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Issue 18, July 2010
The Newsletter
www.universitas21.com
In This Issue
Introducing the Delhi Accord Incredible India: AGM 2010 Collaborative Groups 2
The Network welcomes two new members
niversitas 21 was delighted to welcome two new members to the network at its AGM in Delhi in April. The addition of the University of Connecticut and the University of Amsterdam increases the geographical spread of U21 members to 14 countries. The University of Amsterdam
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U
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To the Summer School and Beyond! Museums & Collections Award
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University of Amsterdam
The UvA has a broad academic curriculum, including more than 60 Bachelor’s programmes in all areas of scholarship, from Art History to Artificial Intelligence and from Earth Sciences to Astronomy. As a research university, the UvA considers its selection of more than 200 Master’s programmes as a key component of its academic enterprise. The UvA is an international centre of education that attracts students from across the European Union and beyond. Consequently, many of its Master’s programmes are taught in English.
The University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is consistently ranked by US News & World Report as one of the best public universities in the United States and for eleven years it has been ranked the top public university in New England.
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Around the Network
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Regional Engagement
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U21 Events Calendar
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The history of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) dates back to 1632. Today, with more than 30,000 students, 5,000 employees and a budget of almost 500 million euros, the UvA is one of the larger comprehensive universities in Europe. Its seven faculties conduct teaching and research in the humanities, social sciences, economics and business, law, natural sciences, medicine and dentistry.
The UvA has an excellent reputation for research both nationally and internationally. The UvA is a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), a network of leading European research universities. In short, the UvA is a large, vibrant, internationally oriented research university.
University of Connecticut
It has invested in its teaching, research and outreach in keeping with its mission as a federal land-grant university. It is also a Carnegie Foundation Research University, lauded for the breadth and the range of its research (Continued on page 2)
The Back Page Interview Helen Pennant
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From the Secretariat...
Universitas 21 c/o Strathcona 109 University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT UK T: +44 121 415 8870 F: +44 121 415 8873 [email protected] www.universitas21.com
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t our 12th Annual General Meeting, graciously hosted by Delhi University in April, we watched the network grow again; grow in number, in focus and in commitment to our shared vision for the consortium. We welcomed new members, made new friends, had a chance to get reacquainted with old friends and, sadly, said goodbye to several dear friends. We quickly realized what Professor Pental, DU’s Vice Chancellor, meant
when he cautioned us it would be very hot in Delhi in April (115°F on several occasions!) and we learned to adjust to “India time”, where things just happen at a different pace. As you will read in other articles throughout this newsletter, our final day of meetings highlighted our changes – Presidents signed the Delhi Accord, we admitted two new members, and, in a poignant farewell on the occasion of his
retirement, we thanked Professor John Casteen for his dedication and service to the network. We reaffirmed the importance of Teaching and Learning and of enhancing the student experience as a core mission of the consortium. We ended the successful series of meetings with a wonderful evening, filled with traditional Indian music and food and Lavinia received the ultimate lesson from a new friend – Deepa Gupta from DU taught her to how to tie a sari! (photo on page 12).
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Introducing the Delhi Accord
riday 30th April marked the start of a new era in Universitas 21 student mobility with the signing of the Delhi Accord on Student Mobility by all U21 members represented at the AGM in India. What is it? The Delhi Accord is the offspring of the Shanghai Declaration on U21 Student Mobility which comes to an end in 2010. The Delhi Accord aims to build on this commitment to student mobility and to take this forward, striving for “growth in both breadth and depth of student mobility opportunities, adopting an innovative approach, and enhancing access to student mobility opportunities for all student groups with the aim of increasing the volume of student mobility participants in high quality international learning experiences.” The Shanghai Declaration: an overview The Shanghai Declaration1 was signed in 2005 in confirmation of members’ commitment to student mobility, with a five year target over four areas of focus aimed at increasing student participation and improving practice. These included: 1. To increase participation in traditional undergraduate semester exchange programmes by 150%; 2. To increase other short-term programme participation by 150%; 3. To have more member institutions offering U21 scholarships or bursaries; 4. To ensure support for the U21 Student Mobility Officer (SMO) at each university. The focus and activities of the U21 Student Mobility Network were largely determined by the Shanghai Declaration.
Network News
Network News
Network News
improve student mobility practices across the network. Achievements include easing the exchange application and acceptance process, and being creative in balancing semester exchange places, which relies on flexibility and trust amongst members. Much work has been undertaken by the SMN to achieve the aims of the Shanghai Declaration and in planning the next phase of U21 student mobility under the Delhi Accord. The future under the Delhi Accord
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Louise Kinnaird and Katherine Wan
What was achieved under the Shanghai Declaration? Student Exchange Traditional student exchange met its 150% increase target, although this was largely due to more member universities joining the network. Removing the impact of new members there was still a notable year on year increase in volume, despite concerns over world events such as the global financial crisis and swine flu possibly having a negative effect on student exchange. Short-term Mobility U21 programmes such as the Summer School, Undergraduate Research Conference, and the Graduate Research Conference all hosted a record number of participants in their most recent events held in 2009. Furthermore, there are 158 students enrolled in the Global Issues Programme which is one of the more innovative U21 student mobility offerings, combining virtual and physical exchange elements. The target of increasing participation in short-term programmes by 150% was met. Student Mobility Network The Student Mobility Network (SMN) continues to grow in strength. The Student Mobility Officers gather annually and ideas are shared and developed in order to increase student mobility opportunities and
The Delhi Accord2 recognises the importance of incorporating a high quality international learning experience into the university life of every student, and the significance of achieving this with a group of leading international research-intensive universities, such as Universitas 21. With the U21 Presidents as advocates and champions for student mobility, members are committed to building on the foundations established under the Shanghai Declaration and aspire to be the best in all aspects of student mobility. U21 student mobility will become synonymous with high quality student mobility programmes which are diverse and innovative in the opportunities they present to all U21 students, whilst embracing best practice. The Delhi Accord aspires to further evolve and enrich the quality of student mobility opportunities and to develop quality standards on timely issues. It encourages the creation of more U21 short-term programmes and further exploration of both traditional and non-traditional student mobility ideas, and aims to ensure resources are made available in order to carry out student mobility activities, including financial assistance to students in the form of U21 scholarships. Unlike the Shanghai Declaration, there is no time frame within which the aspirations of the Delhi Accord are to be achieved. Therefore, the SMN has developed an Operational Plan to detail how the objectives will be met and has selected several areas on which to focus for the next couple of years. The SMN will undertake regular reviews and amendments in order to ensure activities continue to meet the objectives of the Delhi Accord.
