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America tried to slow China’s chips, but Huawei says the pressure forced a tech stack that now competes with America

World

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June 11, 2026

America tried to slow China’s chips, but Huawei says the pressure forced a tech stack that now competes with America

By Sonia Ramirez

The fight over AI chips is no longer just a business story or a defense story. Huawei’s rotating chairman Xu Zhijun has now said out loud what many in Washington worried might happen, that U.S. export pressure pushed China’s semiconductor industry to grow faster and build more of its own technology stack.

That matters far beyond boardrooms and government briefings. AI chips sit inside data centers, and data centers sit on real land, draw real power, and use real water. The International Energy Agency projects global data center electricity use will roughly double to about 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, with the United States and China accounting for nearly 80% of that growth.

Huawei’s unexpected thank you
Xu’s message was striking because it turned a punishment into a talking point. According to reports based on his recent interview, the Huawei executive said the company was “grateful” for U.S. pressure because it forced China’s chip industry to grow its own supply chain.

“If the United States hadn’t forced our country, our companies, and our industry, we wouldn’t have done something like this,” Xu said, referring to Huawei’s new chip ideas. “But we are also grateful to the U.S. for enabling our country’s semiconductor industry chain to truly grow.”

That is not a small claim. Huawei was added to the U.S. Entity List in 2019, when the Commerce Department said the company and dozens of affiliates posed national security or foreign policy concerns.

From sanctions to self-reliance
The bigger shift came in 2022, when U.S. rules targeted advanced computing chips, supercomputer uses, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment tied to China. Washington said the controls were aimed at national security risks, including military modernization and advanced AI systems.

In practical terms, that made it harder for Chinese companies to buy the most advanced Nvidia and AMD AI hardware. Later restrictions hit China-focused chips too. Nvidia disclosed a possible $5.5 billion charge tied to H20 products, while AMD said export controls on MI308 products could lead to about $800 million in charges.

But pressure cuts both ways. When imported chips are harder to get, local alternatives become more attractive, even when they are not as powerful or efficient. That is where the story moves from geopolitics to the grid.

The energy catch
AI is often described as software, but it runs on a physical machine. Servers heat up. Cooling systems kick in. Power plants and grids carry the load.

United Nations researchers said data centers consumed 448 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, with AI accounting for about one-fifth of that total.

They also estimated data centers used about 1.2 trillion gallons of water and generated about 208 million U.S. tons of carbon dioxide emissions. By 2030, annual power use is projected to reach 945 terawatt-hours, while water consumption could approach 2.5 trillion gallons.

So, what happens if China builds a larger domestic AI chip industry? The answer is not automatically cleaner or dirtier. More domestic chips could make AI cheaper and easier to deploy, but if those chips use more electricity for the same job, the environmental bill may rise quickly.

LogicFolding enters the picture
Huawei’s answer is not simply to copy the old playbook. In May, the company presented its Tau Scaling Law at the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, describing it as a path beyond traditional transistor shrinking.

The company says technologies such as LogicFolding can reduce signal delay and improve transistor density. Huawei also says the method is meant to improve performance and energy efficiency across devices, circuits, chips, and full systems.

Its first Kirin chips using LogicFolding are scheduled for fall 2026, while high-end chips based on the approach are expected to reach density equivalent to a 1.4 nanometer process, about 55 billionths of an inch, by 2031.

That sounds promising. Still, outside observers are cautious. Reuters noted that Huawei hopes the approach can reduce the time and energy spent moving data between and within chips, but it remains unclear how challenges such as heat will be solved at scale.

Nvidia’s warning
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has long argued that cutting China off from U.S. chips could backfire. His view, in plain English, is that if Chinese companies cannot buy American hardware, they will have a stronger reason to build their own.

Recent market data suggests the picture is messy. Huang has warned that Nvidia’s China position was being wiped out, but IDC data reviewed by Reuters showed Nvidia still shipped 2.2 million AI accelerators to China in 2025, equal to a 55% market share. That is far from the near-monopoly it once had, but it is not zero either.

Washington has also changed course more than once. In January 2026, the Bureau of Industry and Security said it would review licenses for Nvidia H200, AMD MI325X, and similar chips on a case-by-case basis for China, provided security conditions were met.

A greener chip race?
Here is the tricky part. A chip race can push efficiency forward, but it can also push everyone to build more, faster. That is great for AI capacity, but not always great for local power grids, water systems, or carbon targets.

For the most part, the environmental outcome will depend on two things. First, whether new Chinese chips can deliver useful performance without wasting too much power. Second, whether data centers running those chips use cleaner electricity and smarter cooling systems.

At the end of the day, export controls may have done more than reshape the semiconductor market. They may have helped create a second AI hardware ecosystem, one that will now compete with the U.S. not only on speed and price, but also on energy use.

The official statement was published on Huawei.

Nobody needs AI to search the Internet, court says in ruling against Google

Tech

My Engineers

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June 11, 2026

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Nobody needs AI to search the Internet, court says in ruling against Google

Potentially impacting all AI search engines and chatbots known to poorly paraphrase source links, a German court has ruled that Google is liable for false statements in AI Overviews.

