What works to help rural students succeed in higher education? In fall 2020, MDRC partnered with Rural Matters and Ascendium Education Group to produce a four-part podcast series called "Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities." The series gathered experts from across the country to examine the realities of rural life and…

In India's beleaguered higher-education system, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) stand apart. The seven institutions have turned out some of the world's finest engineers and computer scientists, eagerly recruited by top graduate schools in the United States. Many of the institutes' graduates have gone on to become the chief executives of…

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

This article reports on new programs that focus on training skilled scientists and mathematicians who will help solve Africa's myriad problems. The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, in Cape Town, South Africa, offers one of the first working examples of a growing effort to develop a cadre of highly trained, practically minded scientists…

The number of highly skilled Africans leaving their country of origin, many with PhDs, has reached disturbing proportions. Meanwhile, Africa spends billions per year to fill the capacity gaps that are created by the exodus of the highly skilled. In Africa, Ethiopia ranked first in terms of rate of loss of human capital. Many African governments…