Universities in Spain

UK universities are filled to the brim and current reports are indicating that as many as 225,000 of the over 660,000 applicants in the UK will be turned away due to lack of space and staff. As a result, more and more students are looking overseas with Marbella University registering a surge in applications.

Marbella University, the first English-speaking university in souther Spain says, “In recent weeks we have experienced a considerable surge in applications. We welcome recent developments that promise to bring together students from a diverse set of cultural backgrounds and nationalities.”

“All our courses are taught in English. Candidates are given the opportunity to absorb a new language as well as Iberian culture, to embrace international work opportunities and enjoy the enhanced lifestyle Marbella has to offer.”

The curriculum is geared towards a multicultural staff and student body and the focus is on the global outlook for humanity in general. The university’s President, Dr. Eduard Schellhammer, feels that “in our rapidly changing world the future leaders of both businesses and nations must be equipped to deal rationally and morally with coming challenges in the environment and in society.”

Going to school abroad has much to recommend it, not least the exposure to different cultures and lifestyles.  Marbella University certainly offers that diversity, plus an unbeatable climate, natural beauty, and proximity to major cultural centers such as Cadiz, Seville and Granada.

According to a recent study, university students spend less time studying, less than half of what colleges require.

The study presented by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) in 1961 full-time university students in the United States studied an average of about 24 hours a week, while currently they only spend about 14 hours.

The researchers found that the decrease of ten hours per week of study time per week between 1961 and 2003, were not connected with the work situation, training, subjects chosen or the type of institutions to which they applied.

The research found that this sharp decline in the study period occurred in all demographic groups as well as both with students who work and those who do not.

“This trend has been seen in all ethnic groups, is something that has not been limited to one group or one genre,” said Babcock.

The economist explained that this change could have long term implications since several studies have shown that students who study more in college earn more in the future.

“We have seen evidence that more study is associated with more knowledge and greater productivity later in life, so if people are not studying so much and we see this disturbing trend could lead to a less productive work force and it is possible that have implications in terms of economic growth, “he said.

The U.S. reaffirms its position that it is necessary to continue maintaining educational funding targets acquired.

This international association of universities released a report that reveals some clues of the impact of the crisis in higher education institutions, severely affected in terms of funding by the downturn.

According to the Report of the U.S., some countries have made serious cuts in university funding. Latvia is the worst stop leaving this aspect, with dramatic decreases in investment in education, some arising from recommendations of international bodies like the World Bank.

Another example is the case of Italy, which has decreased public spending between five and ten percent in the last three. At these rates also move for example Ireland, United Kingdom Lithuania, Romania and Estonia.

Very few countries, the report said, have continued to promote education as a key element to new investments, including France and Germany. Other nations (especially Nordic) have not made direct cuts, and some governments have changed their forecasts to increase funding for Spain.

Not only in public spending down the report. As cited in the report, the cuts in private investment in universities (which is becoming increasingly present in the model of long-term financial sustainability of the centers) has also been felt in institutions of higher education.

The autonomy, finally, was another major hit by the crisis. Spending cuts and have more control in some cases curb the freedom of universities.

Examples in Spain

In Spain, the powers relating to education are transferred to the Autonomous Communities. Some universities, such as the Community of Madrid, and have gone through problems in terms of regional financing and expressed their dissatisfaction through the media and events for the regional government to comply with their commitments.

Source: European University Association.

It sounds like a joke but its official: The University of Alicante is offering a course in video games creation (!). Starting from 2011 the University of Alicante will offer the course. The objective is to train students in all aspects of professional video game development, from tools to advertising, through the creation of scripts, working with graphics engines, as well as various components of the platforms upon which the games will be built.

The courses will focus on the practical aspects combined with theory and will also entail the creation of a project throughout the course with the aim to create a complete game. Students will work with professionals like Unreal Engine 3, Autodesk 3D Studio Max, with emphasis on the design and creation of the different contents of which games are made up of: script, graphics, animations, characters, scenarios kinematics, typography, sound effects and music.

All this with great teachers of the university and other professionals who will share their experiences with students and guide them in the sector and how to find work.

Pre-registration is now open to the course, which will be a presence course. All information is available on the official website of the course.

The game is to correctly answer the maximum number of questions to get the highest score, and so enter a ranking of the “wisest.”

IE University has created an application for Facebook called “Trivia Challenge” which allows network users to measure their knowledge of Biology, Architecture, Communication, Law, Art History, Psychology and Tourism. The goal is for young audiences, accustomed to the use of new technologies and the use of the Internet, in a playful approach to the disciplines of knowledge that are held on the campus of IE University.

The implementation is challenging: it is a trivial structured in four levels, each of them equivalent to one year of college, and each level consists of eight questions related to the degrees offered at IE University. The game is to correctly answer the maximum number of questions to get the highest score, and so enter a ranking of the “wiser.”

IE University is committed to the new environment created by social networks and application of technologies to the educational landscape. In this sense, the academic institution considers to be an essential tool to connect with students and thus have profiles on YouTube, Tuenti, Facebook, Myspace and Flickr, among others. It is recalled that IE University recently launched a “site” mobile, allowing hundreds of thousands of users access and interact through the portal http://ie.yoc.com, where they find information about the University, their bachelors, their networks social and strategic game.