TUESDAY 9 JANUARY 2024

Good morning,

Our lead story today comes from Australia, where experts are concerned that a lack of awareness, social stigma and the cost of preventative medication are contributing to a rise in rates of HIV among international students. Elsewhere, we hear how concerns over pay, workload and stress are pushing UK university mental health advisers towards the exit.

– Patrick Jack, reporter
patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com

KEEPING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS SAFE

Data suggests that around half of Australia’s national HIV caseload is concentrated in its overseas-born population, up from about 40 per cent a decade ago. And it seems that students figure heavily in this group, representing 61 per cent of the gay and bisexual Asian men diagnosed in Sydney and Melbourne between 2014 and 2017. My colleague John Ross hears that international students’ concerns about the high cost of preventative medicines, combined with lack of awareness and social stigma, are contributing to an uptick in infections. Belinda Meggitt, team lead for the health promotions unit at UNSW Sydney, tells John that international students’ sexual health is an overlooked area in higher education despite potentially “profound” ramifications. She says that institutions need to provide better information and encourage uptake of sexual health tests. “As universities, we have an opportunity to impact the lives of students in and out of class and to help them cultivate skills as global citizens. We also have a responsibility to keep them safe,” she says. “In more permissive cultures like Australia, sexual initiation is occurring at younger ages. International students are no longer under the protective gaze of their parents, so it’s no surprise that many find themselves in tricky situations.”

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MUST-READS ON THE TODAY

Under pressure: Two-fifths of mental health practitioners who work with students in the UK are considering leaving their roles in the next five years, according to a survey, with pay, workload and the increasingly complex nature of cases adding to the stresses of the job.

Pay hike: The US National Institutes of Health is weighing steps to boost pay for postdoctoral researchers, generating both encouragement and warnings that the increase will probably fall far short of the need.

Soaring costs: The cost of financing England’s student loan system is expected to rise by more than £10 billion a year due to increased cost of government borrowing.

Imperial-ism: Imperial College London is opening its first overseas research centre in Singapore, as part of a “more strategic approach” to international collaboration.

OPINION OF THE DAY

Consultancy work is a pivotal part of the university innovation space but continues to fly under the radar, writes Amanda Zeffman, the head of consultancy and research tools at Cambridge Enterprise, which brought in £10.7 million to the University of Cambridge in 2022-23. Zeffman believes consultancy is a “cross-pollinator of innovation”, which can transcend disciplinary boundaries and help share ideas and information between academia, industry and others. A collaborative approach extends beyond major cities, benefiting regional competitiveness and aiding small- and medium-sized enterprises, she writes. “Consultancy can be the snowball that starts an avalanche,” says Zeffman, as she calls for increased awareness and government recognition, highlighting consultancy as a catalyst for innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. 

DAILY RESOURCES FOR FACULTY AND STAFF

The first step towards providing better support for first-generation students should be to acknowledge the variety of definitions that exist and develop a better shared understanding of how those definitions affect students, writes Brian Heseung Kim, director of data science at Common App. Plus, in this extract from The Resilient University, Freeman Hrabowski and co-authors offer the resources and mindset that higher education institutions need to develop to sustain themselves through challenges and crises.

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