Tag Archives | Universities

“But are you a real doctor?” Shortcut doctorates in Germany

By on 26 March 2013 in Education

Last month, German Education Minister Annette Schavan resigned after a university revoked her doctorate due to allegations of plagiarism. Only two years ago, the then-Minister of Defence, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg also stepped down for the same reasons. These two high-level cases, in addition to numerous other plagiarism cases involving German politicians (such as Members of [...]

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Is there enough transparency at US universities?

By on 12 March 2013 in Americas, Education, Young people

As university tuition costs increase and the job market remains weak, with many college graduates unemployed or underemployed, the choice of university for young US adults becomes increasingly a financial one. And to make a good financial choice, one needs good information. Consider these facts: even after controlling for inflation, between 1980 and 2010 the [...]

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Big business on campus

By on 25 February 2013 in Education, Private sector

One of the more disturbing revelations in Inside Job, the 2010 documentary film that brilliantly exposes the corruption in the financial industry in the lead-up to the crash, is that of the widespread connections between universities and Wall Street. The film reveals that some prominent academic economists were paid by firms to speak out or [...]

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“Universitywatch”: a wiki to name undue corporate influence at universities in Germany

By on 5 February 2013 in Education, Europe and Central Asia, Private sector

Elisabeth Kahler and Christian Humborg work with Transparency Germany and prepared the launch of “universitywatch”. Berlin: Until 2011 Deutsche Bank funded two endowed chairs, one at the Institute for Applied Financial Mathematics at the Humboldt University Berlin and one at the Technical University Berlin. The steering committee named to appoint the chairs represented both sides [...]

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