To all our Journal's readers and followers, an acknowledgement of how quickly a year passes, and a warm welcome to the final issue of 2023! This year has provided many events for us to contemplate and take into consideration when formulating research proposals responding to gaps in higher education. The ramifications of reduced funding allocations, time restrictions and the unspoken expectation to do 'more with less,' presents challenges to us all. I congratulate those who were successful in securing research funding in such competitive times and encourage those contemplating applying for funding to persevere with confidence. It is through our collective research efforts that we are able to disseminate best practices through our journal. In this issue, 14 papers on higher education practices by authors from the United States of America, Thailand, Belgium, Oman, China and Israel, share their focus on teaching, learning and assessment in education, and issues of training and human resources in industry and learning institutions.