The preliminary ruling came in a case flagged by The Decoder, where two publishers found that Google’s AI Overviews incorrectly linked them to scams and other sketchy business practices. After smearing publishers by making affirmative statements like “Yes, [it] is known for dubious business practices and is often perceived as a scam,” Google failed to correct the misleading output, even after the publishers sent a cease-and-desist letter earlier this year.

Google tried the usual arguments to shield itself from liability for false statements in AI Overviews, such as arguing that most users understand that AI outputs aren’t always accurate and must be verified.

But the court found that, unlike traditional search engines that merely present lists of links to third-party statements, Google’s tool made “independent, new, and substantive statements” based on its own misinterpretation of links on the Internet.

That’s a problem, the court said, because while publishers may have been able to sue to stop third parties from publishing defamatory statements appearing in Google search results, only Google can correct the underlying algorithm and outputs displayed in AI Overviews. And because, at least initially, the company did not, it therefore “must be held accountable,” the court ruled. Beyond that, Google’s argument was deemed particularly weak, since the AI overview in this case “contains statements that do not appear in the search results at all.”

The court’s order—requiring a temporary injunction barring Google from spreading the false claims in any further AI Overviews—may have global implications, as the court seems to be the first to hold an AI firm liable for AI speech.

In the past, AI firms have hoped that disclaimers warning about misinformation would protect them from lawsuits over untrustworthy outputs. Last year, one chatbot maker even argued that AI speech is its own category of “pure speech” and the First Amendment should protect it.

According to a Google translation of the German court ruling, however, the false outputs were “primarily an expression of the defendant’s commercial activity,” and the AI tool’s “opinions” and false statements were capable of impacting public opinion.

The court concluded that, in weighing the balance, publishers’ interest in removing the false information outweighed Google’s commercial speech rights.

AI is not necessary to search the web
Historically, any potentially harmful content surfaced by search engines has been protected from direct liability because that surfacing was considered largely unavoidable when helping users sort through an enormous tangle of information online. But the German court emphasized that AI search engines do not enjoy those same protections because AI summaries merely provide “an additional function—one without which the use of the search engine would still be (and is) possible, and without which users are perfectly capable of finding results amidst the ‘flood of data.’”

In other words, nobody needs AI to search the Internet, so AI firms can’t just let their tools attribute false claims to fake sources without assuming any liability.

The court also seemed to take a dig at Google for expecting users not to “blindly trust” AI overviews, noting that the AI tool’s utility “would be significantly diminished if the ‘AI overview’ were generally regarded as unreliable and if every single displayed link required independent verification.”

It seems clear that’s not how people approach AI search tools. The Decoder noted a Pew survey last July showing most people don’t click on AI Overview source links, as well as a May analysis published by The New York Times that showed that AI Overviews with the current Gemini 3 model are inaccurate about 9 percent of the time and include inaccurate source links about 56 percent of the time.

Together, these findings suggest that Google’s AI tool may be cranking out millions of wrong answers daily, with few users verifying the information. Should other courts agree that tech firms are liable for any defamatory outputs emerging from this experimental period of AI search chaos, the biggest AI leaders could find themselves soon buried in lawsuits.

It remains unclear if Google expects to appeal or perhaps start addressing requests to fix false statements in AI Overviews more quickly following the ruling.

Google will likely fight the preliminary ruling. Asked for comment, a Google spokesperson told Ars that “we invest deeply in the quality of AI Overviews to ensure that the overwhelming majority of responses provide accurate information, and they are designed to reflect the information that exists on the web. We’re carefully reviewing this decision, which is not yet final.”

This story was written by Ashley Belanger, a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica

‘Feedstock issues cut Dangote petrol production capacity’

Energy

My Engineers

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June 11, 2026

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‘Feedstock issues cut Dangote petrol production capacity’

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reduced operations at its gasoline-producing unit by about 34 per cent since May 21 due to a combination of feedstock constraints and technical issues, according to a Reuters report citing industry monitor IIR Energy.

The development comes amid heightened concerns over global fuel supply disruptions and rising crude oil prices triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, raising questions about potential implications for Nigeria’s domestic petrol market.

According to Reuters on Wednesday, IIR Energy disclosed that the refinery’s Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit, a key component in gasoline production, had been operating below its maximum capacity for weeks but was expected to return to full production by the middle of June.

The Dangote refinery did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the matter.

The report read, “The Dangote petrochemical refinery reduced maximum operating capacity of its gasoline-making unit by 34 per cent since May 21 and expects the unit to resume full rates in mid-June, industry monitor IIR Energy said.”

Providing details on the operational challenges, IIR Energy said the refinery initially encountered difficulties linked to the type of crude being processed. “Initially, lighter crude being processed resulted in insufficient feed availability for the RFCCU,” IIR Energy said in an email cited by Reuters.

