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The Holistic Model of Higher Education Success (HMoHES) The Intersection of Networking, Leadership, and Education

Abstract

Higher education faces mounting pressure to prepare graduates who possess not only academic competence but also the leadership, networking, and communication skills needed for successful workforce integration. This paper introduces the Holistic Model of Higher Education Success (HMoHES), a theoretical framework that reimagines the Community of Inquiry (CoI) Framework for the contemporary higher education and workforce landscape. HMoHES reframes CoI’s cognitive, social, and teaching presences as Leadership, Networking, and Education. The intersections among these elements yield Communication, Commitment, and Connection, which together cultivate Holistic Development. Applicable across disciplines, the model offers faculty and administrators a practical framework for intentionally embedding leadership opportunities, networking experiences, and educational engagement throughout curricula. The paper outlines applied strategies for implementation, including peer mentoring, faculty-student relationship building, and structured face-to-face experiences, and discusses anticipated outcomes such as improved student and faculty retention, enhanced career readiness, expanded social capital, and a stronger sense of belonging. As a theoretical starting point, HMoHES calls for future empirical research examining its effects on skill development, networking, retention, and long-term career readiness, positioning holistic student development as a multidimensional, inter connected process essential to preparing graduates for meaningful personal and professional impact.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Connection, Communication, Relationships, Student Success

Parkinson’s may be driven by ‘vicious cycle’ that disrupts brain waste drainage

“It is a vicious cycle,” says Justin Rustenhoven at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. This may also help explain why Parkinson’s disease is a progressive condition that worsens over time, he says.

Parkinson’s disease, which affects more than 10 million people worldwide, is characterised by a loss of neurons in brain regions that control movement. This causes symptoms such as tremor and muscle stiffness. The condition is thought to be caused by alpha-synuclein, which occurs naturally in the brain, misfolding and forming clumps that damage neurons.

In phase 2 trial, novel therapy significantly reduced triglyceride levels

A phase 2b clinical trial led by Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute researchers shows that a monoclonal antibody therapy called MAR001 can significantly reduce triglyceride levels within 12 weeks for patients with high triglyceride levels. Their results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine and were presented simultaneously at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting.

“Despite advances in lipid-lowering therapy, many patients continue to have elevated triglyceride levels and cardiovascular risk,” says lead author Michelle O’Donoghue, a cardiologist with the Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute and senior investigator in the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study Group. “Our findings suggest that MAR001 may be able to safely and effectively lower triglycerides.”

Several classes of drugs have been previously shown to lower triglycerides, but MAR001 is novel because it targets ANGPTL4, a protein that naturally inhibits lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme that breaks down triglycerides.

MIT engineered donor immune cells that nearly wiped out lymphoma in mice within three weeks, without being rejected

CAR-NK cells (chimeric antigen receptor natural killer cells) are an increasingly promising strategy in cancer treatment. They belong to a rapidly developing field of personalized immunotherapy.

Optical experiment demonstrates the strong Mpemba effect in a single qubit

Typically, after a physical system is disturbed, it can gradually return toward a state of thermal equilibrium by exchanging heat with its surroundings. Thermal equilibrium is a state in which there is no net transfer of heat between the system and its surroundings.

One may assume that the further a disturbed system is from equilibrium, the longer it will take for it to settle. Under some conditions, however, the opposite occurs, and systems that start farther from equilibrium approach it faster than those that start closer. This counterintuitive phenomenon is known as the Mpemba effect.

In some cases, the Mpemba effect occurs because different components of a system’s initial disturbance fade at different rates, and if a system’s starting state does not contain the slowest-decaying components, it can approach equilibrium faster. This is the main idea behind the so-called strong Mpemba effect.

NASA Announces $1 Million to Students for Moon Base Challenge

On Sunday, NASA announced the opening of its $1 million Moon Base Student Challenge during a MAX POWER event at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. As part of a Golden Age of Science, the competition invites student teams at U.S. high schools and post-secondary schools to contribute designs for the Moon Base.

“We’re looking for students ready to think creatively, work as a team, and take on real problems connected to NASA’s future on the Moon,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “You do not have to wait until graduation to contribute. Curiosity, creativity, and the willingness to tackle hard problems without obvious answers are exactly the qualities we need as we build what comes next.”

NASA is building a Moon Base where astronauts will live, work, and explore at the lunar South Pole region. A permanent human presence on the Moon paves the way for future crewed missions to Mars and requires talent from various industries and backgrounds.

New mRNA therapy reawakens heart muscle cells to repair damage

Scientists have developed a treatment that ‘reawakens’ heart muscle cells so they start to divide and help repair damaged muscle.

In a study in mice, this produced a stronger heartbeat and increased the amount of blood pumped through the heart with each heartbeat by around 10%, compared with mice that received a mock treatment, following a heart attack.

While this is not a full cure, even small improvements to heart function have been linked to lower mortality in patients and a better ability to carry out daily activities.