1. www.universitas21.com/shanghaideclaration.html
2. www.universitas21.com/Delhi Accord signed.pdf
Network welcomes two new members
(Continued from page 1)
programmes. The University began in 1881 as an agricultural school after two brothers donated 170 acres to the State of Connecticut. By 1939, it had evolved into a major Ph.D.-granting university. UConn has more than 100 research centres and institutes, 14 schools and colleges, awards seven undergraduate degrees in 101 majors, 17 graduate degrees and five professional degrees. Its campuses include the main campus in Storrs, five regional campuses, a health centre in Farmington
that houses the medical, dental and epidemiology programmes and the University’s hospital, and a law school in Hartford UConn’s international ties are growing and many of its programmes have a global focus. The University endeavours to provide every student an opportunity to graduate with a significant international experience in an effort to prepare them to address the global challenges in an interconnected world.
Louise Kinnaird U21 Student Mobility Co-ordinator
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Incredible India - the 2010 AGM A
t the end of April, U21 held its annual series of meetings hosted by the University of Delhi (DU) in India’s capital city. At one stage it was touch and go whether the meeting could take place at all as so much airspace in the northern hemisphere had been closed earlier due to the volcanic ash cloud, but at the last moment the skies cleared, planes flew and over 70 people met in Delhi to discuss internationalisation, the effect of the financial crisis and the role of the network. There are a number of highlights of the meetings, many of which are reported elsewhere in this edition of The Newsletter: I shall pick out only four to report from among the many memories of three days in April. Fifth Presidential Symposium DU organised our fifth Presidential Symposium under the title Universities and Government Funding in the Developed and Developing Worlds. It brought together speakers from Australia , Canada, China, India, Singapore and the UK with moderators from the US, Ireland and the UK – a truly global gathering! The presentations gave much food for thought and on occasions the debate could have gone on for much longer: at various times over the three days people were heard views along with those of others consulted and coming up with a plan for the future. A tall order, which George carried out with aplomb. He led an interesting session at which he challenged those present to think about what the network could do and how it could complement the work of member universities in internationalisation. The main outcome of the Beaton Report was that we would concentrate what we do as a network around a few key themes. These include enhancing the student experience; teaching and learning in a research environment; developing the global citizen; and networking, benchmarking and staff development activities. These ideas will now be synthesised into a revised Strategic Plan to underpin our future activities. Research Strategy agreed We never lose sight of the fact that our members are research leaders, as well as excellent destinations for students. Although many research collaborations already exist around the network and we have a number of research-based collaborative groups, the context in which we develop these links as a network was not spelt out anywhere. Well, not until the Delhi meetings that is, when a strategy put forward by those with institutional responsibility for research matters was endorsed. They all agreed that our collaborative research efforts would have most impact if they concentrated on helping those at the beginning of their academic careers to build their international networks and develop the skills of working in an international context. The main focus of the new Research and Knowledge Exchange Strategy is to focus on the development Page 3 Plan dates from 2007 and covers a five-year period. Having got to a half-way mark, and having grown again in size, it was fitting to engage someone for a critical external view of the network. That person was Dr George Beaton of Beaton Consulting and he had the challenge of engaging with 24 senior university leaders, synthesising their
George Beaton setting the delegates to work
U21 Events
U21 Events
U21 Events
of Early Career Researchers, typically those in the first eight years of post doctoral independent research. The PVCs Research Group lost no time in taking this forward. A report of their subsequent meeting may be found on page six. Hello – and goodbye All annual meetings are to some extent bitter-sweet occasions as we say hello to new friends and goodbye to old. The sweetest moment of the Delhi meetings, by this measure, was the admission of two new members – the University of Amsterdam and the University of Connecticut, thereby strengthening our presence in two important higher education regions, mainland Europe and north America. We were pleased to welcome Professor Dymph van den Boom from Amsterdam to our number, and UConn were ably represented by Professors Peter Nicholls and Jeremy Teitelbaum and Dr Ross Lewin. The other change, of course, is in the position of Chair of the network. John Casteen of Virginia is retiring after 20 amazing years as President there, service which culminated in three years as Chair of this network. We bade him a fond farewell,
John Casteen and Glyn Davis
Professor Deepak Pental addresses the Symposium
reflecting on what David Greenaway had said, what Liu Chenggong had shared or what Simon Marginson had uncovered, as well as admiring all of them for managing to talk over the air conditioning and dealing with power cuts ( these being caused by building work on the edges of campus as Delhi prepared to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games). Planning for the future The Delhi meetings also gave the opportunity to review what the network had achieved – and what it ought to focus on doing in the future. Our current Strategic
which was marked by the presentation of a small gift and a reflection on how the network had done it John’s Way (sung to the tune of My Way in a recording made by Clare Noakes and her husband). The Delhi meeting appointed Glyn Davis of Melbourne as John’s successor, with Yang Yuliang of Fudan University as his Deputy. In the Secretariat we are now moving to do it Glyn’s Way. Another productive AGM is behind us – next year, it’s Sydney! Jane Usherwood U21 Secretary General
Collaborative Groups
Collaborative Groups
enthusiastic to share ideas and compare practice with their counterparts across the network. The trust that is built during these annual meetings goes a long way in ensuring students receive more opportunities. This includes members being more likely to accommodate special requests and many members giving priority to U21 applicants. Over the past year or so, the SMN extensively reviewed the Shanghai Declaration and worked on evolving the Delhi Accord and its accompanying Operational Plan. The Operational Plan will be reviewed and updated regularly by the SMN to ensure its activities continue to meet the objectives of the Delhi Accord. With a genuine interest and commitment in continuing to improve and develop opportunities and practice across the network, the members of the Student Mobility Network ensure a positive future for U21 Student Mobility as we commence a new era under the Delhi Accord. Louise Kinnaird U21 Student Mobility Coordinator
The Student Mobility Network T
he U21 SMN gathered at the University of Queensland in April this year, marking our first annual meeting outside of North America. There was a great turnout with close to 30 delegates from 16 member institutions represented. Thanks to the support of UQ’s U21 Manager, Mr Andrew Everett, and to the organisational skills of Ms Jan McCreary, two days of rewarding discussions took place in excellent facilities accompanied by UQ’s generous hospitality.
