The top 10 student cities in the world

The world’s best student cities – based on university rankings, student mix, quality of living, employer activity and affordability – have been revealed by education experts QS.


By Lucy Miller

Faring well in the top ten are Canada, Australia and Europe, all of which have two student cities on the list. Boston is the only US city that makes it into the top ten.

 

There’s no change at the top of the table, with Paris coming out in first place, and it’s quickly followed by Melbourne, which was fifth last year, and London, which drops to third place.

Other UK cities that made it into the top 50 include Edinburgh (26^th), Manchester (29^th) and, for the first time, Coventry at 45^th.

To be included in the ranking each city must have a population of over 250,000, and must be home to at least two ranked institutions in the QS World University Rankings. 116 cities in the world qualify, and 50 have been ranked in the table.

The full top ten is as follows:

2015     2014     City

1          1            Paris

2          5          Melbourne

3          2          London

4          4          Sydney

5          7          Hong Kong

6          8          Boston

7          17         Tokyo

8          9          Montreal

9          13         Toronto

10         14         Seoul

Source: internationalgraduate.net

Smartphones take the fun out of leisure time said Dr. Andrew Lepp of Kent State University

People who use their phones the most are more stressed and anxious during their free time than more casual users. 'The high-frequency cell phone user may not have the leisure skills necessary to creatively fill their free time with intrinsically rewarding activities,' said Dr. Andrew Lepp of Kent State University.

Our smartphones supply endless possibilities for entertainment, but a new study shows they can diminish the quality of users' time away from work or school.

"The high-frequency cell phone user may not have the leisure skills necessary to creatively fill their free time with intrinsically rewarding activities," says Dr. Andrew Lepp of Kent State University. "For such people, the ever-present smartphone may provide an easy, but less satisfying and more stressful, means of filling their time."

Dr. Lepp and his team worked with a participant group of 454 randomly selected undergraduates, quantified each individual's total daily smartphone time and assessed their personalities and notions of leisure.

Separating the students into groups based on their similarities concerning smartphone time investment and personality, the researchers noted three distinct categories were taking shape.

User types included low-use extroverts, low-use introverts and a high-use group who averaged more than 10 hours per day of smartphone time, about 25% of the sample.

This high-use group experienced considerably more stress and anxiety during their leisure time than the other two groups.

For those who can't seem to put down their smartphones, it may not be a question of enjoying them more than others do, the high-use habit could reflect a feeling of obligation to stay connected, according to the researchers.

This obligation can lead to stress, and smartphone-borne stress can spill over into leisure, they say.

On the flip-side, the low-use extrovert group, who used their smartphones on a comparably modest average of three hours per day, expressed very little boredom and distress during leisure time and had a penchant to challenge themselves.

"Being constantly connected to your phone is not likely to enhance your experience of leisure," says Dr. Jian Li of KSU. "On the other hand, disconnecting for short periods of time in order to seek more challenging leisure opportunities is likely to be beneficial."

Source: AFP RELAXNEWS

Kinza Haider from Pakistan to test the waters

PhD student applies Sufi wisdom to ground water

BY MIKE YOUNG

Kinza Haider 

She almost knows the book by heart. On the S-train to the office, during breaks, she opens it at random, reads, and is happy and relaxed. The Sufi Book of Life.

»My friend said I should stop: ‘You have probably read it 500 times’,« she said. »But I am not obsessed. »It is just that every time I open it, it gives me a new message«.

This University Post reporter, uncomfortable with religion, sneers: Has anyone recommended you a psychiatrist?

»The psychiatrist talking to me would need his own psychiatrist!« she laughs.

Blessed with water

Kinza Haider, originally from Rawalpindi in Pakistan, is now doing her PhD at the Department of Geology and Geography.

She is measuring the amount of ground water seeping into Ringkjøbing fjord on the west coast of Denmark. Now and then, she and her colleagues sail out in a rubber dinghy. In one experiment, they stuff pipes into the soft ground at the bottom of the shallow waters.

In another, the researchers measure fjord water temperatures. Ground water is always eight degrees Celsius, so if it seeps, it leaves a temperature imprint.

Coming from a country like Pakistan, just devastated by the Indus River, serene Ringkjøbing fjord experiments seem somehow out of place. But her research is vital, she assures me.

»Europe is blessed with water, and in Denmark you have loads of good quality ground water. Ultimately I would like to bring my work and expertise back home to take care of some of my own country’s problems«.

Karachi for example, Pakistan’s largest city, has huge problems with brackish water coming through the water pumps.

No extremes

Sufism, the other object of Kinza’s interest, is a mystical practice in Islam.

Has living in a non-Muslim country changed your own perspective on being a Muslim?

»I am a progressive Muslim« she says. »I was a strong Muslim before, just like today. But I guess I read more about it now. Basically I think that all religions are variations on the same message,« she says, adding that she has both the Bible and Quran at home.

»You need balance. Many youngsters have too extreme a religion. But every religion, I think, should teach humanity,« she says.

So how about reading something else?

»A friend recommended me to read the Quran. I will start reading it when I find an edition that has the right size for the train«, she laughs.

Source: universitypostdk

The Curtin College 2015 Scholarship 12.5% off Diploma fees

Curtin College Scholarship

The Curtin College 2015 Scholarship offers eligible

students 12.5% off the published Diploma fees

To be eligible for this attractive incentive, students must:

• have an offer packaged with Curtin University
• be an international student, commencing a Diploma package in      2015
• maintain a course weighted average of 50%
• not be a current student, sponsored student or a student commencing with CRL.

The 2015 Scholarship scheme

comprises of three categories:

Merit

What? Must meet academic cut-offs as specified by Curtin College.

Which Courses? All Diploma programs (except Engineering and

Health Sciences).

Alumni & Family

What? Applicant, applicant’s sibling, applicant’s parent or applicant’s child must be member of Curtin College or Curtin’s alumni or current student at Curtin College or Curtin University and must present evidence to prove this in line with terms and conditions. Which Courses? All Diploma programs.

Australian Year 12

What? Applicant must have completed, either in Australia or overseas,

a recognised Australian Year 12 High School qualification that meets

Curtin College’s standard entry requirements (see 2015 brochure for

Curtin College programs)

Which Courses? All Diploma programs.

Find out more:

info@hsconsultants.net

www.hsconsultants.net

+9221-35317836 +9221-35317837