2018 Latest: Seismic Happenings Detected at Crucial Cultural Intersection!

Regular readers of this blog will by now be fully cognisant of the fact that we at Mediolana are not given to spouting mindless hyperbole. But we are also not a company to pull our metaphorical punches, and 2018 promises to be a year like no other: silos will smash, synergies will shine – and there is even a small outside chance of a razor-thin London corporation making its mark on the largest cultural intersection of all.

More of that later: HNY, and we’ll see you next year!

Something very special is moving into view during H1/2018: follow @Mediolana and be the first to know exactly what, when and why #education #edtech #edchat #socialmediamarketing pic.twitter.com/GZ8kQXtSGh

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 31, 2017

 

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Arresting Development: Mediolana’s 2018 Legal Notice ‘Arrives One Day Early’!

As yet another incredible year becomes nothing more than a carefully-curated selection of beautiful memories, we at Mediolana are getting down to the real gritty-gritty of publishing this blog’s 2018 Legal Notice. Those with a curious passion for all things regulatory should head over to legal.mediolana.com, where a selection of on-topic documents – including the Terms and Conditions of using this company’s web presence – await you. See you there!

 

Bac to the Future: ASEAN Member Cram Schools ‘Suddenly Flooded with Foreigners’!

Private #tuition centres and agencies in #Singapore are reporting a remarkable surge in the number of international #students enrolling in their #IGCSE and
International Baccalaureate ('IB') programmes #ASEAN #edchat

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 23, 2017

#Singapore possesses a world-renowned private #tuition industry which many credit for the city-state's outstanding performance in international #education rankings, but until very recently almost all of the #students paying for non-#school classes were domestic nationals #edchat

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 23, 2017

However, #tuition demographics have changed radically within the last few years, with recent changes in the number of international #students on the books of #Singaporean private #tutors ranging from ▲50% to ▲400%

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 23, 2017

To watch: #Singapore and other high-performance #education systems are almost certain to become increasingly attractive propositions to #students in younger age groups who are not content with average #academic #attainment https://t.co/fdIXwtTwVX

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 23, 2017

Running Out of Time: 50% of ROK #Universities ‘Could Shut By 2024’!

The leader of one of South #Korea's most prestigious #universities has warned that his country's #highered institutions are sprinting into oblivion unless they radically overhaul their #teaching methods #POSTECH @postech2020

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 16, 2017

Pohang University of Science and Technology (#POSTECH) President Kim Doh-yeon: 'If #Korean #universities keep [practising] their traditional ways [of imparting #education], those that see cherry blossoms blooming earlier [i.e. those furthest from #Seoul] will go bankrupt sooner.'

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 16, 2017

#POSTECH President Kim has slammed what he claims are the 'static' and 'dated' pedagogical methods of the Republic of #Korea's #universities: '#Innovation being their only way to survive, universities must transform themselves completely [from the] status quo.' #edu #edchat #Asia

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 16, 2017

Analysis: Kim's criticisms may seem alarmist given South #Korea's enviable #highered trajectory over the past half-century, but he is correct on the volatile fiscal position of many private universities in the country; these institutions have not diversified their revenue streams

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 16, 2017

To watch: like a number of developed economies in #Europe, South #Korea is heading towards a #demographic crunch which will see critical sectors of the economy creak in the absence of #immigration and/or a higher birth rate; #highered is in the firing line https://t.co/B1mIvmMTXV

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 16, 2017

Publish And Be Damned: #Media Freedom Under Attack ‘Just About Everywhere’!

Global press freedom is at its lowest level for at least a decade, with government censorship, organised crime and #Internet-related commercial pressures being cited as reasons for the precipitous decline in the media's ability to speak truth to power #HumanRightsDay #edu #edchat

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 10, 2017

Freedom of expression campaign group Article 19: media freedom is under attack not just in authoritarian regimes, but in supposedly mature democracies – including the United Kingdom and the United States – where surveillance legislation + anti-press rhetoric is not helping #HRD17

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 10, 2017

Article 19: despite the generally dismal picture, significant improvements in press freedom have been recorded in nations such as #Tunisia, Sri Lanka and Nepal; moreover, the passage of freedom of information laws in 119 countries is a very positive development #HumanRightsDay

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 10, 2017

To watch: in states such as #Mexico and #Turkey, there is now a pushback against eroding #media freedoms, with a sophisticated public using technology to work around restrictions and also demanding higher standards of #media regulation https://t.co/bOhdi0x0sK #HumanRightsDay #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 10, 2017

Dollar Shave Club: Emerging Economic Bloc ‘Could Dump World’s Reserve Currency!’

A proposal floated at the 9th Summit of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation (@d8org) in Istanbul highlights the decline in the global faith of the US dollar to continue acting as the world's reserve currency #currencywars #D8 #OIC

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 9, 2017

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested that D-8 member countries should trade between themselves using local currencies, stating that such a move could 'make a revolution' – and shield D-8 economies from wild fluctuations against the US dollar

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 9, 2017

The Erdoğan proposal seems particularly portentous because 7/8 members of the D-8 are – at the very least – not countries normally associated with challenging perceived US hegemony; #Turkey itself is a member of NATO

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 9, 2017

The D-8 itself raised little more than a smirk when it was first mooted back in October 1996, but its share of world trade is rapidly increasing and in both structure and scope, it is beginning to resemble a mini-#BRICS

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 9, 2017

To watch: alarming American policy blunders and continued economic anaemia risk a catastrophic flight from the US dollar by the international community; the #Trump administration must act to restore confidence that it is an essentially coherent political entity #UnitedStates #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 9, 2017

Further reading: Erdoğan urges trade in national currencies at Istanbul D-8 Summit https://t.co/RGhqcsFxlM

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 9, 2017

Postmodern Capital Flight: European Financial Institutions ‘Narrowing Exposure to Giant Question Mark’!

Official data cited by the Financial Times: banks across the EU27 have reduced their total assets tied to the United Kingdom from €1.94tn to €1.59tn in just twelve months: chiefly, the period from 06/2016 to 06/2017 #Brexit #EuropeanUnion #EU

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2017

The startling ▼17% year-on-year change is apparently a protection strategy: #banks in the bloc are shielding themselves against the threat of a 'no deal' scenario, which risks triggering existential-level uncertainty over financial contracts #EU #EuropeanUnion #UK #Brexit

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2017

The European Banking Authority – a regulatory agency which is now set to move from London to Paris owing to #Brexit – has stated that the 'cliff edge' of the UK's departure from the European Union is the main cloud hanging over the entire European banking system #EuropeanUnion

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2017

European Banking Agency risk assessment exercise: one-third of surveyed banks were concerned by the legal risks surrounding the UK crashing out of the European Union, including those pertaining to derivatives, data protection + the enforcement of judgements #Brexit #EuropeanUnion

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2017

To watch: as the 03/2019 deadline for exiting the EU draws ever-nearer, extreme levels of uncertainty could translate into outright exasperation at the fiscal and legal vacuum that the United Kingdom is dumping itself into #Brexit https://t.co/8XyDjGCDHe

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2017