Members of the SMN in Queensland
After a day of looking back over student mobility events of the past 12 months, both network-wide and within each member university, the second day focused on the theme of “Health, Safety and Risk Management”, with much discussion time spent on sharing ideas and experiences of how these issues relate to student mobility. During the course of the day the idea of a “Student Mobility Health, Safety and Risk Management” survey was arrived at to be both created by and answered by the SMOs with the results to be available on the website for easy reference.
Many useful topics were discussed over the course of the two days (minutes can be viewed at http://www.universitas21.com/ Mobility/SMMinutes2010.pdf ) however, arguably even more important than the content of discussion was the feeling of camaraderie. During the Managers’ Meeting in Delhi, a comment was made that one successful outcome of a meeting could simply be the bringing together of similar people from U21 universities. The power of building those relationships should not be underestimated. This is certainly the case with the SMN. The relaxed atmosphere of the SMN meetings has everyone
Networking in education T
here are two key meetings in the U21 Education calendar and they occur in happy proximity to each other. The U21 Deans of Education group meets annually prior to the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The discussion is always lively and every year reveals common interests and shared concerns, but also unveils new initiatives, stimulates new partnerships, encourages fact-finding missions and staff exchange visits, and catalyses joint ventures. Representation is typically of ten U21 Schools of Education and this level of commitment has persisted now for eleven years.
A FINE breakfast meeting in Denver
The FINE group formed in Chicago in 2007 and now lists well over one hundred affiliated U21 doctoral students in education on its online database. Since that first meeting, an effective organisational structure has been developed, centring on a leadership team with a purposeful generational plan to ensure continuity and continuation of the community. The forum in Denver on April 29, and the two breakfast meetings held during the AERA conference were attended by students and recent graduates from 12 different U21 universities. In addition, seven academics attended the FINE events, contributing informative presentations and providing a connection to the activities of the Deans’ group. Participants were unanimously positive about the value of the forum and a related event is planned for the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) in Helsinki, this August. Further information about both groups and all meetings can be found at the U21 Collaborative Groups webpage.
for discussion was Changing economies: Maintaining capacity in a time of fiscal retrenchment and the ensuing exchange was both cathartic and productive. Despite inevitable changes in personnel, the Deans meeting continues to do the work of a good network. Its continuation into a second decade stands testimony to its perceived value and effectiveness. The second meeting is a relatively recent initiative: The Forum for International Networking in Education (FINE) is run by and for U21 doctoral students in education. Initially launched as a pre-conference orientation for doctoral students with the additional agenda of providing course and career advice, an international community of U21 doctoral students has grown to have an existence independent of the focal event. Page 4
The products of the meetings have included the collaborative development of new subjects, the joint delivery of several major symposia, a thematic journal issue on teacher education and, of course, communal exchange and occasional adoption of new initiatives, either designed to advance the field or to address the latest challenge. The latest meeting in Denver on April 30 was no exception. The designated topic
David Clarke Melbourne Graduate School of Education University of Melbourne
Collaborative Groups
epresentatives from the Universities of Auckland, Birmingham, British Columbia, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Melbourne, New South Wales, Nottingham, Queensland, Virginia attended the sixth meeting of the Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies Group (DDOGS) held in Melbourne in April. (Unfortunately the representative from Lund was prevented from attending by the ash cloud from Iceland).
