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  • ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

    The University of Chicago came to life in the twilight of the 19th century, with the state of Illinois issuing its official certificate of incorporation in September 1890. A $600,000 pledge from oil magnate John D. Rockefeller helped to get the university off the ground, while local department store owner Marshall Field donated land. The vision of the university’s first president was of a “bran splinter new” institution “as solid as the ancient hills” – a modern research university with a commitment to equal opportunities and non-sectarianism.

    This vision has been at the core of Chicago’s existence, enshrined in its motto: Crescat scientia; vita excolatur (“Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched”). The university has lived up to this by being at the forefront of major academic endeavour and discovery. It has connections to more than 80 Nobel laureates, 30 National Medal winners (across humanities, arts and science) and nine Fields Medallists. It has also been awarded nearly 50 MacArthur “genius grants”.

    Current faculty who have won a Nobel prize while at Chicago include economists Robert E. Lucas (1995), James J. Heckman (2000), Roger Myerson (2007), Lars Peter Hansen (2013), Eugene Fama (2013), and physicist James Cronin (1980). Ngô Bao Châu, the first Vietnamese to win the Fields Medal (2010), is the Francis and Rose Yuen distinguished service professor in Chicago’s department of mathematics.

    Notable alumni of Chicago include authors Saul Bellow and Susan Sontag, astronomer Edwin Hubble, film critic Roger Ebert, and everyone’s favourite celluloid academic and archaeologist, Indiana Jones – who also taught at the university.

    While Chicago routinely ranks in the world’s top institutions academically, its prowess extends to the sporting arena. It was a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, the oldest, highest-level intercollegiate athletics conference in the US. Today the university sponsors 19 intercollegiate sports, which cater for more than 500 participants and 330 competitions taking place each year. They all play under the same name, “the Maroons”, which the university was nicknamed on account of its official colour.

    The university’s campus sprawls over more than 210 acres in the Hyde Park and Woodlawn neighbourhoods, which lie south of downtown Chicago. Its first buildings were modelled on the Gothic style of the University of Oxford, but by the mid-20th century, modern buildings had begun popping up to intersperse old and new. It now blends a mix of classical and contemporary architecture from the Mitchell Tower and Robie House, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s historic residence, through to the Laird Bell Law Quadrangle.

    The city of Chicago itself is the university’s “laboratory, playground, and muse”, with downtown highlights encompassing restaurants, shopping and cultural attractions. In one day you could visit the Navy Pier amusement park, the Art Institute of Chicago or shop on the Magnificent Mile.

    With satellite campuses and facilities overseas, UChicago has transcended its US geography to make itself an international institution. It invites prospective students to step inside its walls and “walk along the paths of Nobel laureates, pathbreaking researchers, and tomorrow’s leaders”.

  • ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

    The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world’s second oldest surviving university. While its exact founding date is unknown, there is evidence that teaching took place as far back as 1096.

    Located in and around Oxford’s medieval city centre, the university comprises 44 colleges and halls, and over 100 libraries, making it the largest library system in the UK.

    Students number around 22,000 in total, just over half of whom are undergraduates while over 40 per cent are international, representing 140 countries between them.

    Called the “city of dreaming spires” by Victorian poet, Matthew Arnold, Oxford has the youngest population of any city in England and Wales: nearly a quarter of its residents are university students, which gives Oxford a noticeable buzz.

    Oxford has an alumni network of over 250,000 individuals, including more than 120 Olympic medallists, 26 Nobel Prize winners, seven poets laureate, and over 30 modern world leaders (Bill Clinton, Aung San Suu Kyi, Indira Gandhi and 26 UK Prime Ministers, among them).

    The university is associated with 11 winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, five in physics and 16 in medicine. Notable Oxford thinkers and scientists include Tim Berners-Lee, Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins. The actors Hugh Grant and Rosamund Pike also went to Oxford, as did the writers Oscar Wilde, Graham Greene, Vikram Seth and Philip Pullman.

    Oxford’s first international student, named Emo of Friesland, was enrolled in 1190, while the modern day university prides itself on having an ‘international character’ with connections to almost every country in the world and 40% of its faculty drawn from overseas.

    As a modern, research-driven university, Oxford has numerous strengths but cites particular prowess in the sciences, having recently ranked number one in the world for medicine (if its medical sciences division was a university in its own right, it would be the fourth largest in the UK) and among the top ten universities globally for life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, and the arts and humanities.

