It is important that we safeguard the rights of children to access diagnostic services and education, tailored to their needs.

Black and Chinese pupils were 26% and 38% more likely to be autistic respectively and autistic children were much more likely to face significant social disadvantage. The results are published today in JAMA Pediatrics.

The team drew on data from the School Census from the National Pupil Database, collected by the Department for Education from individuals aged 2-21 years old in state-funded schools in England. Of more than seven million pupils studied, 119,821 pupils had a diagnosis of autism in their record in the English state educational system, of whom 21,660 also had learning difficulties (18.1%). Boys showed a prevalence of autism of 2.8% and girls showed a prevalence of 0.65%, with a boy-to-girl ratio of 4.3:1.

Prevalence was highest in pupils of black ethnicity (2.1%) and lowest in Roma/Irish Travellers (0.85%), with these estimates being the first to be published for these populations. Pupils with a record of autism in schools were 60% more likely to also be socially disadvantaged, and 36% less likely to speak English. The findings reveal significant differences in autism prevalence, as recorded in formal school systems, across ethnic groups and geographical location.

Brazil had the highest percentage saying their mental health suffered, at 76%, followed closely by the United States (75%), Canada (73%) and the United Kingdom (70%).

At 25%, Italy had the lowest number of students who said their mental health had suffered, followed by Russia (29%), China (38%) and South Korea (39%). Kenya, the only African country among the 21 countries in the survey, mirrored the global average with 56%.

According to Lila Thomas, the head of Chegg, between 20 October and 10 November 2020, her company had commissioned Yonder Consulting Limited, the London-based market research and opinion polling firm to undertake a survey on the lives, hopes and fears of university students around the world in the age of COVID and beyond.

As Thomas pointed out, Chegg’s survey appears more like a scorecard that details obstacles and challenges that the current university undergraduate student population is going through in their universities and countries during and probably after the COVID-19 pandemic.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel in that, despite mounting learning challenges and pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and by widening economic disparities, 56% of the students surveyed still felt optimistic and ready for future challenges in the years ahead.

But the snapshot findings of the Jisc survey of 27,069 higher and further education students in the United Kingdom also found that areas such as well-being, mental health and staff digital skills need more attention.

Sarah Knight, Jisc’s head of data and digital capability, said: “We hope this data pulse helps universities and colleges see clearly where students are benefiting, and where they could be better supported.”

Between October and December 2020, 21,697 higher education students and 5,372 further education students from 11 universities and four further education colleges took part in Jisc’s digital experience insights student survey.

The surveys seek to support the sector in adapting and responding to the changing situation as a result of COVID-19 policies.

The surveys will continue to run until 30 April 2021, but this first snapshot of results shows the swift work of colleges and universities in moving learning online has been predominantly well received by students.

Among those surveyed, 81% were studying online, 72% of them from home.

Both higher education and further education students surveyed noted the huge benefits of flexible learning, with lecture recordings proving helpful for note-taking and scheduling learning around other aspects of life. Some students enjoy the comfort and convenience of studying at home, as well as feeling more in control.

Learning online (ironically) has made it easier to get support from staff. They’re more likely to encourage us to talk to them and it is a little easier than having to find them physically on campus.

Students enjoyed a range of different online activities and were positive about being able to access lecture recordings and participate live online.

Analysis of free text responses in the survey was particularly revealing and highlighted how being able to watch sessions again helped students to study in ways that better met their learning needs, improved their understanding and encouraged further independent study.

For instance, recordings enabled them to catch up if they missed the live session, manage the pace and take notes. They also made it easier for students for whom English is not a first language to hear and understand the lecture.

Some of the more engaging activities were less well used and there are opportunities to embed activities like the use of small group discussions for peer support and collaboration, quizzes or polls, and online research tasks into curriculum design, the survey found.

Furthermore, the ‘equal access’ to an academic education and career that women have enjoyed for the past years has not thus far led to ‘equal outcome’ in terms of leadership and academic positions, pay, research and publications in a higher education setting, according to a new report.

