August 31

• Average rent for a studio (furnished and unfurnished) in 20 selected French cities is 473 euros per month [French]
• France: the delicate start of the school year for foreign students [French]
• Almost enough dormitory places for students in Germany – except in Freiburg [German]
• Students in Germany build their own 200-bed dormitory
• What will happen to my Erasmus year? [German]
• Bocconi tries: the Milanese university ready to restart with face-to-face teaching [Italian]
• “They will not be a marked generation, but will be responsible, resilient and empathetic” – says the president of the conference of rectors (CRUE) about university students [Spanish]
• University students, unions, and representatives in Spain highlight problem of rented flats among displaced students ask for a review of tuition prices for blended teaching and consider that planning is lacking for such an atypical course. [Spanish]
• Student residences suffer in Spain from the lack of international students, though experts believe that they are still a good investment and that there is a market for a greater supply [Spanish]
• Sharp increase in first-years joining student associations in the Netherlands. Last year there were 10,000 new members and this year so far 15,200 have already registered.
• BaseCamp Lyngby Introduces Danish Co-Housing to an International Audience
• A national university lockdown will not happen again, says Dutch education minister
• Many foreign uni students struggle to arrive in Finland as term begins
• The director of Universities Scotland is “extremely confident” that enough safety measures are in place for students to start learning though the University and College Union (UCU) is calling on campuses to take measures to avoid a second Covid wave.
• Students should have rents refunded in event of second lockdown, says Irish higher education minister
• Universities all around the world are facing one of the most difficult academic years in history. Here’s how Leiden University, the oldest in the Netherlands, has been dealing with the Covid crisis.
• Admissions teams at institutions across the world need to take more of a driving seat role in recruitment activities according to a webinar hosted by The PIE
• The small European country of Luxembourg has the highest share of international students coming from abroad, among EU member states, reports Erudera College News.
• The ‘coliving’ business continues to grow: a project in Alicante with 6 million investment has been approved [Spanish]
• Students face accommodation and fees concern ahead of return to college in Ireland
• The education system reproduces inequality, says the new president of the UK National Union of Students, and Covid-19 has made this clearer than ever
• Estonia is showing international students the door due to the amendment of the law by the Estonian interior ministry.
• Why Higher Education Needs To Think Customer Service To Ensure Student Success
• GRAHAM and Valeo group celebrate LIV Student Belfast complex ‘topping out’
• The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has called for an immediate €500 reduction of student college fees with many classes set to take place remotely.
• International students under strict quarantine as they touch down in Scotland
• Greystar has rented approximately 860 of the available 955 furnished rental apartments in Amsterdam Southeast.

August 30

• A spokesperson for the Spanish Student Union criticizes that the online model “deepens the elitization of the university and will end up turning the faculties into private preserves for the most privileged” [Spanish]
• Keep teaching online-only until Christmas, says UK academic union
• New Peterborough university campus will have ‘strong identity’ but no student accommodation
• 4 out of 5 international students are still in Australia – how we treat them will have consequences

August 29

• Swiss universities are expecting 10%-15% more students than usual next semester due to the coronavirus
• Bologna, Covid empties the rooms in the city creating a boom of offers for students [Italian]
• The Portuguese Minister of Higher Education wants to secure another 8,000 seats for students within higher education. If he gets those seats, Manuel Heitor is convinced that no one will be left out. [Portuguese]

August 28

• CUBO releases guidance for student accommodation providers ahead of new term start in the UK
• Student housing in Bordeaux: “We have nothing below 700 euros”, the shortage continues [French]
• Start of the academic year in France: new measures for students [French]
• Almost one in five Swiss students studying abroad [French]
• College Is Everywhere Now: Yale students in Barbados. Michigan students in Brooklyn. Berkeley students in Las Vegas? Off-campus housing is way off-campus now.
• International students are not expected to miss out on places at UK institutions as a result of the government’s U-turn on A-Level grades, sector stakeholders have indicated.
• Overcoming the Perfect Storm in Higher Education: Curriculum Design and Multiple Mode Deliveries for Today’s Learners
• A planning application has been submitted to build new student accommodation in Meadowbank. Submitted by 3DReid, the plans would see 76-bed student residential accommodation on London Road.
• Council takes action against student accommodation company fined £80,000 for HMO breaches
• Urban Village Capital has achieved a ‘first-class’ transformation of a former Coventry office block to university accommodation.
• Survey shows 69% of UK college students are nervous about returning to third level
• Living in Community: 13 Projects That Promote Shared Spaces
• UCL has selected Gerald Eve to oversee the university’s real estate portfolio following a tendering process. In addition to its main campus in Bloomsbury, UCL’s estate encompasses 270 properties totaling more than 1.4m sq ft.