Collaborative Groups
with uptake of the U21 Graduate Ethics and Integrity module. Zlatko Skrbis led a session on current activities across the network to improve PhD completion rates. A major common point was the implementation of robust electronic monitoring and record keeping to identify problems early and provide support at critical stages. Roseanne Ford (Virginia) led a session on support for supervisors which focused on mechanisms to celebrate excellent supervision (for example, the Annual Awards scheme at Auckland described by Caroline Daley) as well as the issues around accreditation of supervisors and the criteria used to do this. Finally, the group explored the extent to which their Graduate Schools had taken on responsibility for Postdoctoral Researchers, a trend that is spreading rapidly. On all of these broad topics QPR2010 had covered many approaches and solutions in great depth, providing excellent starting points for discussion. Also, from QPR2010 came the model of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT), a competition in which postgraduate researchers present their topic and key findings to a broad audience in no more than 180 seconds. The group agreed to explore the possibility of a U21 YouTube 3MT competition to avoid the need for competitors to travel long distances to take part. The prospect of this format that could both excite audiences with diverse research topics and develop a range of communication skills in the presenters seems to have great potential to bring our U21 researchers closer together. It was my last meeting as Coordinator because I finished as Director of the University of Birmingham Graduate School last July. Mary Bownes (Edinburgh) has agreed to take over the role as Coordinator and everyone supported this, especially since Mary has been central to setting up the Joint PhD scheme. I have enjoyed taking on this role and would like to thank all members of the group for their hard work and support. Chris Thomas, University of Birmingham
DDOGS group meets in Melbourne R
DDOGS members , Melbourne 2010 It was the first time that the meeting of the group had been linked to a major conference into grass-roots reality with Memoranda dealing with postgraduate of Agreement for individual joint PhD research and development. Thus the projects. The opportunities these provide majority of the DDOGS group first attended is clearly recognised by both postgraduate the biennial Quality in Postgraduate researchers and staff. Some agreements Research conference (QPR2010) in Adelaide are already in place (the first reported (13-16 April) before travelling on to covers Auckland and Birmingham for a Melbourne for the DDOGS meeting hosted Civil Engineering project) and others are by the University of Melbourne School of progressing well. Related to this the group Graduate Research. An informal day out had a presentation from Louise Kinnaird, on the Sunday allowed the members of Coordinator of the U21 Student Mobility the group to share information about their group, about the importance of recording institutions, roles and responsibilities and provided the foundation for very productive which postgraduates are visiting/studying at other institutions, an issue that DDOGS working sessions on the Monday and has been working on for some time. The Tuesday (19-20 April). two groups agreed to work together to ensure the appropriate support and monitoring of such postgraduates, with the Joint PhD projects providing the highest profile examples.
University of Melbourne School of Graduate Research
The two key topics of the meeting were the U21 joint PhDs and the U21 Graduate Research Conferences. Mary Bownes (Edinburgh) reported on progress to date with the project that she has been leading on the U21 Joint PhDs framework. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by U21 leaders in Seoul in May 2009 and since then much effort has gone into turning those principles
Zlatko Skrbis (Queensland) reported on GRC2009 (Sustainable Cities for the Future) that had been held jointly in Melbourne and Brisbane to illustrate two cities with different problems and different solutions. It was clear that the conference had been a great success and Zlatko provided a detailed template for future conferences based on what had worked well in the two conferences organised so far. After further discussion it was agreed that the formula of small, interdisciplinary conferences on single themes where delegates are expected to present their work in multiple ways to all delegates (rather than sub-theming by discipline) is successful and should be continued. Topics proposed for future GRCs were “Food”, “Energy” and “Aging” and tentative venues assigned which will be announced as soon as they are fixed. In addition the group was updated on progress with the implementation of the Melbourne online induction course “PGEssentials” at other U21 institutions and Page 5
Collaborative Groups
ro-Vice-Chancellors/Deputy ViceChancellors/Vice-Presidents responsible for research, from ten member universities, gathered at the University of Nottingham between 1-3 June for their 2010 annual conference. The conference was opened by Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor, and chaired by Professor Bob Webb, ProVice-Chancellor Research at the University of Nottingham. The conference comprised four themed sessions entitled Research Integrity and Governance; Excellence in Research; the Research Security Framework; International League Tables. Presentations were given by all delegates during the course of the four sessions, with discussion then focusing on areas on challenges being faced by many member institutions In addition two areas of international cutting edge research and development being carried out by the University of Nottingham were also presented. Professor Derek McAuley gave a presentation on the Digital Horizon Hub, based in the Jubilee Campus, and Professor Colin Snape and Dr Mark Gillot gave a tour of the unique Energy Homes research project on demand reduction at the University of Nottingham, University Park Campus.
Collaborative Groups
and will focus on selected areas of research activity that address significant challenges facing the U21 community. The workshops will include engagement from key U21 senior researchers and will also include relevant career development topics. The first workshop will be held at the University of New South Wales on 18 - 20 May 2011, with a theme of ‘Energy’. The second will be held at the University of Birmingham in December 2011, with a theme of ‘Healthy Living’. A series of U21 Awards will be established to reward outstanding research performance by U21 Early Career Researchers, for example, best published paper; research breakthrough; outstanding innovation/ commercial success; outstanding impact in the non-academic community. In order to facilitate mobility, information on current mobility schemes run by member institutions will be collated, and national and international funding opportunities will be highlighted more broadly.
Research & knowledge exchange a high priority
P
E.On 2016 Research House, University of Nottingham
A final session focused on the U21 Research and Knowledge Exchange Strategy, which was presented to the U21 Presidents meeting in Delhi, April 2010, and was accepted in full. Revised terms of reference were accepted, and include two over-arching statements: (i) To promote U21 research aims and objectives within our institutions; (ii) To identify funding opportunities at both national and international levels in support of U21 research activities. The U21 Research and Knowledge Exchange Strategy sets out three priority areas: Early Career Researcher Workshops; U21 Awards; Mobility. The following proposals have been developed: Two U21 Early Career Research Workshops will be held annually for 50-60 delegates
Bob Webb Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research University of Nottingham
On the move
Jordan Matthews, undergraduate student at the University of Virginia, reflects on her experience at the U21 Summer School in 2009 and on what happened next.
