.  Sources (a selection of) used to prepare for this episode: Chapman, D. W. & Lindner, S. (2016). Degrees of integrity: the threat of corruption in higher education. Guthrie, C., et al. (2022). Education systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: Bosnia and Herzegovina.  (See a diagram of the political system.) Kreso, A. P. (2008). The War and Post-War Impact on the Educational System of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (See a diagram of the education system, p. 361.) Global Corruption Barometer 2013. Transparency International. Corruption Perceptions Index 2020. Transparency International. Reading on discrimination in the Bosnian political and education systems: Keil, S. (2021). “Equality and Inequality in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”  Hadžić, F. (2022). Educational segregation and discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina and critical peace: transgression of ethno-ideological utilization of youth.

Today we are joined by Dr. Fawziah Al-bakr to discuss the changing rules, roles, and opportunities within and beyond higher education for women in Saudi Arabia, especially in light of the Saudi Vision 2030. The Vision has opened access for women to pursue degrees in different disciplines, and changes to gender segregation in the labor force mean significantly increased opportunities for women both with and without postsecondary degrees. Dr. Fawziah Al-bakr is a professor of the Sociology of Education at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She achieved her bachelor and master degrees in Saudi Arabia and received her PhD from the University of London. Dr. Al-bakr has researched and written extensively on education and women and gender studies. In 2013, she was named as one of 125 Most Influential Women in the World by Newsweek. Relevant Works by Dr. Albakr: Al-bakr, F., Bruce, E. R., Davidson, P. M., Schlaffer, E., & Kropiunigg, U. (2017). Empowered but not Equal: Challenging the Traditional Gender Roles as Seen by University Students in Saudi Arabia. FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education, 4(1), 52-66. Wiseman, A. W. & Al-bakr, F. (2013). The elusiveness of teacher quality: A comparative analysis of teacher certification and student achievement in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. PROSPECTS, 43, 289-309.

Our guest Today is Dr. Martin Maltais, professor of financing and education policies at the Université du Québec à Rimouski, where he used to be the head of the department of Education and of the School Manager's program. He is currently a member of 3 important groups of research in Québec : the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie, the Laboratoire interdisciplinaire de recherche sur l'enseignement supérieur  and the Observatoire du numérique en éducation. Proximity manager, Dr. Maltais is a key player in the development of higher education and digital policies in Québec (Canada). A member of the Québec Council on Science and Policy, he is the author of several papers and communications concerning education and higher education policies and funding as well as distance education. Over the last ten years, he was appointed at different moments in time as counsellor and/or chief of staff in the cabinet of four ministers, mainly with the responsibilities of Education, Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology. We will be discussing Bill 32, a bill that passed in Québec on June 3rd of 2022. This bill defines academic freedom for Québec universities and binds higher education institutions to protect academic freedom by the state. It is the first of its kind in Canada.

In today’s episode, we discuss the topic of university autonomy and student protests in past and present Nicaragua. Our discussion is focused on intense, at times emotional topics, and is information sensitive. We ask our listeners to be mindful of where they share this episode, and to avoid sharing it to social media platforms, for the sake of the safety of our guest.

Today’s episode features a conversation about the development of Uzbekistan’s higher education system since a change in government in 2016, looking at the parallel trends of internationalization and democratization seen through the government’s response to student protests that occurred online in the summer of 2020. Our guest and expert on these issues is Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva, who is originally from Uzbekistan and is currently a PhD candidate, Sessional Academic and a Learning Advisor at the Australian National University. Dilnoza is also a Fellow of UK Higher Education Academy. Previously Dilnoza has worked as a Lecturer in Uzbekistan's higher education system.  Her research focuses on internationalization in Uzbek higher education, as well as relationships between education, civil society, and democratization, topics which we’ll discuss today in the context of the question of how higher education impacts democratization, and vice versa. She is originally from Uzbekistan, where she achieved a masters in English Linguistics from Uzbekistan State World Languages University, and later completed her second masters in International Studies at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. UNESCO Data - Education Enrollment Rates in Uzbekistan Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva. (2021). Student online protests in Uzbekistan: democratization of higher education as concomitant to the COVID-19 crisis? Central Asian Survey, 40(3), 382-399. Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva. (2022). Ideological discourses in post-Soviet Uzbekistan: internationalisation of higher education as a threat. Journal of Political Ideologies, DOI: 10.1080/13569317.2022.2104996.  Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva. (2020). "Franchise" Branch Campuses in Uzbekistan: The Internationalisation of Higher Education as a Solution? Central Asian Affairs, 7 (2), 152-174. 

Today we discuss how higher education in Norway, particularly the University of Oslo, has responded to the invasion of Ukraine in terms of providing opportunities for Ukrainians to pursue higher education degrees in Norway. Our guest is Dr. Bjørn Stensaker, who is currently the Vice-Rector at the University of Oslo, serving a 4-year term until 2025. Dr. Stensaker is also a professor of higher education organizaiton and governance, and has previously lead the Center for Learning, Innovation, and Academic Development, otherwise known as LINK.

Today, we have two guests. First, you will hear from Runar Kliff Berg, who is working as the international student coordinator in the faculty of social sciences at Nord university in Bodø, Norway. He is offering study guidance for all students in the Nordic area, and additionally serves as a student counselor for the circumpolar studies program. Runar is set to complete his Masters of Social Sciences, majoring in International Relations, in 2023, when he is due to complete his thesis on how authoritarian regimes use hybrid warfare against liberal democracies. Our second guest is THESIS’s very own Ekaterina Kurinskaia, known by her classmates as Katya. Katya has two bachelor degrees: one in circumpolar studies and the other in pedagogy, and a masters in European studies with an arctic focus. She is currently working on her second masters, studying higher education, at the University of Oslo.

This introductory episode sets the stage for the theme of the first season of THESIS: the role of higher education in domestic and international politics. Our guest is Dr. Peter Maassen, professor of Higher Education Studies at the University of Oslo in Norway and Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. In this first episode, Dr. Maassen provides an overview of higher education’s relationship with politics. Thanks for joining us in listening to THESIS.

What is THESIS about, and who are the creators of THESIS? This short trailer informs the audience of the podcast's goals and aspirations, introduces the researchers and producers, and provides a brief description of the podcast's first season to be aired in the Fall of 2022.