August 27

• Erasmus in post-pandemic Europe. Register for the Erasmus Salon webinar on September 3rd
• Is it really necessary to rent student accommodation in Belgium during the pandemic? [French]
• Room rental in Portugal: offer goes up 77% and prices go down in Lisbon, Porto and Faro [Portuguese]
• Belgium: Student rooms in large construction projects may no longer be sold individually [Dutch]
• More local and international registrations, but no sign of room shortage among students in Eindhoven [Dutch]
• A recent webinar hosted by Q Investment Partners (QIP) discussed the future of UK higher education and its impact on purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) investment. Here are the highlights.
• Bartra Capital is to spend €130 million constructing the four co-living sites it has planned for Dublin.
• Global Student Accommodation (GSA) and Harrison Street have bought two purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets in Bristol, UK.
• The demand for fast and reliable internet connections is growing. Jon Thornhill, commercial director of ask4, explains how micro-living locations can meet residents’ needs.
• Not a peripheral concern: the spread of managed campuses
• Analysts have maintained their ‘buy’ rating on the £570m GCP Student Living real estate investment trust after the fund manager reduced its fees.
• While the commercial real estate market and the hotel industry are groaning under the pressure of the corona pandemic, the housing industry seems to be coming out of the crisis almost unscathed. [German]
• VELO kicks off a £150m PBSA investment drive
• 3 Ways to Increase Tech Adoption in Higher Education
• The economic model of higher education was already broken. Here’s why the pandemic may destroy it for good according to Time article.
• Irish universities seek talks to avoid UK-style grades debacle
• Those who fear a resurgence of coronavirus as campuses reopen can take heart from how Taiwan’s universities maintained in-person teaching throughout the pandemic

August 26

• According to World Trade Organisation report, some institutions are facing a potential drop in international student enrolment of 50 to 75 percent.
• Plans have been approved for a huge new student accommodation development in Edinburgh. The brand new build will see 140 student flats, 77 studios, and 28 affordable housing apartments as well as three new retail units.
• Plans to convert a former hotel at 57 Rutland Street in Leicester have been submitted to the city council. The proposals would see the building transformed into 425 studio flats and 10 five-bed flats to accommodate 475 students.
• Three universities in Latvia plan to start a joint school with the main objective being to use resources more effectively
• Barriers remain for students trying to reach UK campuses
• Students in Ireland urged not to rush into booking third level accommodation
• What is a break clause and can students demand one to be added into their accommodation contracts in light of Covid-19?
• New plans have been submitted to turn a former Leicester city centre hotel into a 475-bed student accommodation block.
• Work has been completed on the £15m transformation of a former Coventry office block by Urban Village Capital to provide new 94-bed student accommodation.
• Mask guidance on English campuses to ‘reflect’ school advice
• The keys to higher education’s success after COVID-19 according to UNSW Chancellor and one of Australia’s most prominent business leaders and philanthropists, David Gonski AC.
• How co-living spaces will change the way you work
• Singapore-based company secures Civic block for $20m, plans student accommodation for more than 700 in Australia
• Plans for student housing on flood-prone site to be put before Scottish Government Ministers
• Some of the new developments in the student housing sector have been pleasant surprises. Rents have mostly been paid, and off-campus leasing has been strong.