On the move
On the move
To the U21 summer school and beyond!
our world from the vantage of Jordan (3rd from left) with fellow summer school participants Climate Change Adaptation and I can honestly say I was truly challenged and encouraged by my peers. The U21 programme Jordan Matthews was a holistic experience, considering important issues across a broad spectrum of research mong my wildest dreams, I dreamed of hopping with kangaroos, cuddling topics - from medicine to naval architecture, economics to biology. with koalas and conversing with hundreds of international students who shared As an architecture student from my passion for a global understanding. the United States, my interest in climate change varied immensely Universitas 21 granted me such an opportunity last summer, as a participant in from that of my veterinarian group partner, although that is why the the U21 Summer School held in Brisbane, cultural exchange, as we bonded with fellow Australia. Despite the cliché dreams of U21 programme is so successful. international students. an Australian vacation I gained more The complexity of climate change, in conjunction with our diverse students, important and resounding life experiences from my conversations with peers, faculty allowed each conversation to be productive, I am taking these experiences with me as I write today from Ankara, Turkey. With the and professionals. Students from 17 inventive and moreover collaborative. Every meal was accompanied with a side of nations gathered to discuss the future of (Continued on page 7)
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On the move
t was during a U21 fellowship at the University of Melbourne in 2007 that I understood how many similarities there are between the Universities of Birmingham and Melbourne in terms of our collections and how we work with them. Professor Jaynie Anderson, Dr Chris McAuliffe and Dr Belinda Nemec , amongst others, introduced me to the cultural treasures of Melbourne and gave me a valuable insight into the organisation of their activities and the dayto-day running of their museums.
On the move
On the move
have had the support of colleagues who work with both universities’ collections, with additional generous support coming from the University of Birmingham’s International Office and College of Arts and Law and the University of Melbourne’s University Library and U21 network. This rare opportunity was advertised to all third year undergraduate and postgraduate students, and this year’s successful Birmingham student is Katy Wade, who will be studying an MA in Heritage Management in September. Katy said “I am thrilled to be given this opportunity which will allow me to gain valuable experience and skills in my desired profession.” Melbourne’s student will join us here in Birmingham in January 2011 and we are looking forward to meeting him or her. We hope that the programme will develop and eventually be open to all universities within the U21 network, and that this pilot scheme will provide valuable experience in how best to implement this. If you are interested in developing The International Student Projects Programme: Museums and Collections Award, please contact either: Helen Arnoldi: [email protected] or Clare Mullett: [email protected]
Museums and collections award I
A student project with the UoB Research & Cultural collections
One of the close working relationships I developed was with Helen Arnoldi, Melbourne’s Student Projects Coordinator. When discussing our student volunteers and the projects that they work on, we realised what a fruitful opportunity it would be to share the resources and expertise of each University’s collections with students across the world. So, the pilot scheme for The International Student Projects Programme: Museums and Collections Award (2010/11) was born. This unique scheme is open to students from the University of Birmingham and the University of Melbourne who are invited to apply for a one month placement. During this time, they will have the opportunity to observe and work alongside professional staff on aspects of museum and collection-based work, hosted by the partner university – such as conservation, significance assessments, documentation, digitization, research, interpretation and exhibition design. The placements are designed to be mutually beneficial to the host university
and the student, enhancing the student’s understanding of the cultural sector and their professional skills, while adding real value to the collections. Although the placement projects will have set objectives, the student will also be exposed to other facets of the cultural collections beyond their specific project brief. This broader experience includes working with other museums and collections staff from across the university - such as curators, collection managers, archivists and conservator and academics - to build up a comprehensive picture of what these roles entail, and to enhance the student’s understanding of the different issues currently facing university collections. The student will also be encouraged to build into their placement a period of selfdirected study that engages with an aspect of the host institution’s collections. This year sees the pilot of The International Student Projects Programme: Museums and Collections Award. Helen Arnoldi and I have organized what we believe will be a successful exchange for all involved. We
Clare Mullett Deputy University Curator University of Birmingham
To the U21 summer school and beyond!
(Continued from page 6)
encouraging experiences from Universitas 21, I am taking the summer to learn Turkish. Before June, I knew two words of Turkish, but after U21 I know that I have the ability to communicate with anyone, regardless of background or native language. I am currently living with a host family, and I awake everyday to the challenge of expressing myself, buying metro tickets and mastering Turkish grammar. Next September, I will be moving to Istanbul for a year to continue this Turkish-American dialogue as a US Fulbright scholar. This programme allows me to pursue research in the architectural history of trade and processional routes in former Turkish capital cities. I will be documenting changes in the urban fabric of 3 cities through a variety
world. Yes, the programme allowed me to visit with kangaroos and feed eucalyptus to koalas; and now, with the teachings and encouragement of U21 alumni, I am continuing to pursue my dreams by becoming a global citizen. Jordan Matthews UVa alumna
University of Istanbul
of visual media - to facilitate dialogue and understanding without the constraints of spoken language - and I will have the chance to work with Turkish university students in a seminar setting to get to know their backgrounds as modern Turks. After the U21 2009 Summer School, I have made lasting friendships and connections with students and professors around the Page 7
On the move
ach year the University of Melbourne awards two U21 Scholarships to professional staff. Scholarships involve an eight week study project visiting U21 member institutions overseas. With my background in business and research administration, change management and public sector finance and planning, gained over the last nine years in the higher education and state government sectors, I was interested in gaining an insight into university supported research centres and institutes, especially where a need existed to support significant resources away from the central headquarters of the university, for example rural and regional campuses and research stations.
