Blank:a—a unique resource sharing university best practices globally—now online!

(Dec 10, 2019) An online version of the print magazine Blank:a has been launched by Cactus Communications with the aim of disseminating university best practices globally With the increasing globalization of academia, researchers and universities are now more connected than ever, and the issues faced by universities around the world are becoming very similar. Most universities are plagued with the same challenges such as improving reputation and visibility globally, attracting international students, improving world rankings, showcasing their research prowess, increasing diversity, and improving researcher wellbeing and impact. Yet, the opportunities for cross-learning and information sharing in the higher education community—globally and even within the same country—are limited.

To support universities in tackling this situation, Cactus Communications (CACTUS), a leading global scientific communications company, has launched Blank:a Online, an online version of a magazine that aims to share best practices around university management and administration globally. Blank:a Online is available in four languages—English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. This multilingual accessibility facilitates cross-regional learning in the higher education community. On the motivation behind the launch of the online version, Abhishek Goel, Co-founder and CEO of CACTUS, said, “While collaborating with universities around the world, we noticed that universities across regions had similar challenges and could benefit from learning about how their peer organizations have dealt with these challenges. As we were in the best position to hear and collate stories and share them on our platform, we started an experiment in 2017 which was received with much enthusiasm among universities and institutions. Deep down, we believe that shared learning among institutions to understand common trends and best practices and struggles regionally and worldwide can bring about rapid improvements in the academic, administrative, and PR output of universities.”

Blank:a was first launched as a print magazine in 2017, with the aim of sharing the innovative management approaches and administrative practices adopted by some universities in Japan. The scope of the magazine soon expanded to cover improvements in the quality of research and education offered by universities, which could potentially lead to the internationalization of the organization. The Blank:a editorial team realized that the cross-regional story sharing is essential even outside Japan, and made the print magazine available in English, Korean, and Chinese.

Blank:a is more than just a platform for sharing success stories. Blank:a can help universities understand the best management practices of other universities across geographies and cultures and learn about the real-world problems that university administrators face. Universities have the opportunity to be featured on the print and online versions of the magazine and gain visibility worldwide. Blank:a can also help journals and publishers understand the challenges and opportunities of their clients, subscribers, and end users, a major chunk of which is made up of universities and research institutes from around the world.

To know more about Blank:a or to subscribe, visit: blankaonline.com