  • The 10 best freelance jobs in demand now (2022)

    1. Web designer or web developer
    Every business needs a website, and good web designers are in high demand. Web designers work with companies and individuals to plan out, design, and code websites for all kinds of industry niches.

    If you have some experience with WordPress or Joomla, there is plenty of work to be found on freelance platforms like Fiverr or UpWork. But if you have advanced skills, you should check out Toptal. To get listed on Toptal, you’ll have to undergo a fairly stringent screening process, but the pay is much higher, and the clients tend to be high-profile.

    If you’re just starting out and don’t have much experience, check out Udemy’s online web design courses. There are classes for pretty much every skill level and interest, so it’s an excellent place to get your feet wet or upgrade your freelance skills.

    2. Graphic designer
    Graphic design is a solid marketable skill. It applies to many different business applications, including marketing, advertising, reports, catalogs, brochures, newsletters, business cards, websites, product packaging, outdoor signage, trade show booths—and the list goes on. You’ll need to be proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop and Illustrator) and understand basic concepts like pre-press techniques.

    Many graphic designers hold degrees or certificates, but just as many learn through practical experience. That being said, if you are Adobe Certified, that might make you more desirable to some clients. You’ll need a good portfolio for sure, but most prospective employers are less interested in your education than they are in the work you produce. A strong portfolio, a good repertoire of skills, and a specialty or two will take you far.

    3. Teacher
    There are literally thousands of online teaching jobs available—whether or not you have a teaching degree or credentials. If you do, all the better. There is a massive shortage of teachers around the world right now, so chances are you’ll have no trouble finding a position you like.

    Even if you don’t have a teaching degree, there are still plenty of options. English as a second language (ESL) teachers are in high demand, and you don’t need much experience. In many cases, the only prerequisite is a good command of the English language and a level of comfort with online technology.

    If you are a whiz at math, science, history, or any other academic subject, you might also consider online tutoring. Being an online tutor usually doesn’t require specific certifications, but you might have to go through a vetting process if you’ll be working with kids. If you want to get serious about tutoring, there are various certifications you can pursue. Check out the National Tutoring Association website for resources and opportunities.

    4. Virtual assistant
    Are you super-organized? Able to complete tasks fast? Good with all kinds of productivity software? If so, then a freelance virtual assistant (VA) job might be right for you. Most VAs are paid hourly, and earnings range from $15 to $25 an hour or more, based on the client’s needs and specific expertise required.

    Tasks can include managing email, making phone calls, data entry, bookkeeping, research, social media, content creation, making travel arrangements, or setting appointments.

    Virtual assistant gigs are a great way to break into the freelancing life. The more you can do, the more your services are worth; but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to have a ton of experience to begin.

    You need to be computer-savvy, responsive, accountable, and able to work quickly. Most people looking for VAs have specific projects they need to complete and don’t have time to do them. The more agile and capable you are, the more valuable you’ll be to them. The best VAs can jump in quickly and get a lot accomplished in a short space of time.

    5. Freelance writer
    There are endless opportunities on the web to find freelance writing jobs. If you’re good, fast, and reliable, you’ll never want for freelance work, and that’s especially true if you have expertise in areas like technology, marketing, crypto/blockchain, or sales.

    Of course, you can still make a go of it even if you don’t have specific skills. As long as you’re willing to learn and good with Google, you’ll do just fine.

    Probably the best part about choosing writing as an online freelance job is that it doesn’t require a lot of equipment to get started. You can use Microsoft Word or G-Suite to create and deliver your work, and you can pretty much do it anywhere—at home, on the road, or wherever the four winds take you.

    Technical or medical writing typically pays the highest, but you can also make a pretty good living writing blogs or website copy. If you’re looking for freelance writing inspiration, check out how Invoice2go subscriber Madeliene Nance quit her 9 to 5 and built her writing business from the ground up.

    6. Editor
    Editing is a pretty good freelance gig. If you have an excellent command of the English language, grammar, spelling, and writing style, you’ll find plenty of work proofing and copyediting articles that other people have written. Even if your ultimate goal is to get freelance writing jobs, editing is an excellent place to start.

    Of course, editing can be much more involved than just copyediting. Online publishers often need editors to coordinate things like e-books, magazines, and publications. If you have past experience or a specialized degree, look for potential clients in those niches.

    Editing work can be technical, or creative. It might also involve researching and fact-checking an article before publication.