On the move
On the move
An insight into research centres and institutes E
For my research I visited three U21 member universities: The University of Virginia (UVa) in Charlottesville USA, McGill University in Montreal, and The University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver and the Okanagan. I visited in total 11 different U21 institutes, centres and/or regional campuses. The methodology was to conduct in-depth interviews of centre and institute directors and/or senior faculty representatives, with an aim to analyse governance and financial sustainability in the context of the new Responsible Divisional Management environment at the University of Melbourne. A principal research question that underpinned my project was Are these centres and institutes: (a) products of history with minimal strategic benefit and/or (b) loose arrangements to suit the academic personalities and dynamics of the time and/or (c) well structured, well funded strategic, flexible, interdisciplinary vehicles that provide an effective and efficient framework for the delivery of high quality, innovative, teaching, research and community engagement? The timing of the conduct of the research must be recognised in a global and economic setting. Since the beginning of the global financial crisis in September 2007, many universities and research institutions, especially those heavily reliant on government and industry funding and on investment income, have seen core funding for research significantly reduce. In North America and Europe research is
focused on key strategic and interdisciplinary teaching and research needs; • Centres and institutes are commonly underresourced especially from administrative support and infrastructure requirements (building space, information technology etc); • Centres and institutes are commonly burdened with excessive layers of bureaucracy, reporting and administration; • Centres and institutes can be vehicles for innovation and flexibility; • Most centre and institute Lynda Poke at the University of Virginia Directors/Heads have dual reporting lines to both the funded by a combination of government, Faculty or School and the University’s Senior industry and endowments (donations) from individuals and businesses. In each category Academic Head, e.g. Provost or Deputy Vice Chancellor Research; funding has seen real reductions in the • Centres and institutes that are based last one to two years at least. For example in non-metropolitan, regional or rural the UBC’s Centre for Advanced Wood locations are significant in establishing Processing has, in the last year, seen a 50% and maintaining industry and community reduction in the investment returns from partnerships and in the delivery of high endowments which are the primary source quality specialised teaching and research. of funding for the centre. The overall impact in the loss of funding is a reduction in staff numbers (especially non-tenured staff ), and a decrease in administration and technical support. Ironically the Federal Government in Canada has used public funds to provide “economic stimulus” and has invested huge sums nationally into education in the form of bricks and mortar. At UBC the building boom at both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses was not unlike Beijing before the 2007 Olympics. Despite the economic conditions, research leaders and senior administrators are, on the whole, optimistic about the future. I think many of them have seen the swings and roundabouts before and also know that research investment is increasingly more important in the 21st century due to the big issues of our time: global warming, environmental sustainability, food security, water quality and quantity, and the social and health conditions in complex and challenging communities. I suspect there is a strong belief that the economic conditions will recover and that the required levels of investment will be restored. Early analysis of the interviews illustrates the following themes emerging: • With the exception of UBC, no single definition applies to centre or institute; • Centres and institutes are increasingly Page 8 Detailed analysis of the interviews and data is underway and with Dr Rachel Tham’s assistance (the second named researcher in the project) we will have a report prepared in July/August. As you can see my U21 travels have taken me far and wide – from a practical point of view this has meant seeking out administrators and researchers in all kinds of nooks and crannies that exist on university and research campuses. I have been through laboratories, field stations, regional campuses, metropolitan campuses, and I have spoken with fascinating, inspiring and interesting folk. It is no surprise that we share many of the challenges. But some of the innovative solutions are worth consideration (see my report for those!). A formal report will be prepared from the interviews and data available, and if relevant and interesting to a wider audience I aim to get it published in the public domain.
Lynda Poke University of Melbourne [email protected]
Movers and Shakers
Movers and Shakers
smallest detail of any presentation I made. We thank them for their service, and wish them well in the future. We also look forward to welcoming their successors - Mable Chiu and Kim Waldron - to their first face to face Managers’ meeting at Shanghai in October. Mable Chiu, Senior Assistant Registrar in the Vice-Chancellor’s office, will Mable Chiu be the new U21 Manager for the University of Hong Kong. Mable is not stranger to the network, having previously attended the U21 Heads of Admin meeting held at Fudan University in 2009. Kim Waldron takes up her post as Secretary at the University of Edinburgh in August
Katherine Wan
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t the Managers’ meeting held in Delhi on 28th April, we said goodbye to two stalwart Managers who were attending their last face to face meeting: Katherine Wan of HKU, who has been supporting student mobility matters recently, has changed duties within her university so is stepping down as U21 Manager there.
Professor Kaoru Kamata
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aseda University held its Presidential Election on June 15 in order to elect a successor to current University President Katsuhiko Shirai whose tenure ends on November 4, 2010. The President-elect is Prof. Kaoru Kamata, from the Faculty of Law. The President-elect’s term begins on November 5, 2010 and ends on November 4, 2014.
Kim Waldron
Melvyn Cornish
2010. Secretary at Colgate University in the US since 2003, Kim previously undertook postdoctoral study at the University of Edinburgh.
Professor Philip E Austin
Melvyn Cornish of Edinburgh is retiring later this year, so also hands over the role of U21 Manager. The Managers’ meetings will not be the same without Katherine’s practicality and Melvyn’s attention to the
Jane Usherwood U21 Secretary General
niversitas 21 is proud to announce its youngest addition: Mr Oliver Noakes. Oliver, who joins the network in an ex officio position (as son of the Secretariat Administrator) was born in April 2010 and lists his interests as feeding and sleeping. He is already showing signs of taking after his mother by having a strong voice. His mother, Clare, is quickly getting to grips with her new job, and reports that it consists of long hours, sleep deprivation and responding to every whim of the boss. Luckily, she has had previous experience in a similar post!
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Clare and Oliver Noakes
he University of Connecticut’s board of trustees appointed Philip E Austin as interim President on May 21, 2010. His appointment took effect on 11 June and he will serve until UConn’s 15th president is appointed following a nationwide search. Professor Austin served as President of UConn from 1996 to 2007, so knows the institution well.
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Professor Yang Yuliang
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rofessor Yang Yuliang of Fudan University, PR China was elected as Deputy Chair of the U21 Network at the AGM in Delhi.
