Author Archives: EL

IARU Libraries launch Research Passport for visiting scholars

The International Association of Research Universities Librarians’ Contact Group have developed a Research Passport website to provide a portal for visiting students, academics and scholars to access the variety of online resources available by all member libraries.

The IARU Libraries have extraordinarily rich collections and provide a wide range of services that assist students and academics to access research resources and develop capabilities to be exceptional scholars.

If you are planning to visit an IARU institution, you will find this guide provides an informative and welcoming introduction to the libraries in the university that you will be visiting.

It is now easier to find information about library collections, research resources, open access materials and study assistance when visiting any IARU member library. Users can browse all collections and services available or explore by individual member library. A digital guide for each member library is also available for download.

Visit the IARU Libraries Research Passport to learn more.

Cambridge was delighted to host the 2022 IARU Presidents’ Meeting over three days in the beautiful surroundings of Downing College. It was the first in-person meeting for the Alliance since the beginning of the pandemic, and for several attendees it was the first opportunity to travel internationally in some time. These special circumstances helped generate a great of in-depth discussion and made the meeting particularly enjoyable. Colleagues from Peking University were able to join portions of the meeting online.

The Presidents were able to hear first-hand about how international scientific collaboration has been fundamentally changed as a result of the pandemic through a joint presentation by Professor Sir Andrew Pollard (University of Oxford), the chief investigator in the clinical trials for the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, and Dr Tonya Villafana (Vice President, Global Franchise Head) who led the late-stage development of the vaccine.

A session led by Cambridge’s Professor Ian Leslie focused on crucial questions around sustainability and how to balance effective academic collaboration while also leading by example in reducing the carbon footprint of universities.

Presentations by both Cambridge and Copenhagen on ‘The Future of Work’ explored the need to transform, rather than just transfer, teaching in an online environment, while a presentation by the National University of Singapore staked out the mentoring of researchers as a promising future area of collaboration for IARU members. A wide-ranging panel discussion was also organised on the increasing complexities of international engagement and how these require universities to develop informed, strategic approaches for global collaboration.

The attendees continued continue their conversations over dinners in the picturesque medieval grounds of Trinity Hall and Queens’ College. After visits to the Wren Library at Trinity College and evensong at King’s College Chapel, a final tour of the Sainsbury’s Laboratory of plant sciences gave attendees the opportunity to learn about one of the University’s cutting-edge scientific facilities.

The meeting generated several exciting ideas for fresh dialogue in areas of common interest, and several suggestions for the sharing of strategies and data. We hope that this meeting marks the return of in-person gatherings and we look forward to our Senior Officers’ Meeting in the autumn.

Photo credit: Nic Marchant

We are delighted to be welcoming the IARU Presidents and their delegations to Cambridge for the Presidents’ Meeting on 23-25 May. This will be the first in-person IARU meeting since 2019 and we are looking forward to a productive and enjoyable three days.

Those attending can find all the meeting papers, Tome and practical information for visiting Cambridge on the IARU website.

As part of the IARU Virtual Museum Tour initiative, we have been delighted to present a wide variety of videos, tours and lectures including a virtual exhibition of ancient bronze artefacts, an interactive exploration of botanical collections and a presentation of French master Eugene Delacroix’s prints.

ETH Zurich’s contribution to the initiative has centred around the NASA InSight Mission to Mars through a series of video tours. Following on from his lecture on the most recent findings of the InSight Mission, ETH Senior researcher Dr Simon Stähler will be hosting a live online Q&A session on this fascinating subject.

To join the discussion, please see the details below, and to submit a question in advance, please email simon.staehler@erdw.ethz.ch.

We hope you are able to join us!

Mars Insight Mission Live Q&A 
16 March 2022
16:00 CET (15:00 UTC)
https://ethz.zoom.us/j/69161558684

When the University of Cambridge began its tenure as Secretariat of IARU, one of its first actions was to launch an online survey to engage the IARU membership on specific questions about their involvement with the Alliance. The summary of the survey was presented at the Senior Officers’ Meeting in October 2021.

Several key themes emerged from the responses, outlining the factors that contribute to group productivity, considering what support working groups and networks need, and sharing opinions on the opportunities and challenges that IARU will face in the future.

The Secretariat’s proposals at the Senior Officers’ Meeting were directly informed by this feedback and included the launch of a newsletter to help members stay better informed about IARU activities and the work of other groups, improving communications more generally and looking at how research collaborations might be fostered.

The survey responses also supported the idea of the Secretariat providing some generalised written guidance to assist groups in the form of a IARU Group Handbook. Rather than instituting changes to how groups are run, the Handbook is intended to distill best practice from established groups, provide some continuity of knowledge and processes for groups with departing members, and to offer guidance on setting up new groups.