The increased participation of women in educational systems has also not translated “clearly or consistently” into labour market success or higher socio-economic status, the report says.

The outcome gender gap is also related to broader conditions of employment and labour – part-time vs full-time, permanent vs temporary contracts, etc – says the report Women in Higher Education: Has the female advantage put an end to gender inequalities, published by the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) on this year’s International Women’s Day.

The report documents that “there is a dearth of women at the top” and “among academic teachers and researchers”. Women are over-represented among teaching staff at lower educational levels, but their presence drops in tertiary education. In 2018, 43% of teachers in tertiary education were women compared to 66% and 54% in primary and secondary education, respectively. In 2020, just 30% of the world’s university researchers were women.

Only a few are at the top: just 18% of public universities in Latin America have women rectors. According to the European University Association, 15% of rectors of member universities across 48 countries are female, compared to 85% male. Twenty countries do not have any female rectors.

This initiative will contribute to the recovery of the physical University in the wake of the pandemic, and is an important signal of Cambridge’s ongoing commitment to the performing arts.

The CMP heralds a step-change in music of all genres for outreach and inclusion, and for wellbeing across collegiate Cambridge. Maintaining a tradition of excellence, it will also seal the University’s position on a world stage for music performance.

The CMP will be a seedbed of experimentation and innovation. A radical commitment to diversity will offer more opportunities to more students than ever before, to explore new styles of music-making and performance.

The Centre will open at the end of the year; in the meantime the search is on for a new Director to take up their post in early autumn.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen J Toope, said: « At a time of unprecedented stress for the performing arts, I am proud that Cambridge is creating a new Centre for Music Performance. A step-change in the visibility, breadth, reach and role of music performance, it will nurture the highest aspirations of the very best performers, besides offering a wonderful array of opportunities to those with previously limited experience. In the long run the Centre will be a stimulus for interdisciplinarity, research excellence and all-round personal development. I am thrilled to see the CMP go ahead at Cambridge. »

The Senior Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education), Professor Graham Virgo, said: « This is one of the many ways Cambridge University is expressing its commitment to outreach, inclusion and diversity. We expect this Centre to build on our excellent array of musical endeavour to draw more students into the cultural life of the University, building their skills and confidence and supporting their wellbeing. »

Dr. Anthony Freeling, Chair, Colleges’ Committee, and President of Hughes Hall, said: « The Cambridge Colleges are well-known as a seedbed of musical life; the Centre for Music Performance will not only support this but enhance its connectivity and visibility so that more students are attracted to, and can fully enjoy, the proven benefits of music performance. »

Chair of the Faculty Board of Music and 1684 Professor of Music Katharine Ellis said: « The Faculty of Music is delighted to see the new Centre for Music Performance come into being. This new hub will be a game-changer supporting musicians right across the University, from soon-to-be professionals to those for whom music offers precious release from the stresses of intensive study. It will be a beacon for Cambridge’s already rich musical life and will enable students to access its variety more readily than ever before. We look forward to contributing to the CMP’s success. »

The Chair of the Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) Trustees, Dame Fiona Reynolds, said: « CUMS has carried the flag for excellence in music performance at Cambridge for many years. During that time we have nurtured a host of young people for whom music is life-giving, from world-leading professional musicians to skilled amateurs. The CMP is the opportunity we have been looking for to take this to the next level, offering more students than ever before the opportunity to work with each other and professional artists from a wide range of genres in an atmosphere that fosters creativity and innovation. »

This may sound difficult, but it may be simpler than you think you get a first-class degree. 

Here are nine easy things you can do to boost your chances of securing that top degree classification.

Go to all (or most of) your lectures and seminars

While some lectures are more interesting than others, making the effort to go to them will likely pay off in the long term. Attending your lectures and seminars – even the boring ones – will cut down on your study time and may help you understand the course material in a different way. The lecturer may also give extra hints and tips about how to improve your assignment or presentation, or even what to revise for an exam.