Around the Network
Around the Network
the international mobility of students and staff is so important to us that we have joined a major international university network which has mobility as a cornerstone.” “The competition for European funding is intense”, says Erik Lithander. “The ease of working with other U21 members, both in terms of agreeing the strategic direction of the application and gathering the necessary materials to submit it, means that as a group we have a distinct advantage in the application process. We are confident that this will be reflected when the results are announced.” The current crop of applications build on the success of the last Erasmus Mundus funding round, where an application under the Erasmus Mundus China Lot, headed by Lund University and involving University College Dublin, Peking University, Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was awarded €5.2 million to support staff and student mobility between Europe and China. The mobility under this project will commence in August 2010, and will involve over 200 students and staff. Further information from Erik Lithander: [email protected]
U21 members join forces in major funding applications
The value of the Universitas 21 network in facilitating opportunities for member universities to apply for major international funding has been highlighted in recent months. Four applications, totalling over €5.5 million in funding, were submitted to the European Commission by consortia involving U21 members in the most recent Erasmus Mundus round. “Our experience of working with U21 partners in these funding applications has been hugely positive”, says Dr Erik Lithander, Director of International Affairs at UCD. “Since U21 members share a commitment to prioritising staff and student mobility across the network, they are generally willing partners in funding applications which support such activities. The Erasmus Mundus programme is an excellent example, because it requires a regional spread of the applicant institutions. U21’s global reach therefore allows us to submit applications to all of the major European Erasmus Mundus lots.” In recent proposals, U21 members collaborated in the Asia Regional Lot (Lund, Amsterdam, UCD, Fudan, Peking and University of Delhi), the SouthEast Asia Lot (UCD, Lund, Amsterdam, University of Hong Kong and NUS), the
Pacific Lot (Amsterdam, UCD, Lund, Melbourne, UNSW, Queensland and Auckland), and Gulf Lot (Lund, UCD). Partnerships are not limited to the Erasmus Mundus Programme. The University of Amsterdam, UCD and University of Virginia recently collaborated on an application to the EU-US Atlantis Programme for Cooperation in Higher Education and Training, co-funded by the European Union and the U.S. Department of Education. “Even though we are very recent members of U21, the network has immediately provided us with an advantage when applying for international funding”, according to Frank van Kampen, Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Amsterdam. “Through our membership in U21, we can demonstrate to the funding agencies that
UQ tops The Scientist poll
Readers of The Scientist magazine have ranked U21 member The University of Queensland, Australia as the top international academic institution outside the USA in the magazine’s annual Best Places to Work in Academia 2010 survey. Fellow U21 member The University of Nottingham was ranked no 8. The Scientist magazine survey included factors such as job satisfaction, peers, infrastructure and environment, research resources, pay, management and policies, teaching and mentoring, tenure and promotion.
University of Queensland
UQ Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Max Lu said although the ranking was done by surveying 2300 scientists, it was “a true reflection of UQ’s tremendous strengths and investment in infrastructure and people in the life sciences.” UQ is a newcomer to the survey. It has 1303 full-time life science researchers who receive $106 million in USD Federal funding.
45 percent of its readers cited universities as the best places to work, with medical schools ranked as the next best places by 28 percent of readers. Other categories included research institutes (14 percent), hospitals and government (5 percent each).
To read the full article visit: www.the-scientist.com/2010/7/1/43/1/
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Towards a common understanding of regional engagement
Issues for All
Issues for All
Issues for All
Case studies of exemplar major disciplines (e.g. medicine and health sciences), benchmarking exercises, best practice development, qualitative and quantitative investigations, audits and reviews could all contribute to addressing the priority areas and so develop innovation and good practice. In particular the group would welcome contributions from Medical Schools within U21 around studies of their contribution to health and well being at regional level. Medical schools in a number of U21 institutions exemplify excellence in engagement and outreach. Progress will be disseminated and stimulated through: • The development of publications, guidance, tools and mapping for all U21 institutions. • Two virtual seminars open to all U21 members • An analytical paper reviewing the role of regional engagement across U21. Membership and participation Representatives with responsibility for some aspect of regional engagement from the Universities of Melbourne, Queensland, Auckland, Glasgow, Lund and British Columbia form the core group of members and they are keen to invite wider active involvement. The group are meeting again at the 7th International Workshop on Higher Education Reform, organized by the Centre for Policy Studies in Higher Education and Training at St. John’s College at the University of British Columbia from 7-8 October 2010. New members would be very welcome to join us.
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new U21 interest group has been set up by the Universities of Auckland, Glasgow and Melbourne, supported by UBC and Lund University around the theme of research universities and their regional engagement. Currently, there appears to be no common understanding or recognised best practice for how an international research and teaching university could engage with its region for its own and the region’s best advantage. U21 universities differ widely in how their regional commitment is articulated, executed, managed and monitored and in how they engage with other higher education institutions within their locality. A first meeting of the group was hosted at the University of Melbourne in March 2010. It was agreed that the purpose of the group is to drive excellence and innovation in regional engagement through discovering the means by which global universities engage most effectively with their geographical regions for mutual benefit and added value. The aim is to discover how best and in what form a commitment to regional engagement by U21 members can: • Meet economic, social, cultural, environmental needs • Enhance the learning, research and engagement agenda of the university • Benefit both the university and the community. The group were informed by research conducted by the University of Melbourne, Knowledge Transfer and Partnerships Office and by the PASCAL consortium’s international work on universities and regional engagement which is led by the University of Glasgow. The benefits of engagement to research intensive universities were noted as being: • Greater recognition, prestige and external credibility • Wider horizons - new opportunities
for both researchers and students • Meeting the requirements of government policy agendas. Priorities There are many examples of excellence within the U21 universities and through sharing practices and collaboration the engagement agenda has the potential to add greater value to the universities’ core mission and objectives. However, by necessity, priorities were drawn up across the plethora of these activities. Priority areas were identified as: 1. Structures and management – There is a need to identify the structures and processes that most effectively drive and support high impact engagement activities within prestigious universities. Assessing the value of regional engagement and collaboration through indicators and benchmarks. Guidance on assessing partnerships and projects is needed to ensure that the costs and benefits of engagement can at least be approximated and that informed choices can be made by universities. 2. Stimulating, funding and delivering major research initiatives through regional partnerships – Benchmarking tools and guidance are needed on the most effective means of engaging with regions to advance ambitious research agenda. 3. The student experience – A broader understanding is required of ways to engage with regions for the purpose of enhancing the learning experience of students, stimulating higher level learning and developing research skills. Approach and next steps The approach will be to address these priorities through ongoing bilateral and multilateral collaborations. Much can be done through effective sharing of information and exchange of practice. Members of the group will also seek external funding, which will accelerate the pace and enhance the rigour of the work.
