Roadblocks to higher education after COVID-19
As COVID-19 spreads, many universities were forced to shutter their campuses and residential facilities. This left students—local and international—stranded and scrambling to return home. As these institutions remain closed, often without clear timelines for reopening, the once aggressive push to internationalise higher education hangs precariously in the balance.
The U.S. might run into a reversal of "brain gain" if travel bans continue, and if more international students look towards home universities to continue their education. Currently, its universities attract a significant number of international students, many of whom continue to stay in the U.S. after their graduation.
Summer internships have also fallen prey to the pandemic; many companies have cancelled internship programmes or rescinded offers. Students whose courses require a minimum number of internship hours might see their graduations delayed, while many others lose out on the networking opportunities and industry know-hows that these internships could have provided.
As countries apprehensively emerge from lockdowns and look to restart society, it is imperative that we develop more robust, agile and responsive higher education systems. This will be discussed in a special issue of Higher Education in Southeast Asia and Beyond (HESB) coming out this week. HESB issue 8 will take a deep dive into how universities and institutions are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our “COVID-19 What Next…?” webinar series will also focus on this topic on 17 June 2020. Follow us on our social media platforms for updates!
