The World of Higher Education Podcast Listen now →

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Category: Worldwide PSE

World Youth Population Projections

I have been thinking a lot lately about the longer-term future of higher education and how demographics will change the nature of the sector. Today I want to share some data and thoughts on this subject.  My basic observations are that 1) whatever else it may do, higher education exists mainly for young adults, and 2) the world’s complement of young people has already more or less topped out. We might be able to increase participation rates, but “peak 18-21”

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March 16, 2026 No Comments

Why Iranian Students Keep Protesting

Iran is a country with a lot of higher education stories. Take stories about students: they were a key part of the coalition that overthrew the Shah in 1979, and they were the ones who spearheaded the capture of the US embassy later that year. But since 1999, students have also been consistently and reliably at the head of anti-government protests. Iranian universities are as a result the centre of a great deal of physical confrontation at moments of national rebellion, such as

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March 12, 2026 No Comments

The Fifteen: March 6, 2026

Gather ‘round, all! This edition, we have absurd policy proposals from Australia and the UK, deceptive military recruitment practices in Russia, a battle over a rectorship in Colombia, and free McDonald’s meals for students in Malaysia. Let’s get started. That’s it for now, everyone.  See you back here on March 20.

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March 6, 2026 No Comments

Higher Education in Bulgaria: Rankings, Reform, and Demographic Pressures

It seems hard to believe sometimes, but after 110 or so episodes of this show, there are still a few countries we haven’t been to. One of them is today’s destination of Bulgaria. It’s not a place which is often top of mind as far as higher education goes, but maybe it should be. Among European countries, Bulgaria has been one of the leaders in dealing with a question of sharply declining youth populations. In recent months, it’s had an

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March 5, 2026 No Comments

Higher Education Diplomacy

I had been noodling for a couple of weeks about how nation states use higher education as a soft power tool, when all of a sudden last Saturday morning stuff starts popping up in my feed about how Canada and India have just announced a joint “Talent Strategy” as part of Prime Minister Carney’s visit to India over the weekend. This announcement was so weak and superficial, I thought I should write a little bit about it, just to show how

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March 4, 2026 No Comments
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One Thought to Start Your Day

One Thought to Start Your Day is our founder and CEO Alex Usher’s popular daily blog, brimming with up-to-the-minute insights and informed opinions on today’s higher education industry.

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