As the Handbook develops, the Secretariat will be in touch with group leads and members to gather their thoughts on which topics would be useful for the guidance to cover. If any members wish to contact the Secretariat directly about the Group Handbook, we would be delighted to hear from you on iaru@admin.cam.ac.uk .

On 19 and 20 October 2021, the Senior Officers of the IARU universities met online, with the discussion held over two group meetings in order to accommodate the different time zones. The Senior Officers exchanged news and updates from their experiences in reopening institutions during the pandemic and reflecting on the lessons learnt from the process. The balance between online and in person teaching, how this might develop in the future and the challenges of maintaining team cohesion with hybrid working patterns were all topics that the Senior Officers considered.

The Cambridge Secretariat shared plans to enhance communication within the IARU community, hoping to initiate the first IARU newsletter and to develop guidance to help support groups, especially those that are newly established or have new leadership. Reports from each IARU group and initiative were received, highlighting the breadth of activity across the IARU network. The meeting was an opportunity to begin re-thinking how local, regional and global relationships are approached (esp. in terms of travel), with the Senior Officers affirming that the need for international collaboration is stronger than ever.

IARU Members can access the confirmed outcomes and meeting Tome.

We now look forward to the Presidents’ Meeting which we hope, travel restrictions permitting, will be an in-person meeting hosted by Cambridge in May 2022.

The roundtable discussion ‘Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Trans-Continental Collaborations with African or Asian Research and Education Hubs’ will be held by IARU’s Global Transformation Group on 28 June at ‘Asia & Africa in Transition’ – a two-day conference at the University of Copenhagen. 

The aim of the roundtable is to establish a forum for exchange and networking among research and education programs with a focus on Asia or Africa that span across continents. The goal is to share information, experiences, inspire each other and pave the way for future collaboration. The key topics for the roundtable are: 

• Innovative formats for collaboration and institutional benefits
• Insights into how partners found each other and started the collaboration
• Challenges with trans-continental collaborations – examples of projects/ideas that did not work and learning outcomes
• Advice for universities engaged in trans-continental collaborations
• Suggestions on how to strengthen current collaborations and how to start new ones

Invited presentations will be given by speakers from the University of Cape Town, the National University of Singapore, University of California, Berkeley, Ashesi University Ghana, ETH Zurich and the University of Copenhagen (full details available online). 

The roundtable will be held on 28 June, 15:45-17:45 (GMT+2) and will have a hybrid format (online and in-person). 

You can join the audience for the roundtable by registering online (for free) for the conference.

The full conference programme is also available. 

Significant progress continues to be made in the aftermath of the fires that damaged several buildings at the University of Cape Town on 18 April. 

The first stage of UCT’s recovery plan has been completed. The campus has been made safe, most students have returned to their residences, and as much normal academic life as possible has resumed. 

The work of salvaging materials continues apace. This has involved a huge number of dedicated UCT staff and 2,000 volunteers. After 17 days, all the material from the archives underneath the Jagger Library has been removed. A specialist team of conservators is working on site, with freeze drying and humidifying facilities to help rehabilitate the delicate items.

All this work has been undertaken while maintaining normal library services for researchers and students, and while following Covid-safe procedures – such that no one involved in the salvage work has tested positive for Covid-19. 

In the long term, some buildings will be returned to their original condition, but in other cases – such as the Jagger Library Reading Room – the extensive damage has offered an opportunity to innovate and increase the sustainability of the campus.

UCT has expressed its gratitude for the many offers of support for students and staff from friends and partners throughout the world. 

Further details of the recovery process are available on the UCT website.


Photo: Photo credit: Lerato Maduna and Je’nine May, https://www.news.uct.ac.za/, licenced under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

As the global focus on ageing increases, the IARU Ageing, Longevity and Health (ALH) platform IARU-ALH aims to play a central role in international interdisciplinary ageing research, with high-profile initiatives, collaborations, and networks worldwide.

This platform gives access to numerous world-leading research, innovation, and education environments with which we will continue the international approach in undertaking new research and recruitment, providing researchers and students with opportunities for mobility, and initiating educational activities to develop innovative services and products for the ageing community.

Download flyer.

Learn more about IARU Aging, Longevity & Health initiative.

As we are facing challenges brought by COVID-19, we have decided to launch the “Online Joint Course” initiative, which enables students from the IARU member universities to participate in online course that are taught jointly by the member universities.

We have also put together a list of unique online learning opportunities provided by each member university. Please contact the relevant universities directly for any inquiries.

1. Joint Online Course
Sustainable Ageing – taught by University of Copenhagen and the University of Tokyo

2. IARU Courses

3. Other Unique Programs offered by IARU universities*
(*Programs listed here are not limited to students from IARU member universities.)
The University of Tokyo
University of California, Berkeley