The energy consultancy, however, noted that another technical issue later emerged within the facility. “By the end of May, IIR Energy confirmed that the RFCCU was also facing an issue with its flue gas slide gate valve. Repair work on that issue is almost complete,” the report stated.

However, the reduced output from the gasoline unit has not impacted fuel availability or pricing in the domestic market, particularly at a time when international energy markets are facing renewed volatility.

The Dangote refinery, with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, commenced full operations earlier this year after a phased start-up process. The facility was built with the objective of ending Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on imported refined petroleum products and positioning the country as a major exporter of fuels.

For decades, Nigeria relied heavily on imports to meet domestic petrol demand despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer, largely due to the poor state of its state-owned refineries.

Data from commodities analytics firm Kpler, also cited by Reuters, showed that gasoline exports from the Dangote refinery have fallen significantly in recent months.

According to the report, gasoline exports dropped to 17,000 barrels per day in May and have averaged about 10,000 barrels per day so far in June. This represents a sharp decline from export levels recorded earlier in the year. Kpler data showed that gasoline exports reached a high of 81,000 barrels per day in April.

The decline in export volumes comes at a time when the refinery has increasingly become a major supplier of petroleum products to both domestic and regional markets.

Since commencing operations, the refinery has exported jet fuel, diesel and petrol to several countries, contributing to Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a refining hub for West Africa and beyond.

We desperately need skilled workers. So why is vocational education treated as the ‘back‑up plan’ for school leavers?

Careers

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June 11, 2026

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We desperately need skilled workers. So why is vocational education treated as the ‘back‑up plan’ for school leavers?
Published

At the end of each school year, we see the same ritual play out. Year 12 results are released and newspapers publish league tables, ranking schools by their exam results.

What you almost never see on the front page is a student who finished a vocational program and walked straight into skilled work.

This doesn’t make sense. There is constant commentary from governments and employers that the country needs more skilled workers in construction, nursing, aged care, early childhood, teaching and trades.

Yet we still treat the pathways that produce these workers as the option you take when the “real” one doesn’t work out.

Why is this? And how can we fix it?

What is a vocational pathway?
A vocational pathway means developing workplace-specific skills and qualifications for a particular occupation or industry. Students can begin vocational learning while still at school, including as part of a senior secondary certificate or through a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship. After school, they might continue through TAFE, another registered training provider, an apprenticeship, a traineeship or a private registered college.

This is different from a “higher education”, where the focus is on giving you thinking tools to perform in a role (although unis can also focus on practical skills).

You might do vocational training to be a hairdresser, chef, electrician or dental hygienist, for example.

Vocational pathways can start before students leave school. In 2024, more than 266,000 Australian school students undertook vocational training as part of their senior secondary certificate. This was about 26% of Year 12 completers.

You can also start your vocational training – with no prior experience – after school.

A paradox decades in the making
For at least 40 years, governments of every stripe have warned about skills shortages. As of 2025, 29% of occupations are in shortage. This involves almost 50% of trade roles and about 40% of professional occupations. But when it comes to life after Year 12, the focus keeps flowing toward universities and the ATAR.

Students can absorb the message early. From the first years of high school, the academic route is presented as the aspiration and vocational study as the fallback.

This is despite the strong opportunities many vocational pathways can provide. In 2024, 95.4% of trade apprentices were employed after completing their apprenticeship or traineeship. Some trade occupations also pay above the all-occupation median. For example, electricians have median full-time earnings of about A$2,191 a week, well above median weekly full-time earnings of about $1,852.

A current Victorian parliamentary inquiry has heard evidence from students of the “stigma” around taking a vocational pathway in the senior years of school, noting it’s not seen as the “smart way”.

A 2024 federal parliamentary inquiry similarly found many students still see vocational pathways as a “last resort” for those who do not get the marks for university.

It also heard many schools are institutionally structured to channel students toward university. This can include limited provision of vocational options, inadequate information about non-university career pathways, and a lack of trained career counsellors and educators with industry knowledge.

It also noted how high ATAR scores are used to rank schools, while schools are “rarely if ever” ranked by the number of students who succeed through VET pathways.

Vocational learning seen as ‘residual’ by school leaders
This doesn’t mean students lack interest in vocational learning. It means they are often making choices in a system where university entrance, ATAR results and academic achievement remain the most visible signs of “school success”. Meanwhile, vocational achievement is less publicly recognised.

In our research on vocational and applied learning (which includes workplace learning, projects and community activities), we found school systems often make vocational learning less visible and less secure.

In a project with school leaders across 23 Victorian high schools, applied learning was repeatedly described as “additional”, “extra” or “residual” work. Leaders pointed to timetabling pressures, staffing instability and school systems that still privilege academic performance.

When vocational learning is treated as peripheral inside schools, students are more likely to view their pathway is also peripheral.

Teachers in applied and vocational settings do some of the most demanding work in schools. They connect classroom learning to what’s happening in industry, build partnerships with employers, and teach some of the most diverse groups of students.

