International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU)
IARU is an alliance of ten of the world’s leading research universities. The main objective of IARU is to give researchers and students at the involved universities the opportunity to engage in international research and research-based teaching. The universities share similar visions and are all globally orientated, which is reflected in the topics of the shared research projects.
The universities in the Alliance are
- Australian National University
- ETH, Zürich
- National University of Singapore
- Peking University
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of Cambridge
- University of Copenhagen
- University of Oxford
- The University of Tokyo
- Yale University
Research Projects
At the inaugural meeting the universities decided on the following projects, the first four being streams of the “Global Change and Sustainability” research that was chosen as the initial theme of collaboration 2006-2007, and the remaining projects being about education and gender at the universities:
Movement of People (Migration Studies)
How do we create a common research-based understanding of a topic that is usually considered a national matter? Migration as a factor in social, economic, and cultural change.
Movement of People concept paper (pdf)
Security
What role do the nation state play in global security in the future? What will the global “Balance of Power” be in 2025?
Ageing (Longevity) and Health (Health, Disease, and Welfare amongst an Ageing Population)
This subject has been described in details in two memorandums, one from Peking University, which focuses on the Chinese socio-economic challenges regarding an ageing population, the one-child policy, and a large migration, and one from the University of Copenhagen, which focuses on the biomedical aspect.
Ageing and Health concept paper - Peking (pdf)
Ageing and Health concept paper - Copenhagen (pdf)
The research group has since drafted an actual research programme and created a website for the project:
Ageing, Longevity and Health - research project website
Energy, Ressources and Environment (including Urban/Rural issues)
This is a relevant topic of global exploration seen in the light of the mega-city concentrations in, for instance, Asia, and their effect on the environment.
Energy and Environment concept paper (pdf)
Understanding Women in Universities around the Globe
A coherent analysis and comparisons of global empirical data is expected to produce important knowledge about this subject. The IARU members were, for instance, very interested in the Danish rules for maternity- and paternity leave.
Documents relating to the topic
Understanding Women in Universities around the Globe concept paper
Transforming power of Undergraduate Education & Excellence in Graduate Education
It was important for all ten universities that the students were engaged in the collaboration. The culture and style of teaching and learning vary at the member universities – what can we learn from these differences and from the many international students that visit our universities?
Visit the official IARU website for more information.