Lectures offer you a sound basis for course material. This means that when you go to study you can revise efficiently rather than trying to learn it all from scratch. Seminars can be useful for clarifying aspects of the course material that you don’t understand.

Talk to your tutors

Making an effort to get to know your tutors can really be the difference between getting a first-class degree and not.

There are several ways to arrange to talk to your tutors. Most university lecturers have office hours which they will inform you of at the start of the year. During these hours you can stop by their office and ask for help or clarification if you’re struggling with anything. Alternatively, you can drop them an email or speak to them after class.

Know what they’re looking for

Knowing what your lecturer is looking for from your assignments is one of the most important aspects of producing good work at university. Knowing what your work should look like means that you can approach your assignment with a clear aim of what you’re trying to achieve.

To do this, read the marking criteria to find out how your work is going to be assessed. If there are any aspects of the marking criteria that you don’t understand (it can often be quite vague), talk to your lecturers to clarify.

Be original

When writing an essay, try to use sources beyond the reading list or sources that are from a different field but are still relevant to the question you’re trying to answer. The best pieces of work at university are those which contain sources from a wide range of places, including online journals, archives and books.

Too many students just take what someone else has written and use that as their main argument in an essay. If you want to get a first-class degree, you’ll need to expand on these arguments and develop your own comments and ideas.

Do the required reading

At the start of each module, you’ll be given a list of required reading. Although it can sometimes feel like a drag, doing the required reading is essential if you’re looking to get a first-class degree. In some universities, they won’t let you attend the seminar if you haven’t done the required reading beforehand. 

Explore the whole reading list, not just ones that you need to answer a question on an assignment. Most of these books can be found either online, through online archives, or in the library. 

Be organized

Being organized means understanding the assessment structure for each of your modules, whether they contain exams, coursework or group work, knowing when all these are due and being aware of the weighting of each piece of work. This will make sure you don’t miss a deadline. 

Keeping each of your assignments in specific folders will mean you can easily find them in the future and will help keep track of feedback so you can easily refer back to it later.

Go through feedback

Although on first glance feedback can be a bit disheartening if it isn’t very positive, it will usually give you a great deal of guidance in how to improve your learning and help you understand how to change your work for the better.

If you’re unsure about any of your feedback on an assignment, make sure to go over it with your tutor as soon as possible.

Get enough sleep

There have been plenty of behavioral studies which suggest that the quality and quantity of sleep each night has a significant impact on learning and memory.

Getting better quality sleep has been proven to help you absorb information better and record that information later on.

Study and work hard throughout the year, instead of just for your exams

This goes hand in hand with attending your lectures but making sure you understand the course material throughout the year – and asking when you don’t – will make revising for exams a lot quicker and more straightforward. 

Their call came during a webinar co-organised by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), L’Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the International Association of Universities (IAU) on 23 March, which looked at the pivotal year for higher education and the Agenda 2030 SDGs.

Opening the 90-minute debate between university representatives from Africa, the Caribbean and Europe, Joanna Newman, secretary general of the ACU, said most development agencies still believed their focus should be on primary education or up to Year 12, and many people saw higher education as part of an ivory tower.

“But if you want to have good basic education you need universities to help with pedagogical material, you need to have good teacher training and good departments of education,” she said.

She said her organisation has defined six priorities and has been contacted by partners from the Americas “to provide Caribbean practical solutions to the needs of our region”.

The six priorities are:
• Digital transformation.
• Climate change and environmental justice.
• Public health and chronic diseases.
• Tourism and sustainable development.
• Transportation and logistics.
• And because we have post-colonial societies, issues like race and gender.

Turning to the response to COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns and campus closures, Aduol said apart from the struggle to move to online teaching, African universities had tried to prove their relevance by making hand sanitisers, face masks and PPE.