That work takes real expertise. Yet our research also found it is routinely treated as a “lesser” role in the profession. This judgement shows up in concrete ways in timetabling, funding, and in who gets resourced and recognised.

Why marketing won’t fix it
Three structural changes can help this situation.

1. Change how we measure and report success. If a school’s public worth is summarised by its top ATARs, everything else is invisible. Recognising and reporting achievement in vocational pathways would begin to shift what counts.

2. Stop treating vocational and academic pathways as separate worlds. Schooling, vocational education and higher education are still too often governed, funded, and discussed through different systems. This reinforces the idea that they are different kinds of learning – with different levels of importance – rather than connected parts of a broader education and training system.

3. Build more useful evidence. Government-funded bodies such as the Australian Education Research Organisation give schools research-based advice. Applied and vocational pathways need the same attention, so schools are not left to build programs on goodwill alone. They need clearer evidence about what works, how to implement it, and how to recognise successful outcomes beyond ATAR results.

Signs of change
It isn’t all bleak. For example, in Victoria, students can now do a vocational major as part of the Victorian Certificate of Education. This means there is a clear place within the schooling system and recognition of distinct contributions they make to schools.

Educators and young people already know the value of this learning, they live it. The shift still to come is among policymakers, the media and the public.

The next time the ATAR league tables appear, it is worth asking who they leave out, and what we would have to change to put them back in.

Authurs: Kellie McGlynn, Senior Lecturer in Education, Deakin University and Shaun Rawolle, Senior Lecturer in Education, Deakin University

Republished from the conversation under teh creative common licence.

Here’s How Much the World’s Most Valuable Company Pays Staff, Including Software Engineers and Researchers

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June 11, 2026

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Here’s How Much the World’s Most Valuable Company Pays Staff, Including Software Engineers and Researchers
Federal filings show that the company is spending aggressively to attract and retain top talent.

By Sherin Shibu

Nvidia has become one of the most sought-after employers in the technology industry — and its paychecks reflect that status. Recent federal filings obtained by Business Insider show that the AI chipmaker is spending heavily on talent, even as other tech giants scale back on hiring foreign workers.

While many companies have reduced H-1B visa sponsorships for specialized foreign talent amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, Nvidia has done the opposite.

The world’s most valuable company obtained certification for 1,200 H-1B roles during the first two quarters of the fiscal year 2026, up from around 1,000 certifications over the same period the previous year, per BI. By comparison, Google fell from 5,100 approved H-1B hires to about 2,200 over the same stretch, and Amazon dropped from around 6,100 approvals to 4,300.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was born in Taiwan, has publicly said that immigrants are crucial to the company’s mission. In an interview with CNBC in September, Huang said immigration is “really important to our nation’s future.”

The federal filings reflect base salary
Nvidia does not disclose all of its salary data publicly, but federal filings require salary figures when companies sponsor foreign workers, offering a rare look inside company pay structures. The figures reflect base salary only and do not include stock awards and bonuses, which can be substantial at Nvidia.

The numbers are striking across the board. Software engineers can earn up to $391,000 in base pay, while research scientists top out at $356,500. Product managers can reach $379,500, hardware engineering managers can earn up to $368,000, and directors can command as much as $488,750. The most elite engineering roles go even higher — distinguished AI algorithm engineers can take home more than $471,000 in base salary alone.

The following salary data offers a concrete benchmark for what Nvidia pays across its key roles, based on federal H-1B filings.

AI researcher salaries

Research Scientist: $104,000–$356,500

Senior Research Scientist: $134,971–$356,500
Principal Research Scientist: $272,000–$431,250

Software and infrastructure engineer salaries

Software Engineer: $108,000–$391,000
Senior Software Engineer: $139,152–$356,500
Principal Software Engineer: $264,514–$425,500
Senior Systems Software Engineer: $139,152–$356,500
Principal Systems Software Engineer: $272,000–$431,250
Distinguished AI Algorithms Engineer: $308,000–$471,500
DevOps Engineer: $144,000–$333,500
Senior Network Infrastructure Engineer: $136,000–$333,500

Chip and hardware engineer salaries

Hardware Engineer, Electronics: $96,000–$310,500
ASIC Engineer: $136,000–$368,000
Senior ASIC Engineer: $163,925–$310,500
Verification Engineer: $119,184–$310,500
System Design Engineer: $157,857–$322,000
Test Engineer: $128,000–$287,500
Architect salaries
Architect: $131,362–$356,500
Senior Architect: $148,000–$356,500
Solutions Architect: $139,235–$356,500
Principal Architect: $248,000–$425,500
Manager and director salaries
Hardware Engineering Manager: $196,000–$368,000
Product Manager: $198,702–$379,500
Program Manager: $161,034–$322,000
Senior Manager, Systems Software: $272,000–$431,250
Hardware Engineering Director: $284,000–$431,250
Software Engineering Director: $388,918–$471,500
Architecture Director: $320,000–$488,750
Developer Relations Director: $308,000–$471,500

Key Takeaways

Nvidia’s federal H-1B filings show that the AI chipmaker is willing to pay top dollar for talent.
The filings, which reflect Nvidia’s hiring of skilled foreign workers, only capture base salary, not stock awards or bonuses.
While rivals like Google and Amazon have sharply reduced H-1B visa sponsorships amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, Nvidia has increased its H-1B filings.