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Any U21 members who are interested in receiving more information or in participating in the group should contact either Professor Mike Osborne at the University of Glasgow ([email protected]) or Professor Susan Geertshuis at the University of Auckland (s.geertshuis@ auckland.ac.nz).
Forthcoming U21 Events Forthcoming U21 Events
27-28 July 2010 24 & 26 August 2010 15-17 September 2010 27 September 1 October 2010 4-8 October 2010 7-8 October 2010 13-15 October 2010 8/9 December2010 18-20 May 2011 18-20 May 2011 2011 December 2011 WFSC Steering Committee Meeting FINE networking events U21 Digital Humanities Workshop U21 Health Sciences Meeting U21 Learning Environment Design Forum U21 Research Universities in their Regions Meeting U21 Managers’ Meeting Managers’ Teleconference U21 Annual Presidents’ Meeting and AGM 1st U21 Early Career Researcher Workshop U21 Summer School 2nd U21 Early Career Researcher Workshop McGill University, Canada Helsinki, Finland University of Birmingham, UK Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico University College Dublin, Ireland University of British Columbia, Canada Fudan University, PR China 23:00 GMT University of New South Wales, Australia University of New South Wales, Australia University College Dublin, Ireland University of Birmingham, UK
Details of all U21 activitives and events can be found online at www.universitas21.com/events.html
Delhi Photo Album
Delhi Photo Album
BP Sahu as tour guide! Sari Chicks
Make way! Important meeting to attend! Are we all having fun?
Press conference humour
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The Back Page Interview
The Back Page Interview
What motivates you each day when you come to work?
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his edition’s Back Page Interview is with Helen Pennant, Director of International Affairs at the University of British Columbia, Canada. What is a typical day in your job?
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y day can vary greatly – that’s part of the attraction of the job for me. As my office handles international visitors to UBC and all our institutional agreements with international partners, I can be dealing with people from almost any country in the world on a wider range of issues. I can also be dealing with members of any Faculty or administrative unit since international is such a horizontal matter. What are your favourite parts of your job? What does UBC have to offer U21? What does it hope to get from it?
think universities have a very powerful potential to promote peaceful and constructive global relations. Student mobility programmes offer a very immediate way of promoting intercultural understanding, those kinds of contacts can stay with an individual for their whole lives. Research collaboration is also powerful tool for addressing global issues. Through working together researchers with different perspectives can better address the big issues of the day such as climate change. What does ‘internationalisation’ mean to you?
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enjoy the variety and meeting people from many different cultures.
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What are the key challenges you are facing currently?
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anaging the flow of information is an on-going challenge. My office acts as a channel for international opportunities and partnership development so we are constantly linking up people inside and outside the university who may have a common interest. What was your proudest professional moment?
BC has a long history of internationalization. We set up our international office 25 years ago and our first international agreement – with Shanghai Jiao Tong University was made 30 years ago. We would like to share some of the lessons learned from this experience with U21 colleagues but we would also like to learn from them. What has been the greatest influence on your professional life to date?
part from my work, my family life is quite international. I met my Canadian born husband in a cafe in London. We soon moved to Paris, where we were married. My son was born in France and since I became a Canadian citizen in April 2010 we are all dual nationals of the UK and Canada. What are your hobbies/how do you switch off from academic life?
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reeting the Emperor and Empress of Japan when they visited UBC last year was a rare honour. The Emperor had visited 55 years previously on his first overseas trip when he was a young Crown Prince so the return visit was moment of personal reminiscence. We showed a video of his first visit from our archives to him and his entourage. Some of them were moved to tears at the sight of their Emperor as such a young man.
hen I was a student at the University of Oxford I took a year out to study at the Sorbonne. At the time there were few formal student mobility programmes so I did it very much under my own steam, paying my way through teaching English in the early mornings. That early experience shaped my whole outlook on life and led me to choosing international jobs when I started work. It also took me back to Paris for a further 5 years when I worked at the Labour and Social Affairs Attaché at the British Embassy. Part of my role there was to promote educational links between the UK and France.
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have a 5 year old son so my time outside work is fairly active. We like to go to the local Vancouver mountains at the weekend to ski and snow-shoe. What is your favourite book?
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ndré Gide’s “Les Faux-monnayeurs” because it showed how different people’s perspectives of the same events can be. The challenge of finding a common understanding of shared experiences is part of what I enjoy about working in an international environment.
Universitas 21 Strathcona 109 • University of Birmingham • Edgbaston • Birmingham • B15 2TT • UK T: +44 121 415 8870 • F: +44 121 415 8873 • E: [email protected] www.universitas21.com
The deadline for receiving articles for the next newsletter is Wednesday 6 October 2010. Please send any text, photos or ideas to the Secretariat Administrator ([email protected]) .
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