By Rob McLay, Yang Song, Tony Wu and Liang Cheng Introduction China’s educational ambitions have long been a topic of global interest, with the country steadily moving to reshape its education system into one of the world’s most formidable. In a recent commentary article published by University World News on 22 January 2025, Professor Futao… Continue reading China’s New Global Education Plan – A Bold Leap or a Measured Step Forward?

Blog post by: Liang Cheng and Rob McLay Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to evolve at breakneck speed, reshaping how we live and work. While OECD labour markets remain historically tight—unemployment in some countries is at levels not seen since the early 1970s—many workers are feeling the pinch of high inflation and sluggish wage growth. At… Continue reading AI & The Future of Work

Blog post by:  Yang Song & Rob McLay The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) place a strong emphasis on the role of education in shaping equitable and sustainable futures. In particular, SDG 4 aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” While the goal itself focuses on… Continue reading Education as a Catalyst for Economic Prosperity and Social Progress: Insights from Cutting-Edge Research

Blog by Tony Wu & Rob McLay In the world of higher education, year-over-year enrolment shifts are always closely watched. Over the past few years, those shifts have been particularly scrutinized given the monumental disruptions caused by COVID-19, changes in demographics, and evolving public perceptions about the value of a college degree. Recently, the United… Continue reading Higher Education Enrolment Surges in the US – and How Global Trends Compare

By Global Nexus Education’s Senior Management Team, with editorial and translation support  (forthcoming )from AI language tools Introduction At Global Nexus Education, we have long been fascinated by the concept of leadership in education. Often, when people hear the word “leadership,” images of boardroom tables and political podiums come to mind. Yet, from our perspective,… Continue reading Elevating Education through Leadership: Reflections on the 2024/5 GEM Report and Beyond

Blog post: By Tony Wu and Robin McLay Africa is rapidly emerging as one of the most dynamic and promising regions for global student recruitment. With a young population, a growing middle class, and an ever-increasing appetite for high-quality education, the continent offers a wealth of opportunities for institutions around the world seeking to attract… Continue reading Africa as a Leading Market for Recruiting the Next Generation of Students

The Role of  AI in Shaping the Future of Higher Education in Canada By Liang Cheng and Rob McLay Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education is not just a future goal; it’s a reality actively transforming students’ learning experiences and career preparations. According to the 2024 Canadian Student Wellbeing Survey, a significant change has… Continue reading Blog Post:The Role of  AI in Shaping the Future of Higher Education in Canada