Nvidia has become one of the most sought-after employers in the technology industry — and its paychecks reflect that status. Recent federal filings obtained by Business Insider show that the AI chipmaker is spending heavily on talent, even as other tech giants scale back on hiring foreign workers.

While many companies have reduced H-1B visa sponsorships for specialized foreign talent amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, Nvidia has done the opposite. The world’s most valuable company obtained certification for 1,200 H-1B roles during the first two quarters of the fiscal year 2026, up from around 1,000 certifications over the same period the previous year, per BI. By comparison, Google fell from 5,100 approved H-1B hires to about 2,200 over the same stretch, and Amazon dropped from around 6,100 approvals to 4,300.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was born in Taiwan, has publicly said that immigrants are crucial to the company’s mission. In an interview with CNBC in September, Huang said immigration is “really important to our nation’s future.”

Written by Sherin Shibu, a business news reporter at Entrepreneur.com.

US, Nigeria neutralise 200 ISIS militants in joint counterterrorism operations Featured

Defence and Security

My Engineers

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June 11, 2026

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by Idris Abdulsalam

The United States has announced that about 200 militants linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) have been eliminated during coordinated military operations with Nigeria, marking a significant development in the ongoing fight against insurgency in the region.

According to officials from the U.S. Africa Command, the joint operations also led to the destruction of key militant infrastructure, including checkpoints and logistical bases used to sustain terrorist activities.

Rebecca Hayes, Director of Public Affairs for the command, stated that the success was the result of months of strategic planning and robust intelligence sharing between both countries.

The operations, which began earlier in the year at the invitation of the Nigerian government, have largely focused on the northeastern region—long considered a stronghold of extremist groups. In May, one of the group’s senior leaders in Nigeria was reportedly neutralised during targeted strikes.

Despite these gains, authorities caution that Nigeria’s security landscape remains fragile.

Continued attacks, kidnappings, and the spread of militant activity into new areas underscore the persistent threat posed by insurgents.

Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters noted that increased military pressure has forced terrorists to abandon traditional bases and expand into other regions.

The United States reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts, stating that its military presence will continue for as long as necessary. However, officials clarified that there are currently no plans to establish a permanent U.S. military base in the country.

Minister urges ENI to fast track FIDs on $20b Zabazaba, Bonga Southwest

Energy

My Engineers

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June 10, 2026

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Minister urges ENI to fast track FIDs on $20b Zabazaba, Bonga Southwest

The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has urged the management of Eni to fast track its Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) on the $20 billion Zabazaba and Bonga West projects.

He made the call during a meeting with the management in his office in Abuja on Wednesday.

“I urged ENI to fast-track the FID process so that Nigerians can begin to enjoy the economic benefits and opportunities arising from these strategic investments,” he said.

According to the minister in his X handle, the project is expected to raise Nigeria’s crude oil production by 150,000 barrels per day.

He said, “I met with the management team of ENI, who visited for a briefing on the progress of their ongoing projects, particularly the Zabazaba and Bonga Southwest developments, as they prepare for their Final Investment Decisions (FIDs).

“The projects, valued at about $20 billion, are expected to add 150,000 barrels per day to our current production capacity, significantly boosting Nigeria’s oil output.”

Lokpobiri also revealed that the meeting focused on the key milestones required to achieve the FIDs and explored opportunities for collaboration with local and international partners to advance the projects and maximize their impact on Nigeria’s economy.

The minister reaffirmed government’s commitment to putting in place all the necessary support for the successful delivering of the projects.

“While reaffirming our commitment to providing all necessary support for the successful delivery of these projects,” he said.

Summer between high school graduation and college is a critical time for preventing risky behaviors – here’s how parents can play a key role

Metro

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June 10, 2026

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Summer between high school graduation and college is a critical time for preventing risky behaviors – here’s how parents can play a key role

Early summer is a valuable time for parents and young people to prepare for the transition to college in the fall.

As first-year college students arrive on campus every fall, a predictable pattern unfolds. Rates of heavy drinking spike, social pressures intensify, and the risk of sexual assault, injury and other harms increases.

Many parents feel trepidation about their teens navigating this landscape of opportunity and risk. And unfortunately, too often, students don’t receive guidance from schools or caregivers as they make this major life transition.

Research suggests that the summer before college can be a critical window to help students prepare for the social and emotional realities they are about to face, and to reduce risks before they begin. And parents and caregivers can play a key role.

We are a sociologist and a research scientist, and each of us studies different aspects of prevention science.

When we went to college in the 1980s and early 2000s, the dominant message to families was to step back and let students figure things out on their own, and we struggled to adjust. Looking back, we wish our families had received clear guidance and resources for how to stay connected and support us during this transition.

