Education

  • Life in the next six or seven dimensions

    A Melbourne physics professor is helping to smash the particles of the universe and delivering spin-offs on this side of the globe, writes Erica Cervini.

  • Students going on location as rich choice of courses widens

    Fancy a summer in Rome studying emperors and the politics of public spaces? What about examining Cambodian archaeology or learning about the philosophy of happiness?

  • Summer means business as unis go year-round

    Summer once signalled the mass exodus of students and a period of relative quiet for universities.

  • Aiming for change by degrees

    Our federal Education Minister believes too many Australians are falling through the cracks, writes Joanna Mather.

  • Change of more than academic interest

    At the annual meeting of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia we were asked what subject we should choose as the issue for our next symposium.

  • Scientific disciplines are back in favour

    In his six years at Macquarie University, Graham Town has not seen a bigger interest in engineering.

  • Macquarie grads learn philanthropy

    As the credit crunch takes its toll on the banking sector, graduates are expanding their skill set beyond the world of high finance and turning to community activities.

AFR Market Wrap

Pepped up

Markets: ASX boosted

Commodities: Oil slips

Resources: Atlas Iron rising

Mumford: Fed must be flexible

Watch out for dead-cat bounce

After recording their largest declines last year, commodities markets are set for further weakness over the first half of 2009, writes Stephen Wyatt.

Mergers slow to snail's pace

Mergers and acquisitions activity is set for a sluggish start to '09 after five years of continuous growth, reports Patrick Durkin.

Banks seek exit plan for guarantee

Banks have urged the federal government to explain its exit strategy for the guarantee on bank deposits, reports Matthew Drummond.

Survivors emerge from the rubble

Last year wasn't pretty for any stockmarket in Asia, but it was especially brutal for Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average, reports Katrina Nicholas.

Don't buy into a disastrous trade war

'Buy America' may sound like a pretty innocuous call to arms, but it's one of the scariest lines I've heard in a long time, writes Glenn Mumford.

Anthony Hughes: Downtown

EXCLUSIVE FROM NEW YORK What's more ridiculous? Kudos for bank CEO's forgoing bonuses or outrage over how bail-out money is being spent.