QS Insights Magazine
Issue 23 November 2024
THE OVERWORK MYTH
Contents
Will the US election results have an impact on international students?
QS data may challenge some assumptions on how the US election results have affected international students.
Domestic concerns over US election results
Domestic students and researchers have voiced their alarm at a Trump presidency and its impact on those at-risk and research funding.
The hidden benefits of international education
The latest HEPI soft power report reinforces the non-economic benefits of international education.
MBA demand rebounds
Enrollments into MBA programmes have returned to most countries after two years of decline.
Starting from scratch
How do young universities build reputation in a short space of time?
Can degrees keep up with career paths?
By the time specialist degrees become available for new tech, newer technology comes around.
Using academic research to solve business problems
More universities are spinning their research out into start-ups and businesses.
The overwork myth
Geniuses, superstars, and infallible strivers are not the whole story.
Fail fast and home grow your talent
What can we learn from the Laboratory of Molecular Biology?
Unlearning higher ed and embracing Indigenous reciprocity
We speak to Nobel Peace prize recipient, Dr Rigoberta Menchú Tum.
China’s AI surge
China's investments are shaping its role as a global competitor in the AI landscape.
Entrepreneurship addressing the planet’s biggest problems
INNOVA Europe is creating a fast-track for startups determined to make a difference
Catalysts for change
Meet QS ImpACT’s Youth Ambassadors of 2023.
QS World University Rankings: Arab Region 2025
The latest results from this year's Arab rankings.
QS World University Rankings: Asia Region 2025
The latest results from this year's Asia rankings.
Stop, collaborate and listen
Our lives are getting busier. Can more be achieved when we do less and work together?
I think we are all guilty, at some point, of thinking that if we work for just a little while longer, or take on just another job, or set one more strategic goal, we’ll finally be on top of everything and succeed. When you look at it like I’ve just set down, it’s probably clear that doing any of that isn’t a recipe for success.
It’s a zero-sum game. A few extra hours into the evening can make you more tired the next morning, generally pulling down productivity to a level more or less near where it would have been if you hadn’t. An extra job takes away attention from others, again pulling down overall productiveness.
But, all too often, we’re desperate for success. At the time, it makes sense to work later, or to take on the additional responsibility, assuming you have that level of control. The QS Insights Magazine team is just as susceptible to this thinking as anyone else. The team and I can tell you that the nights before a release, we are usually up way past our bedtimes finalising every little detail.
So, if overwork isn’t the solution to conquering the increasingly busy world, what is? Maybe the opposite: doing what you would have normally done in the first place.
In this edition of QS Insights Magazine, our cover stories, "The overwork myth" and "Fail fast and home grow your talent" explores the myth of overwork in the area of academic research. We look at the so called “Nobel Prize Factory” to find out how it has achieved success and why it hates being referred to as a factory. We also look at what universities can implement in their own institutions to increase their rate of success.
Once the research has been done, we also look at what institutions and business schools are doing to commercialise and spin-our businesses. If that wasn’t enough, we travel to France to find out more about start-up competitions.
The November edition of the magazine also comes out a week after the US election results. We have republished survey results included in last week’s QS Midweek Brief, as well as spoken to domestic students and researchers around their concerns of the incumbent administration.
There’s plenty more, and if research is one theme of this issue, the other is Nobel Prizes. My pick of the stories is our interview with Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr Rigoberta Menchú Tum. In the profile, she discusses her life, as well as how universities can use Indigenous wisdom to empower all.
Anton John Crace
Anton is Editor in Chief of QS Insights Magazine. He also curates the Higher Ed Summits, EDS and Reimagine Education conference at QS Quacquarelli Symonds. He has been writing on the international higher ed sector for over a decade. His recognitions include the Universities Australia Higher Education Journalist of the Year at the National Press Club of Australia, and the International Education Association of Australia award for Excellence in Professional Commentary.
Contributors
Editor in Chief Anton John Crace
Clients Service Specialist Khushboo Singh
Contributing Writers Claudia Civinini Tsharna Daniel Nick Harland Julie Hoeflinger Gauri Kohli
Chloë Lane Laura Lightfinch Rohan Mehra Seb Murray John O’Leary Niamh Ollerton
Events Technology Manager Loh Lu Han
Marketing and PR Serena Ricci Mak Leeson
Cover Adobe Firefly, with additional modifications
Magazine contact Publications @qs.com
Sales contact sales@qs.com
The QS Insights Magazine is a monthly, online and print publication that highlights trends within the international education sector.
The online edition is emailed to our network of academics and university leaders worldwide. A limited number of selected copies of the print edition are also sent to university leaders around the world and distributed at QS events.
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of QS Quacquarelli Symonds.