A perfect storm
While students may legally be adults when they leave for college, key parts of the brain – particularly those involved in judgment, impulse control, emotional regulation and decision-making – are still developing well into their mid-20s. At the same time, the parts of the brain tied to reward, emotion and social belonging are especially sensitive during this stage of life.

This combination can make young people more likely to prioritize immediate rewards, peer acceptance and emotional reactions over careful assessments of risk – especially in environments with fewer guardrails and greater access to alcohol and other drugs.

Students are also navigating enormous change: separation from family, pressure to fit in, loneliness, uncertainty and the challenge of building a new identity and social network. Even positive transitions such as moving or getting a new job can create significant stress.

Many students turn to alcohol and other substances to manage stress, reduce anxiety and navigate social belonging in environments where substance use is often normalized – or even expected.

Unfortunately, substance use impairs judgment, increases impulsivity and amplifies vulnerability to a range of other high-risk behaviors and harms. And this struggle, as one of us, Beverly Kingston, experienced, can be more than a phase.

The risks are real, but they can be addressed
The spike in drinking and other risky behaviors during the transition to college is not inevitable. And parents and other adults in young peoples’ lives matter during this developmental transition to adulthood, more than many realize.

For instance, research clearly shows that parents’ attitudes and norms around drinking play a big role in how their children engage with alcohol, both as teens and in adulthood. When students believe their parents are permissive about alcohol, they are more likely to drink and binge-drink.

Even well-intended efforts to encourage “safe” drinking send the wrong message. Many parents believe letting teens drink at home in a supervised environment is safer, but decades of research in the U.S. and internationally show that this unintentionally signals to teens that drinking is acceptable and contributes to higher alcohol use later on.

Yet when parents communicate clear expectations and have honest conversations about alcohol, it can reduce risk and support healthier decision-making. Conversations about binge drinking, peer pressure, stress and decision-making can help students navigate environments where alcohol use is often normalized.

One of us, Clara Hill, works on research related to a tool for navigating these conversations, a parent handbook called “First Years Away from Home: Letting Go and Staying Connected.” In a randomized clinical trial, the most rigorous type of research study available, students whose parents used this handbook during the summer before college were significantly less likely to start or increase substance use during their first semester.

However, the focus of the handbook is not only on substance use. It also serves as a tool kit to guide parents in talking to their young adults about values, expectations and relationships.

Support, not surveillance
Many students say they want their parents involved in their lives – just not overly involved. They want emotional connection, guidance and support while also being trusted to grow into independent young adults.

To achieve this balance, parents may find it helpful to think of themselves as holding three important roles during the college years. These roles are the cheerleader, who provides emotional support; the coach, who supports autonomy by helping students clarify their values and problem-solve; and the safety monitor, who communicates clear expectations around issues of potential harm and checks in about health and risk behaviors.

Different scenarios – roommate conflicts, poor grades, mental health struggles – will call for parents to embody new parenting roles during this time, distinct from what children needed during adolescence or childhood.

Support can begin with honest conversations before students ever arrive on campus. Parents can talk with their students about stress, loneliness, belonging, alcohol and substance use, relationships, values, safety and how to respond when things do not go as planned.

Looking back, both of us entered college carrying expectations and fears we did not fully understand. When the transition became harder than expected, it fell to us to navigate loneliness, uncertainty and the pressure to fit in.

Finding the right balance
Parents, too, often feel adrift; they want to help, but may receive mixed messages from the media and from colleges about how much they should be involved in their new college student’s life.

Feeling pressure to optimize their young adult children’s success, while also being cautioned against “helicopter parenting,” can lead parents to step back more than necessary when it comes to offering guidance and support.

Today, researchers know much more about what helps young people navigate this major life transition and thrive. Students do not stop needing support when they leave home, and parents do not have to disappear in the name of independence; parents can lovingly support young adults’ growing autonomy.

When students are surrounded by connection, guidance and support, the transition to college can be healthier, safer and less overwhelming. And the time to begin building that support is before students ever arrive on campus.

By Beverly Kingston, Director and Senior Research Associate, Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, University of Colorado Boulder and Clara Hill, Research Associate in Human Development, Washington State University

Republished from the Conversation under the creative common licence.

The Man Who Initiated COREN’s Most Significant Modern Amendment and Took Nigerian Engineering to the World

My Engineers

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June 10, 2026

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The Man Who Initiated COREN’s Most Significant Modern Amendment and Took Nigerian Engineering to the World

A 68th Birthday Tribute to Engr. Kashim Abdul Ali, FNSE, mni, The Man Who Gave COREN Its Most Significant Modern Amendment — and Took Nigerian Engineering to the World

By Isqil Najim

Today, June 10, 2026, Nigeria’s engineering community marks the birthday of one of its most consequential figures, a man whose legacy is written in every places he had opportunity to serve and the global platforms onto which he carried Nigeria’s engineering flag. Engr. Kashim Abdul Ali, FNSE, mni who hails from in Ofugo, Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State, turns 68 today,

Years ago, a young man from Ankpa had set his sights to become a military fighter pilot. A false blood genotype result closed that door. What followed was a redirection. He enrolled at Kaduna Polytechnic for a Higher National Diploma, then proceeded to the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, where he earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering, from where he charted a course toward a career of uncommon distinction.