“We also came up with structures that would allow markets to keep on functioning while responding to issues of social distance,” he said, adding that universities had gained “some respect” for helping society directly during times of crisis.

Miamians will once again come together to celebrate Alumni Weekend in a virtual environment on June 11-12

In the spirit of public interest and with safeguarding the health of the Miami family in mind, the Miami University Alumni Association made the early decision that Alumni Weekend 2021 will be a fully virtual event.

“By making the decision now, we can work with reunion committees and groups to make Alumni Weekend an uplifting, engaging and uniquely Miami experience for everyone,” said Kim Tavares MBA ’12, executive director of the alumni association. “We are excited to connect with Miamians across the country in fun and interactive ways as we bring the spirit of Love and Honor to them wherever they may be.”

More than 1,000 Miamians interacted with Alumni Weekend in 2020, including 12,600 total online views. The event featured a toasted roll tutorial, virtual yoga, Alumni College webinars and more.

Planning is ongoing to honor the 50th anniversaries of both the Classes of 1970 and 1971 with exclusive programming and activities during Alumni Weekend 2021.

“One of the highlights of each Alumni Weekend is recognizing the golden anniversary of our 50-year class,” Tavares said. “We are looking forward to celebrating this wonderful milestone with both the Class of 1970 and the Class of 1971 in a special way.”

While Alumni Weekend will be virtual only, future alumni events will be decided on an individual basis. Campus health updates are available on the university’s Healthy Together web page.

Of course, there isn’t a crystal ball that can tell us exactly what skills will be needed and what won’t be needed. However, with the help of the University of the Witwatersrand, we’ve come up with five skills we believe you’ll need to succeed in your future career, whatever it ends up being.

Cognitive flexibility

The rise of digital technologies means you’re going to need to be able to handle the plethora of opportunities and challenges that come with it.

Do you have the ability to adapt to change and conceptualize complex multiple ideas all at once? If so, you’re showing qualities that reside in advanced multi-taskers and which are highly valued by employers and recruiters.

Digital literacy and computational thinking

As the world continues to rely on highly technical and continuously evolving technologies, the need for those with the digital skills to match also increases.

You’ve most definitely heard of STEM, but have you heard of SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud)? Although it may seem like we’re being bombarded with digital buzzwords, being digitally literate offers capabilities beyond what was once thought possible when it comes to emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and data science.

“We need to train scholars to deal with the challenges of the 21st century, some which we may not yet have encountered,” says Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand<.

“We need to work across sectors to develop the technology required for us to leapfrog across eons of poverty, unemployment and inequality, and in so doing to create a new world order that prioritizes humanity before profits and power.”

A master’s degree in artificial intelligence or e-Science can help advance your digital skillset and accelerate your technical acumen in these emerging fields, from learning about data visualization and exploration, to computational intelligence, and natural language technology. 

Judgement and decision-making

Although robots and automation technology may be better than humans in other ways such as calculations and diagnostic solving, it’s still going to be humans that deal with the subjective side of data analytics.

Considering we’re on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution, we’re still going to need to have somebody who is able to show the world what numbers mean and their significance.

Emotional and social intelligence

For everything that can be replaced by digital technologies and artificial intelligence, emotional and social intelligence remain uniquely human capabilities.

In some sectors, these qualities are absolutely crucial. The demand for jobs in healthcare, for example, are on the increase – demonstrating how some roles will always require a human element. Your future job is more than likely going to include working closely with others, so having empathy, the ability to collaborate, as well as excellent communication skills is something you’re most definitely going to need. 

Creative and innovative mindset

Despite a report by the World Economic Forum in 2018 suggesting robot automation will create more jobs than they displace, you’ll still do well to keep on top of your creativity skills and maintain an innovative mindset.

Much like having an excellent sense of social intelligence, natural creativity is something which can’t be easily replicated by the latest digital technologies. As long as you can think outside the box, you’ll be just fine.