Universities in Iran Put Limits on Women’s Options

Thirty-six universities in Iran have banned women from 77 fields of study.The ban, which was first reported Aug. 6 by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency, came as the results of university entrance exams for the coming academic year were being announced.

The restrictions were not noted in previously distributed university leaflets but will affect students for the coming year.

Subjects now open only to men include accounting, engineering and pure chemistry, according to the Iranian news Web site Rooz Online. The University of Tehran, for example, will now accept only male applicants for subjects relating to natural resources, forestry and mathematics. Most petroleum-related subjects have also been made exclusive to men.

“Some fields are not very suitable for women’s nature,” said Abolfazl Hasani, a senior Iranian education official, according to the Rooz Online report.

In July last year, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called a halt to plans to segregate male and female students at Iranian universities, the Egyptian news Web site Ahram Online reported . Women account for nearly 60 percent of university students in Iran. — ZAKIYYAH WAHAB

Canada is urged to double number of foreign students

Canada needs to double the number of foreign students it attracts over the next decade if the country is to stay economically competitive, according to a governmental studyreleased last week.

“Our vision for Canada: Become the 21st-century leader in international education,” the report’s authors said in a statement.

The study, carried out by the Advisory Panel on Canada’s International Education Strategy and led by Amit Chakma, president of the University of Western Ontario, sets a target of attracting more than 450,000 full-time international students into post-secondary institutions by 2022.

Canada is already a popular destination country for international students , who numbered 239,131 last year. Thanks to government incentives and a sturdy job market, many international students immigrate after they have completed their Canadian degrees.

The report also recommends funding to send more Canadian students abroad. The authors would like to see 50,000 Canadians a year temporarily abroad by 2012. — CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE

Free movie tutorials online for high school students

Two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs known for the wildly popular, if short-lived, Flip video camera started Knowmia, an online educational video repository, last week.

The free service offers short movie tutorials for high school students.

“We want to alleviate the stress students and parents feel about school by providing personalized learning based on the talents of great teachers everywhere,” Ariel Braunstein, the chief executive of Knowmia and co-founder of the Flip camera, said in a news release.

Students can search the database at Knowmia.com for videos and watch these online, much as they would on YouTube. The subject videos are produced — free of charge — by accredited teachers who have to register with the site.

The founders plan to introduce teacher-curated mini-courses. These courses, built around video material, would include teachers’ notes and self-evaluation quizzes.

The Web site states that currently there are more than 7,000 learning videos available. — CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE

British and Chinese schools researching energy storage

The University of Leeds in England and the Chinese Academy of Sciences opened a joint research institute last month to develop new systems for energy storage.

This is the first time the two institutions have combined resources. The IPE-Leeds Joint Institute for Energy Storage Research will “create a highly competitive platform for effective and substantial collaborations in advanced energy storage science and engineering,” Professor Andrew Bell from the University of Leeds said at the opening ceremony in Beijing, according to a statement .

The institute will have two research centers, one in Leeds, the other in Beijing, said Professor Yulong Ding, who will be the institute’s first director.

Nearly 50 researchers will be working at the institute, which has a budget of £4 million, or $6.2 million. Current researchers are from the University of Leeds and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but Mr. Ding said there will be recruitment for other researchers in the future. — ZAKIYYAH WAHAB