In 1982, professional practice began with the Benue State Government. Among his earliest assignments: the direct-labour construction of a 54-metre reinforced concrete bridge at Ikpa-Mbatierev on the Wannune-Igbor Road, and the design and construction of erosion control structures along the heavily eroded Anyigba-Idah Road in Kogi State. These field assignments, were to become significance in his later years as a regulator.

By 1992, he had joined the Federal Capital Development Authority as a Principal Engineer, bringing his expertise to a capital city still in formation. When he was appointed Director and Chief Executive of the FCT Water Board in 2005, he inherited a utility weighed down by debt and public frustration. Within his first year, the Water Board had moved from deficit to surplus. He repeated the performance in 2012, returning the stalled Abuja Rail Mass Transit project to its planned schedule. These were early signals of what would become his most defining quality: the capacity to transform distressed institutions.

The Amendment That Began With a personal request

It is in the story of the COREN Act amendment and his leadership of Engineering institutions that Engr. Ali’s most enduring contribution will be found and the circumstances under which it was set in motion reveal the character of the man.

At his 2008 investiture as the 26th President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, his friends had just surprised him with the gift of a brand-new Toyota Prado SUV. When Senator Engr. Chief Adefemi Kila, FNSE a distinguished legislator and longtime ally offered him any personal gift of his choice to mark the auspicious occasion, Engr. Ali declined. He made, instead a single request: that the senator sponsor an amendment to the COREN Act — a gift, he specified, not for himself, but for the entire engineering profession.

What followed was a legislative undertaking spanning years, marked by procedural setbacks, political headwinds, and the endurance that Nigeria’s lawmaking process routinely demands. By the time Engr. Ali assumed the presidency of COREN in 2013, the amendment remained unresolved. He picked it up and carried it forward with the same methodical resolve that had characterised his entire career.

The reform eventually materialised under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, a landmark moment representing one of the most significant regulatory milestones in Nigerian engineering history. The amended Act gave COREN more powers to prosecute quackery, enforce professional standards, and fulfil its mandate as a credible regulatory body. All these began with one man choosing to use a moment of personal celebration as an act of institutional service to Engineering.

Nigeria on the World Engineering Stage

As COREN President, Engr. Ali championed the development of the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS) for Nigerian engineering undergraduates, a foundational prerequisite for global alignment. His target was the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) framework, which cross-validates engineering qualifications worldwide through three instruments: the Washington Accord for Engineers, the Dublin Accord for Technologists, and the Sydney Accord for Technicians.

“Engineering standards being universal, every nation desiring a rating and recognition must subject its training and certification processes to open international scrutiny,” he told ThisDay in 2022. Under his stewardship, COREN’s curriculum standards and accreditation processes were realigned toward these global benchmarks to advance Nigeria’s standing in the international engineering order. This will eventually culminated into Nigeria being admitted into provisional signatory of Washington Accord under the Presidency of Engr Ali Rabiu, FNSE. Before then. Engr Ali’s tenure has signed MoUs that opened door for Nigerian Engineers certified by COREN to practice in over 40 countries in Asia

His expertise has been deployed at the highest levels of Nigeria’s economic planning. He served on the Vision 20:2020 Steering and Implementation Committee, chairing its sub-committee on physical infrastructure. He co-chaired the Infrastructure Policy Commission of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), contributed to the Policy Support Group of the Economic Management Team, and sat on the boards of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

His diagnosis of Nigeria’s infrastructure delivery failures has been characteristically blunt. He has argued that the Federal Ministry of Works, by functioning as both policy formulator and implementation agency, perpetuates the very inefficiencies it should be correcting. His long-standing proposal for a dedicated Federal Road Authority and Federal Roads Fund remains a credible blueprint that continues to await the political will it deserves.

Engr. Ali has been a consistent champion for the rights of engineers, utilizing his tenure at both the NSE and COREN to advocate for critical industry issues. Among them are combating corruption, poverty, and unemployment within the profession, while actively opposing the NYSC’s practice of posting engineering graduates to teach in schools. He championed the cause of contractors with unpaid federal government invoices and defended the rights of HND holders and technologists to ascend to the highest echelons of their careers. On the HND issue specifically, he authored many letters to the Head of Service, advocating for technologists to be permitted to progress to Grade Level 17

For all his national and international standing, Engr. Ali has never drifted from the community that shaped him. In 2019, when the NNPC and the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) held a Girl-Child STEM empowerment event tagged “Invent it build it”, Engr Ali was honoured by naming both the science laboratory under construction at LEA Primary School and a new scholarship programme in his honour — the Engr. Kashim Ali Engineering Scholarships for Girls. He responded by facilitating the donation of school uniforms and HP laptops for student competition winners. A man who had climbed to the summit of his profession, he came home with gifts for school children.