    Editing product manuals or technical documentation can pay very well, but you’d need to have a good grasp of the terminology and a talent for turning complex ideas into concise, easily understood language.

    7. Accountant/financial consultant
    Financial expertise is always in demand. Depending on your educational and professional background, you might see jobs for anything from daily bookkeeping to tax accounting, business accounting, and even fractional CFO positions.

    Financial consulting is another potential freelance niche, especially if you’ve had some success or experience working with reputable financial companies or have a specialty, like real estate, insurance, or tax planning.

    You can pick up extra work at tax time and work on building a regular online clientele to ensure a predictable income. With several clients on the go and some seasonal surge to bank on, you’ll quickly maximize your earning potential.

    8. Social media specialist
    All companies need an online presence. But keeping up with it is time-consuming—and not all organizations have an in-house marketing team to help them do it.

    If you know your way around social media platforms, understand how to put together a compelling post, and enjoy seeing the fruits of your efforts come to life before your eyes, a freelance job in social media marketing might be right for you.

    Additional skills in this area can include ad creation, analytics tracking, and engaging directly with the brand’s audience. You might be responsible for maintaining specific key performance indicators (KPIs), like engagement level, conversions, and audience building, or you could be more focused on the content creation aspect and work as part of a team.

    If you want to land freelance social media specialist jobs, think about putting together an online portfolio with some samples—and don’t forget to list your accomplishments with the numbers to back them up.. Social media is all about the metrics, after all.

    9. App developer
    Businesses today spend a lot of money developing custom apps, both for their customers and their employees. App developers are among the highest-paid freelancers, with top earners making well into six figures.

    If you have a passion for creating apps, taking it freelance might be the smartest career move ever. Demand for iOS and Android development skills is very high, and the more skilled you become, the higher your earning potential.

    You’ll need a good portfolio, lots of creative ideas, and a CV that focuses on your skills and achievements. Measurable results speak volumes about what you’re capable of, so don’t be afraid to strut your stuff.

    Initially, you’ll probably have to take on a lot of small gigs. Even so, every single one helps you build a repertoire, and once you’ve got a few under your belt, the next one will be that much easier.

    Take a course or two to flesh out your skills gaps or sign up for a boot camp for a more intensive experience.

    10. Content creator
    Content is king, especially in our media-obsessed world. Digital content comes in many forms: blogs, white papers, brochures, newsletters, magazines, videos, infographics, social media posts, email campaigns—and the list goes on. But not every company has the time or the staff to create all the content they need.

    As a freelance content creator, you’ll work with brands to craft various types of content around products, services, or people that they can then use online. Not all content is about selling. Sometimes it’s about demonstrating a product or discussing a topic of interest, like food, travel, or video games.

    Content creators must be skilled at photography, videography, editing, creating scripts, and producing a polished finished product. Companies looking to hire freelance content creators are seeking creative talent that can illuminate their brand and its message.

    You’ll need to be able to work independently as well as be part of a team, and it certainly helps to have experience with platforms like YouTube, live streaming, and professional editing software like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro.

  • Academic Partnerships Competitors

    Academic Partnerships competitors include McGraw Hill, Pearson, Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University and Anthology. Academic Partnerships ranks 1st in CEO Score on Comparably vs its competitors. See below how Academic Partnerships compares to its competitors with CEO Rankings, Product & Services, NPS, Pricing, Customer Services, Overall Culture Score, eNPS, Gender and Diversity Scores.

    Academic Partnerships’ CEO Score Ranks 1st

    180 Employees at Academic Partnerships rate Fernando Bleichmar a 86 out of 100, which ranks them 1st out of Academic Partnerships’ competitors. Last rating was a month ago.

    1st Fernando Bleichmar Academic Partnerships 86 out of 100 Are You an Employee at Academic Partnerships? Anonymously Rate Your CEO 2nd Simon Allen McGraw Hill 83 out of 100 82 Employees at McGraw Hill rate Simon Allen a 83 out of 100, which ranks them 2nd out of Academic Partnerships’ competitors. Last rating was 14 days ago. 3rd Andy Bird Pearson 73 out of 100 121

    Employees at Pearson rate Andy Bird a 73 out of 100, which ranks them 3rd out of Academic Partnerships’ competitors. Last rating was today. 4th Arizona State University 63 out of 100 30 Employees at Arizona State University rate a 63 out of 100, which ranks them 4th out of Academic Partnerships’ competitors. Last rating was 7 days ago. 5th Grand Canyon University 59 out of 100 13 Employees at Grand Canyon University rate a 59 out of 100, which ranks them 5th out of Academic Partnerships’ competitors. Last rating was months ago.

  • ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

    Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research institution. Its 800-year history makes it the fourth-oldest surviving university in the world and the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world.

    Cambridge serves more than 18,000 students from all cultures and corners of the world. Nearly 4,000 of its students are international and hail from over 120 different countries. In addition, the university’s International Summer Schools offer 150 courses to students from more than 50 countries.

    The university is split into 31 autonomous colleges where students receive small group teaching sessions known as college supervisions.

    Six schools are spread across the university’s colleges, housing roughly 150 faculties and other institutions. The six schools are: Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology.

    The campus is located in the centre of the city of Cambridge, with its numerous listed buildings and many of the older colleges situated on or near the river Cam.

    The university is home to over 100 libraries, which, between them, hold more than 15 million books in total. In the main Cambridge University library alone, which is a legal depository, there are eight million holdings. The university also owns nine arts, scientific and cultural museums that are open to the public throughout the year, as well as a botanical garden.

    Cambridge University Press is a non-school institution and operates as the university’s publishing business. With over 50 offices worldwide, its publishing list is made up of 45,000 titles spanning academic research, professional development, research journals, education and bible publishing.

    In total, 92 affiliates of the university have been awarded Nobel Prizes, covering every category.

    The university’s endowment is valued at nearly £6 billion.

  • Top 5 Twilio Use Cases 2022

    Integrated communication features are vital for a web or mobile application. Software development companies have to deal with all the complications resulting from programming language incompatibilities, diversity of protocols on top of all the specialized servers, and software needed to integrate these features into their applications. At the same time, it should be as simple as using a cell phone or a home internet connection for the end-users of the applications.

    Twilio came into the market a few years back and offloaded this burden from the developers. With simplest text messages to complex communications, Twilio enables businesses to keep an impactful engagement with users worldwide.

    This article will introduce you to Twilio and go through five different ways developers can use Twilio to make your lives easier.

    What is Twilio?
    Twilio is a customer engagement functionality provider used by developers worldwide to build unique communication features and capabilities like voice, text, chat, video, and email into their applications.

    Twilio helps the developers to achieve this task by converting the real-world events into virtual signals that software can handle and provides APIs and SDKs to access these events. Developers can use the same languages and protocols they already use in their applications and respond to the events in other channels (voice, text, etc.) using the Twilio Markup Language (TwiML).

    Now you must be wondering what exactly Twilio does to connect the world of telephony to our applications and why developers should use Twilio.

    Let’s find out in the next section.

    5 Ways How Developers Can Use Twilio
    As communicating with the telephony network requires the ability to target the communication to a particular device, Twilio has a phone number inventory which has phone numbers that provide a virtual presence on the physical telephony network. Developers can search Twilio’s phone number inventory, select a number that fits their use cases (by region, country, the alpha-numeric meaning behind the number) and configure this to quickly and cheaply integrate communication features into their applications.

    There are five different ways developers can use this Twilio phone number and other Twilio products.

    1. Twilio MessagingX

    Twilio MessagingX

    Source: Twilio MessagingX

    Twilio MessagingX enables applications to easily communicate with end-users over their preferred channel by providing APIs such as Programmable messaging API, Conversations API, and Verify API to send and receive SMS, MMS, OTT messages (WhatsApp and Messenger) at scale.

    Here are some of the use cases of Twilio MessagingX.

    Send notifications, mass alerts, and business messages: With the help of the Programmable messaging API, which is a REST API, the developers can send and receive SMS and MMS messages, track the delivery of sent messages, schedule SMS messages to send at a later time, and retrieve and modify message history. On top of that, with the help of Twilio short-codes ( 5 or 6-digit mobile numbers), developers can send time-sensitive alerts and send messages in bulk.
    Build conversations that can span multiple channels: Using the Conversations API, developers can integrate functionality to start a conversation with SMS and seamlessly continue it over another channel such as Chat or WhatsApp. The API can also create conversations with multiple parties and set up webhooks to monitor and intercept the conversations.
    Validate Users: With the help of the Verify API, developers can integrate user validation via TOTP, Push, SMS, voice, or email.
    2. Programmable Voice

  • The Best Project Management Software

    Projects are getting more complex by the day. Why? Because geographically dispersed teams and remote work have become more and more common. If we add that to the already complex nature of our profession, it’s imperative that we pick the right project management software to help us smoothen our team interactions and collaboration.

