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Worldwide Universities Network
Established	2000
Members	23
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Oceania
Countries	Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Ghana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States
Chair	Professor dr Martin Paul (professor), Maastricht University
Executive Director	Professor Peter Lennie
General Manager	Dr Mike Hasenmueller
Acronym	WUN
Homepage	http://www.wun.ac.uk

The Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) is an alliance of 23 research-intensive universities. WUN provides financial and infrastructural support to member universities to foster international research collaboration and facilitate academic mobility.

Founded in 2000, the Worldwide Universities Network is a nonprofit group of 23 research universities from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Ghana, Kenya, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States.

The current members are:

• University of Alberta


• University of Auckland


• University of Bergen


• University of Bristol


• University of Cape Town


• University College Dublin


• University of Ghana


• Chinese University of Hong Kong


• University of Leeds


• Maastricht University


• University of Massachusetts Amherst


• University of Nairobi


• National Cheng Kung University


• Renmin University of China


• University of Rochester


• University of Sheffield


• University of Southampton


• University of Sydney


• Tecnológico de Monterrey


• Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais


• University of Western Australia


• University of York


• Zhejiang University

The network is funded principally by its member universities, who each pay an annual subscription fee.

Structure

WUN is managed by a Secretariat, which is responsible for the operations, communications and strategy implementation of the network.

Partnership Board

The Partnership Board provides entrepreneurial leadership of the company. The Board sets the strategic direction and vision of the company. The Board comprises the Presidents, Vice-Chancellors or Rectors of the member universities and the WUN Executive Director.

Chair: Professor dr Martin Paul, President, Maastricht University

Board Members

• Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana
  


• Professor Koen Lamberts, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sheffield
  


• Professor Peter Lennie, WUN Executive Director


• Professor Dawn Freshwater, Vice-Chancellor, University of Western Australia
  


• Professor Saul Tendler, Acting Vice-Chancellor, University of York
  


• Sir Alan Langlands, Vice-Chancellor, University of Leeds
  


• Professor Wu Zhaohui, President, Zhejiang University
  


• Professor Rocky Tuan, Vice-Chancellor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  


• Professor Stuart McCutcheon, Vice-Chancellor, University of Auckland
  


• Sir Christopher Snowden, Vice-Chancellor, University of Southampton
  


• Professor Dag Rune Olsen, Rector, University of Bergen
  


• Professor Dr Martin Paul, President, Maastricht University
  


• Dr David Turpin, President, University of Alberta
  


• President Joel Seligman, President, University of Rochester
  


• Dr Michael Spence, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sydney
  


• Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy, Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  


• Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town
  


• Professor Hugh R. Brady, Vice-Chancellor, University of Bristol
  


• Dr David Garza, Rector, Tecnológico de Monterrey
  


• Professor Huey-Jen Jenny Su, President, National Cheng Kung University
  


• Professor Sandra Almeida, President, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
  


• Professor Andrew Deeks, President, University College Dublin
  


• Professor Liu Wei, President, Renmin University of China
  


• Professor Peter Mbithi, Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi
  

Academic Advisory Group

The Academic Advisory Group is responsible for overseeing the academic portfolio of the Network and advising the Partnership Board on strategic direction. It is made up senior administrators, usually at the level of Vice-President or Deputy Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for the research or internationalisation priorities of the member universities.

Institutional Coordinators

Each WUN member university appoints an administrator to manage the implementation of the WUN strategies and programs on campus and to serve as the main contact point for network initiatives. This group shares information on collaborative opportunities and develops WUN’s research programs.

Global Challenges

WUN has identified four Global Challenges as the focus for its thematic research areas. There are numerous research groups within each Global Challenge. They are:

Responding to Climate Change

The Responding to Climate Change Global Challenge encapsulates a number of research projects that address scientific, cultural, health and social issues relating to climate change. Broad themes of the research include:

• Drivers and pressures of climate change


• States of and impacts on systems affected by climate change


• Managing a response to climate change.

Public Health and Non-Communicable Disease

The Public Health and Non-Communicable Disease Global Challenge emphasizes a life-course approach to opportunities for addressing non-communicable diseases, especially in low and middle income countries and transitioning populations, as well as developed societies where there are social disparities in risk.
There is a particular focus on:

• Health of family and migrants across the lifecourse


• Resilience of adolescents in different cultural contexts


• Schools as a setting for reducing risk factors associated with NCDs.

Understanding Cultures

The Understanding Cultures Global Challenge focuses on how globalization trends are challenging national, regional and individual cultural practices. These trends include A more integrated transnational economic system, the rise of global communications networks, increasing levels of population mobility, the advent of international consumer brands and widening social inequalities.
There is a particular focus on:

• Global Migration and Population


• Generations in Global Context


• Chinese Culture in the World.

Global Higher Education and Research

The Global Higher Education and Research Global Challenge addresses the sources, mechanisms and social structures that give rise to higher education challenges, and proposes reform policies for international research and education. There is a particular focus on issues of access and equity of higher education.

References