His community has recognised him with the traditional titles of Olimene-Ata, conferred by the Attah Igala, and Galadima Ankpa, by the Eje of Ankpa. He holds the mni post-nominal following studies at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru — a fitting convergence of engineering mastery and national governance.

What unifies every chapter of Engr. Kashim Abdul Ali’s career is a consistent conviction: that the deepest infrastructure a nation can build is the integrity of its institutions.

For his many sacrifices and leadership, he has was awarded honour both home and abroad including a National honour by the Federal Republic of Nigeria and countless awards locally. At international level, he is a recipient of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) Presidential Gold Medal. He served on the governing board of the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre (ISTIC) for South-South Cooperation under UNESCO, and holds membership of the American Water Works Association (AWWA).

Today, at 68, he adds another year to a career of uncommon purpose. he remain active within Engineering policy, infrastructures and practices. The international standards he pursued continue to define what Nigerian engineering must become.

Happy Birthday, Engr. Kashim Abdul Ali, FNSE, mni. From every engineer whose practice is protected by the law you helped forge, and from every young Nigerian who may one day benefit from a world that measures this country’s engineering qualifications as worthy — thank you.

Isqil Najim can be reached on LinkedIn HERE

Promoting Strategic Alliance Among Engineering Professionals: Amended COREN Act by Engr. Kashim Ali

House of Reps set to pass state police bill on Thursday

Metro

My Engineers

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June 10, 2026

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House of Reps set to pass state police bill on Thursday

The House of Representatives said on Wednesday that it will prioritise the issue of state police and is set to pass the bill to amend the constitution to allow for the establishment of state police in the country.

The House said on Wednesday that it will vote on the constitutional amendment bill allowing the establishment of state and local police in the country as part of measures to address rising insecurity in the country.

Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Benjamin Kalu said at a media briefing shortly after the House plenary that the parliament has decided to prioritise the issue of state police ahead of other bills.

He said the House has directed all members who are currently out of Abuja for oversight to suspend such and return to the parliament on Thursday for the voting procedure.

The House bill on state police is sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, Fatima Talba, Blessing Onuh, Tolani Shagaya and 10 other members of the House.

Kalu said “When we say that security of lives and property is the primary purpose of government, was it the executive that that particular section referred to? Does it consign security to the three arms of government? If yes, what is the executive doing?

“While we call them to order as a Parliament as allowed by section 88 and 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, the question becomes, have we done our part in regards to the expectation of 88 and 89 as it consigns legislative functions?

“We have always referred to the Parliament, the House of Representatives, as the solution hub where hydra-headed problems of the country are presented and solutions given to them using security and legislative tools to cure it.

“Whilst we call the Service Chiefs to come and meet with us to dialogue, while we call Ministries of Finance, Budget Office and all to come and dialogue, there is the need for us to use legislative tools to block the gap.

“These men here are the real leaders of the House of Representatives who have been working night and day. When I mean night and day, I mean literally night and day to ensure that we add our support to what the executive is doing in the efforts to secure lives and properties in Nigeria.

“We have discovered that leaving the law as it is will not give us that expectation that all Nigerians have placed in the basket with regards to curing the issue of insecurity.

“Therefore, we decided to prioritise the issue of unbundling security related problems and response time through the legislative tool of legislation, targeting policing.

“As it is today, there is a structure which has been agreed to by the Inspector General of Police and his team, national consensus has also agreed on it, the executive have bought into it, the governors have bought into it that there is the need for state police.

“The constitution, if allowed as it is, especially section 214 and other consequential amendments in that particular constitution, would not birth the state police that will guarantee what we’ll be looking for in the space of security.

“These gentlemen here have been working hard to amend the constitution and to prioritise state police, especially now that we are faced with this difficulty around the country. So we are here to announce to Nigerians that hope is coming, that hope to have a better response time to incidents of crime is here, that we have decided that by tomorrow, we will be voting on the constitution and that we’ll be prioritising state police.

“So this is us telling our supporters and our constituents across the nation, that your leaders are represented here, that the 36 caucus leaders, including the FCT 37, regional leaders and zonal leaders are here and all of us are together on this mission.

“The speaker has asked us to come and address Nigerians to assure them that hope is coming and there is nobody stopping us from going ahead with state police. We have read a lot of things on the news that people are trying to stop it. No, the Parliament is marching forward and by tomorrow we’ll be concluding on this.

“This is what we have come to inform you that hope is here and by tomorrow state police will make it into our constitutional amendment. We are hoping that by the time we finish tomorrow it will be going to the states and because we have seen the body language of the governors of the 36 states, which is in support of state police, they will work hand in hand with their houses of assembly to ensure that it is returned to Mr. President for his assent as quickly as possible.

“We’re also using this opportunity to invite our members who are currently handling oversight functions across Nigeria. Let them cut it short and fly in tomorrow because this is an emergency situation.

“They should cut it short and fly in tomorrow. We want all our members to be in the house so that we will show our constituents that we are in support of state police and that security is a priority on our list.” (Nation)