    If you want to upgrade your existing tool, don’t know where to start researching or are overwhelmed by how many tools you’re currently using and want a solution that can centralize everything (or almost everything), you are in the right place. The in-depth reviews below highlight some of the best project management tools and their features. These tools offer a wealth of benefits, from tracking project progress in real-time and enabling team conversations around tasks to accessing project information from a mobile app.

    Which one you settle on will come down to your workflow functionality and what set of features you need to make your projects run smoothly. Sometimes tools are so similar that it comes down to free plans, pricing scalability, or user interface to help you choose between them—I’ve added all of these details to support your decision-making.

    How We Picked The Best Project Management Software
    I evaluated and compared the most popular project management tools on the market, both for their reviews and user interface. Then I weighed factors that make a software a good option for project management, such as the ones that follow.

    Usability: How intuitive the software is, as well as the available resources to learn the tool. Whether that is a wiki, help center, training videos within the platform or interactive tours when you start using the software.

    Standout features: Here, I focused on the available features and if they are helpful in managing projects. It was more about the quality of the features than quantity. Therefore, I focused on the ones that bring our teams closer for collaboration, provide valuable insights or help us automate our work.

    Integrations: I looked at software that could help expand the platform’s functionality. These integrations can be pre-built, through a third party software, or custom-built using an API.

  • Compare The Best Virtual Private Servers (VPS Hosting)

    Want to jump straight to the answer? The best VPS host for most people is Hostinger or Kamatera.

    Shared hosting is cost-effective for beginner or low-traffic websites. But when your traffic grows, it’s time to start looking for virtual private server (VPS) hosting.

    With VPS hosting you won’t be sharing hosting resources with anyone and you can set up the server the way you want. After researching dozens of providers, I’ve narrowed down the top VPS hosting plans.

    The Top 9 Best VPS Hosting Providers
    Hostinger — Best value VPS hosting
    Kamatera — Best VPS hosting for instant scaling
    InMotion – Most reliable uptime
    Bluehost – Easiest upgrade from shared hosting
    Liquid Web – Best VPS hosting with high memory and storage
    Scala Hosting – Best for customizing VPS resources
    HostGator – Best VPS for hands-on customer support
    A2 Hosting – Best unmanaged plans for developers
    iPage – Best VPS hosting for when you’re starting from scratch

  • Study MBA abroad

    Masters of Business Administration or an MBA degree is a postgraduate level program that will open up global opportunities in your career. Being one of the most pursued courses in the world, an extensive MBA curriculum will give you a strong foundation in business fundamentals viz marketing, accounting, finance, managerial skills, strategy, business ethics, and human resources.

    Why pursue an MBA from abroad?
    Attractive job package: The average salary offered to an MBA graduate from a recognised B-school of abroad university is significantly higher than that of an MBA graduate of an Indian B-school

    Bright career prospects: An international MBA degree can land you in a CXO position or top entrepreneurial roles

    Networking opportunities: If you are studying MBA abroad then you‘ll be exposed to various opportunities to network with students from diverse backgrounds, teaching professionals, potential employers and others who hold an extensive experience in their respective field. Such a dynamic network will help you to unlock promising opportunities in future.

    Gain practical knowledge: Pursuing MBA from abroad will teach you how to deal with new-age business problems and gain an edge on advanced business management techniques

    Choosing the right university and country is the first and the most important as it will decide the course of action in your career path. Keep these few pointers in mind – check the university’s ranking and international accreditations, teaching faculty, course structure, infrastructure and amenities, approximate cost of study, availability of scholarships and opportunities post study.

  • Study abroad – your adventure starts 2022

    Travel to new countries. Experience different cultures. Make friends from all over the world. Studying abroad really is the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s your chance to start your journey.

    You’ll also get to continue your education abroad at some of the world’s best universities.

    Why study abroad?

    There are so many great reasons to study abroad:

    • discover amazing places
    • gain new cultural experiences and perspectives
    • improve your foreign language skills
    • develop personally and professionally
    • improve your career prospects
    • make lifelong friends
    • it’s fun!

    Helping you study abroad

    Want to become a student abroad? From visas to study options, entry requirements and more, our experienced team is here to answer all your study abroad questions.