August 25

• According to the analysis of the Immobiliare.it portal, the pandemic has increased exponentially the number of rooms available for university students in Italy. In Bologna and Milan the proposals have almost quadrupled. And the high prices have dropped. [Italian]
• Germany criticised for adopting US-style visa restrictions
• The PIE launches virtual online summit
• Meet Kotadia, budding Indian entrepreneur broadened horizon of international student accommodation services
• Six emergency measures required to protect student renters according to Union of Students in Ireland (USI).
• New figures reveal year-on-year growth in demand for UK student property ahead of the 20/21 academic year, as the sector shows its resilience for investors.
• Foreign students in the UK need ‘wrap-around’ quarantine support
• The Australian Homestay Network (AHN) has been coordinating placements for international students seeking emergency accommodation
• Common, the U.S.’s largest co-living company, recently released an RFP for a “Remote Work Hub” to blend work and life from the ground up.
• Prospective international students make new plans for where to study according to BridgeU survey. 42% have decided to study in a country that differs from their original destination. The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are among the most adversely affected, experiencing drops of 71%, 58%, and 56% respectively.
• Uninest Seeks Permission To Rent Dublin Student Accommodation To Tourists
• Urban Village Capital transforms former Coventry office block into student accommodation
• BMBF is funding the digitization of international university partnerships with around 5.5 million euros through the DAAD in Germany
• The student union in Saarland is complaining about vacant residential units during the corona pandemic. The plant and Saarland University are expecting a total rent loss of around 93,000 euros. [German]
• The Dutch student housing market appears to be a bit less tense than in corona-free years, but the shortage of student rooms remains. [Dutch]

August 24

• Podcast: EdTech in the post-Covid Era
• What is Erasmus Without Paper (EWP)? And what are its top benefits for the international office staff and students?
• Coronavirus empties Italian university cities: in Bologna + 270% of vacant rooms [Italian]
• According to the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education there are 62,675 higher education candidates, the highest number in more than two decades [Portuguese]
• The number of foreign students traveling to Sweden for the autumn term next week has plummeted, but hundreds have made the move despite the pandemic.
• A new report sheds light on the availability of student accommodation across Sweden and finds that the situation is very different this year.
• 14 developments in the pipeline for up to 600 new student rooms in Middlesbrough, UK
• Candidates for the first phase of Portugal’s national competition for access to public higher education this year number 62,675, the highest number “in the last 25 years,” the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education announced on Monday.
• Student.com and The Student Housing Company have offered free accommodation to frontline medical students in the UK
• Google’s Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Exactly What the Higher Education Market Needs
• “Especially when there is uncertainty in the market, there is more interest in student housing and affordable housing because the universities are growing.” Says Kitty Wallace, an executive vice president at Colliers International Group Inc.
• International students flock to legal services as they struggle to pay the rent in Melbourne, Australia
• Allianz Real Estate, acting on behalf of several Allianz Group companies, has acquired a 21.5 percent stake in the Delancey Oxford Residential (DOOR) fund.
• Universities in Estonia say they are concerned about how to meet the government’s requirement to take joint responsibility for both the two week quarantining period for foreign students arriving in Estonia and the requirement for taking two primary COVID-19 tests within days
• Coliving: the new trend in the Polish real estate market. Currently mainly used by foreigners [Polish]
• Thousands of international students who have postponed their courses at ELT schools in the UK will have to pay for new visas before they can enter the country
• Overseas students fear losing university places in the UK
• In Amsterdam, the first international students have arrived, but will more follow? [Dutch]

August 23

• Student flats ditched as developer unveils ‘co-living’ scheme for old Exeter ambulance station in the UK
• Universities should rethink their complicity in corporate bad behaviour
• Four strong academic and research partners in Berlin have joined forces to find answers to complex, pressing questions together, across the boundaries of individual disciplines and institutions, i.e. the Berlin University Alliance.

August 22

• UK universities’ promise of face-to-face teaching is risking academics’ health
• Student uncertainty slows home rentals and the association of real estate professionals of the Region of Murcia (AMIPUR), announces “a month of delay” as a result. [Spanish]
• Dutch student unions LSVb and FNV Young & United will be protesting against the “ridiculously high rents for student rooms” in five student cities next week
• Hartlepool’s former York Hotel set to become student accommodation

August 21