Robin McLay和Yang Song就职于Global Nexus， 在过去二十年中，心理健康已成为加拿大高等教育部门面临的最严峻挑战之一。越来越多的学生遇到了比以往任何时候都更广泛的心理健康问题，包括焦虑、抑郁、饮食失调，甚至精神病症状。研究表明，自20世纪90年代中期以来，这些问题增加了一至三倍（Armstrong & Young, 2015）。这些问题不仅越来越普遍，而且越来越复杂——许多学生现在同时经历着多种类型的心理健康挑战。在新冠疫情期间情况甚至更加严峻，社会孤立、日常生活中断和经济不确定性加剧了现有的脆弱性。加拿大学生协会联盟（CASA）报告说，在新冠疫情期间，四分之三的加拿大高等教育学生的心理健康状况不佳。此外，半数的学生难以获得校园心理健康服务，三分之一的人认为现有的支持不能满足他们的需求（CASA, 2022）。 新冠疫情对学生心理健康的影响 与美国和其他国家的大学一样，加拿大的大学在疫情期间不得不迅速转向。随着校园关闭和转向在线学习，学生们发现他们通常的支持网络中断了。缺乏面对面的授课、课外活动和公共学习空间意味着失去了社会互动和同伴支持——传统上缓冲心理健康问题的关键因素。 最重要的是，在校园里获得咨询和健康服务的机会减少或延迟，使许多学生得不到所需的专业指导。尽管有了更多的远程保健选择，但较长的等待时间和有限的服务能力构成了障碍。这些因素具有持久的影响。即使大学重新开学，学生们也继续报告他们压力、焦虑和学业疲劳在增加，这清楚地表明，疫情对心理健康的连锁反应将持续存在。 大学生面临的主要心理健康挑战 经济压力继续沉重地压在学生身上，学费、住房和不断上涨的生活成本——尤其是在加拿大的大城市——构成了一条财务绳索。这些压力不成比例地影响到边缘化群体和国际学生，对他们来说，有限的当地支持体系和较高的生活成本加剧了他们的挑战。根据加拿大统计局的数据，很大一部分学生依靠贷款、兼职工作或家庭支持，平衡这些需求通常会影响心理健康。 大学和政策制定者的角色演变  认识到学生心理健康问题的紧迫性，加拿大联邦政府和省政府都做出了回应。加拿大心理健康委员会发布了《加拿大高等教育学生心理健康和福祉国家标准（2020年）》，这是一个指导框架，旨在帮助各机构制定量身定制的心理健康战略，这一框架鼓励一种积极主动的全校动员的方式，而不是局限于咨询预约的被动模式。在安大略省，有投资针对校园心理健康新方案。省政府于2020年10月拨款1925万美元，随后在2021年提供额外资金以解决与新冠疫情相关的影响。这些资金用于支持校园心理健康创新中心（CICMH），这是安大略省学院、安大略省大学理事会、安大略省本科生联盟、大学生联盟和加拿大心理健康协会的联合组织。该中心开发资源、工具包和培训模块，以帮助各机构加强其心理健康战略。然而，随着服务需求的激增，校园支持系统难以跟上步伐。院校越来越多地转向更全面的“全校园”方式，强调分步护理模式，根据学生的个人需求提供不同程度的支持。尽管做出了这些努力，但结构性和系统性挑战仍然使进展复杂化，如资金的不确定性、数据孤岛和有限的长期战略规划。 改善策略 科技的影响 科技为扩大心理健康支持带来了希望。应用程序、虚拟平台和人工智能驱动的工具为学生提供了灵活性和便利性，无论他们身在何处。然而，隐私问题、人际关系的需要和文化方面的考虑，意味着技术应该是对传统咨询的补充，而不是取代传统的心理咨询，关键问题是找到一种平衡的方法，在提供即时、易获得的工具的同时，仍可保留稳健、个性化护理的选择。 结论 加拿大的高等教育部门认识到心理健康问题的挑战一直存在，仅仅采取被动的方法是不够的。采用以国家标准为指导的全校园战略，通过在资源和培训上投资，加强同伴支持系统，以及进行跨部门合作，加拿大大学可以营造一个让学生感到被支持、被理解和被赋能的环境。 随着研究和政策的不断发展，我们的目标不仅仅是帮助学生解决他们的心理健康问题，而是创造条件，让他们真正健康成长。通过协调一致的努力，高等教育机构未来会成为促进学生健康、适应力和长期成功的催化剂。 关于 Global Nexus Global Nexus是一家教育咨询服务公司，致力于为学生和他们的家庭提供专业的、以真实信息为依据的建议。这种个性化和定制化的导向是基于一种循证的战略方法，确保学生获得教育过程全方位的成功：从入学到毕业，以及过渡到有意义的就业和生活。 作者: 宋扬  罗宾· 麦克雷, Global Nexus Education Yang Song and Rob McLay 参考文献

A growing concern over the past few years has been the mental health and well-being of university students. The significant mental health burden among university students stems from combinations of academic pressure, financial stress, social isolation and personal development challenges. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, broader conversations about the importance of mental health have been on… Continue reading Blog Post : The State of Mental Health and Wellbeing in University Students

By Tony Wu and Rob McLay Recent findings highlighted by Yojjana Sharma in an excellent 2023 University World News report have illuminated a significant and growing shift in the international study destinations of mainland Chinese students. While historically, large numbers of Chinese undergraduates and postgraduates pursued their academic dreams in traditional Western hubs – the… Continue reading Shifting Destinations: Unpacking Chinese Student Mobility in Asia, Building on Yojjana Sharma’s Insights from World University News