Category Archives: 2015

From January 2016 the International Alliance of Research Universities will welcome the University of Cape Town (UCT) as its 11th partner.

University of Cape Town will be the first African university to join this strategic partnership and the first new member since the formation of the alliance 10 years ago.

The University of Cape Town is widely regarded as the best university in Africa, with a growing research performance, high profile education and a dynamic institutional character. The participation of the University of Cape Town to IARU opens up a new exciting mix of opportunities to IARU students, staff and faculty.

Besides being a valuable collaboration network, IARU represents an important platform for exchange and reflection on issues that higher education institutions face in an increasingly global environment.

“The University of Cape Town will bring a new African perspective to the table – says IARU Chairman Ralf Hemmingsen, Rector of the University of Copenhagen – which will greatly enrich IARU’s dialogue among the members from different corners of the world”.

“Universities are operating in an increasingly complex, global and challenging environment,” says University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price. “It is vital that we learn from one another and that we ensure that African-specific perspectives are part of the conversation. The University of Cape Town very much looks forward to sharing its knowledge and resources in this global forum.”

IARU was established in 2006 by ten research-intensive universities as a strategic alliance to expand and deepen their collaboration. IARU universities share similar values, a global vision and a commitment to educating future world leaders. Central to these values is the importance of academic diversity and international collaboration.

Students from the ten IARU universities can now apply for 22 exciting courses offered by the IARU Global Summer Program 2016.The courses run between June and September 2016.

Closing dates for applications is 22 February 2016 for NUS students, Mid-February for UTokyo students and 7 March 2017 for students from the other 8 IARU universities (ANU, ETH Zurich, PKU, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, UCPH, Oxford and Yale).

Thanks to IARU’s partnership with Banco Santander, scholarships are avilable to students of all ten universities.

More information: Global Summer Program

The IARU Global University Climate Forum was successfully held in Paris last Saturday 5 December. 27 international teams presented concrete projects on how to make a lasting impact on campus.

While implementing their projects during the next year, students will remain in touch via an online platform continuing the exchange and feedback started in Paris. Get an impression of the event here.

The IARU GUCF2015 hosted by Sorbonne Universités will take place on 5 December, during the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations (COP21). 100 students from over 30 universities from across the world will gather in Paris, the workshop will be a unique opportunity to share and learn about brilliant projects for sustainability on campus.

Students’ project ideas span disciplines and methods: from app-based systems over reduced food waste in campus canteens to behavior-changing campaigns and retrofitting plans. Continuing with innovative financial solutions for greening students’ and universities’ investments before moving on to experiencing a sustainable lifestyle during 3 weeks. More about the projects will be disclosed in Paris in December – and with ample opportunity for networking and getting inspired.

Barthélémy Jobert, President of Paris-Sorbonne University, and Frances Beinecke, Associate Research Scholar at Yale University and former Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, will open the event followed by presentation of the student teams’ projects.

The projects will be reviewed by peers and commentators including: Professor Daniel Kammen from University of California Berkeley, Maria Ivanova from the Center for Governance and Sustainability at UMass Boston and Zena Harris from the International Sustainable Campus Network.

After the workshop, work will continue on campus while the network will move online and keep in touch for the sake of addressing climate change.

Follow the event online with the hashtag #GUCF2015.

IARU Senior Officers met in Copenhagen on 22 and 23 October to discuss the further developments of IARU. Senior Officers addressed Global Transformation in IARU members’ strategies and agreed to develop a joint online course to be offered to IARU students. Senior Officers also exchanged about cyber threats and security in open institutions, such as universities.

The National University of Singapore has opened a new internship position at the International Relations Office.

The internship runs from February 2016 to July 2016, application is open until 5 November 23:59 Singaporean Please visit: Internships 2015 @ National University of Singapore

The Global University Climate Forum application period closed on 1 October. The 2015 Global University Climate Forum received applications from over 20 countries!

A team of experts will now assess all projects. The finalists will be notified by 16 October.

Selected teams will be invited to send two or three student representatives to participate in a one-day workshop during the COP21 in Paris. The event will take place on 5 December and will be co-hosted by Sorbonne Universités.

Following this peer review workshop and networking event, teams will report monthly on their progress through an online platform, with the aim of keeping students in contact and active for the cause of addressing climate change.

Apply now to the call for university student climate change proposals – Global Challenges, Local Solutions
The IARU Global University Climate Forum is a one-day workshop on 5 December in Paris during the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations (COP21) where student teams from around the world will present their ideas for local-scale projects that will yield measureable impacts over the course of one year. The event is organised by Yale Univeristy, hosted by Sorbonne Universités and sponsored by IARU and the International Sustainable Campus Network.

To participate, student teams should apply online during the month of September. Read More

IARU’s must-have Green Guide for Universities has been translated in Japanese by the University of Tokyo Sustainable Campus Project. The guide, showcasing real-world examples of environmental, financial, and social successes, will now be accessible to a wider audience of students and leaders willing to make a difference. Read More (in Japanese)

The Forum embodies the saying “Think global; act local “, it invites teams of university students to submit project ideas focusing on tangible, campus-based solutions that ultimately impact student awareness and global environmental consciousness.

Selected teams will meet in a one-day workshop in Paris in December 2015, at the same time when countries from around the world will convene in Paris for the UN climate negotiations (COP21). Read More