
The World of Higher Education is dedicated to exploring developments in higher education from a global perspective. Join host, Alex Usher of Higher Education Strategy Associates, as he speaks with new guests each week from different countries discussing developments in their regions. Produced by Tiffany MacLennan and Samantha Pufek.
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 129 | Founded | 4 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Category | Education | |||

Host Alex Usher speaks with Katherine Isaacs, a former professor of history at the University of Pisa and former vice chair of the Bologna Follow-Up Group of the European Higher Education Area, about Italy’s higher education system, its distinctive c... more
Host Alex Usher speaks with Roger Smyth, a tertiary education consultant and former senior official at New Zealand’s Ministry of Education, about the country’s recent higher education policy changes and what the upcoming election could mean for the s... more
Host Alex Usher speaks with Jan-Martin Wiarda, one of Germany’s leading education journalists and bloggers, about the rise of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and what its growing political influence could mean for German higher education.
They... more
Host Alex Usher speaks with novelist, Randy Boyagoda, about his new novel, Lords of Serendipity.
They discuss what distinguishes Boyagoda’s novel from the traditional campus fiction genre, including its focus on multiple universities, international ... more
Host Alex Usher speaks with Alma Maldonado-Maldonado, an education researcher at CINESTAV and a member of the independent commission that investigated UNAM’s 2026 entrance exam, about the cheating scandal that followed the university’s first fully on... more
Host Alex Usher speaks with William Whyte, professor of social and architectural history at Oxford and author of The University: A History in Stone, Silk, and Blood, about the material history of the university.
Rather than tracing the institution c... more
Host Alex Usher speaks with Brendan Cantwell, co-author of The Post-Liberal University: Governance, Leadership, and Partisanship in Higher Education, about the changing political landscape of American higher education.
They explore the shift from th... more
Host Tiffany MacLennan speaks with Alex Usher for a mid-year review of the major trends shaping higher education around the world in 2026. Revisiting themes from HESA’s World of Higher Education Year in Review report, Usher reflects on the growing in... more
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This show surveys higher education developments around the world through executive-level analysis and on-the-ground observations. Across recent episodes, discussions consistently center on funding shifts, governance changes, policy reforms, and the impact of politics on universities, with recurring attention to student mobility, AI and technology in higher education, and the evolving role of public and private institutions in various regions. Guests range from policymakers and university leaders to policy researchers, offering practical takes on reform, funding decisions, and governance. A notable strength is the mix of global case studies (from the United States, Europe, Asia, and beyond) blended with long-running investigations into how p... more
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The World of Higher Education launched 4 years ago and published 129 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
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Recent guests on The World of Higher Education include:
1. Katherine Isaacs
2. Roger Smyth
3. Jan-Martin Wiarda
4. Randy Boyagoda
5. Alma Maldonado-Maldonado
6. William Whyte
7. Brendan Cantwell
8. Alex Usher
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