Issue: Education

The post-COVID world this week: Europe shuts down again and economic optimism dampens—but a hopeful example in Miami

By Atlantic Council

What can we expect from a post-COVID world after a pandemic that has reshaped international affairs? A world that uses its past resilience strategies to inform new ones, like in Miami.

Middle East business leaders provide perspective on the economic impact of the upcoming US presidential election

In an empowerME survey conducted in the last thirty days, thirty-two Middle East business leaders shared their views on the possible economic impact of the 2020 US Presidential election. Atlantic Council experts Kirsten Fontenrose, Amjad Ahmad, Mohsin Khan, and Jean-Francois Seznec analyzed the data and provided the following key takeaways.

Qatar Development Bank CEO: The “blockade didn’t stop us from growing” and “prepared us for other shocks” like COVID-19

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

On October 26, 2020, empowerME hosted Qatar Development Bank CEO Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al Khalifa for a conversation about Qatar’s efforts to boost entrepreneurship, diversify its economy, increase women’s economic participation, and prepare youth for the jobs of the future.

Absence of PhD programs contributes to weak research and development in the Gulf

By Omar Al-Ubaydli

The production of new knowledge is a very complex process and many factors contribute to the low levels of innovation exhibited by the Gulf countries. One factor that plays a role is the structure of tertiary education—particularly PhD programs.

James Clyburn: The question now is whether America can ‘repair our faults’

By Katherine Golden

The pandemic has “demonstrated that there are some significant fault lines in the country,” US House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn told the Atlantic Council. “The question now becomes whether or not we’re going to be able to repair those faults.”

Ukraine’s education sector reforms are under threat

By Liliia Hrynevych and Ivanna Kobernyk

Education sector reform is widely seen as one of the more successful transformations in Ukraine since the country’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity but this progress is now under threat amid a changing political climate.