The International Association of Universities (IAU) and Université Catholique de Lille are pleased to announce that Université Catholique de Lille has confirmed the leadership and coordination of the IAU Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD) Subcluster on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: Reduced Inequalities.

From 7 to 15 July 2026, the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will be held under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. The 2026 Forum will focus on the theme “Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for a sustainable future for all.”

Hosted by Murdoch University from 3-6 November 2026, the IAU 17th General Conference event will feature a dynamic programme exploring emerging trends in higher education, drawing on diverse perspectives from all regions of the world.

The IAU was pleased to participate and contribute to the 33rd Annual Joint Meeting of the ENIC and NARIC Networks held on 24-26 May 2026 in Athens, Greece.

The International Association of Universities (IAU) is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the second in a series of four OpenEU Study Visits, organised by the IAU in its role as an Associative partner of OpenEU. This Study Visit will take place at the Universidade Aberta in Lisbon, Portugal.

Over the past seventy five years, the IAU has served as a unique global convener for higher education. It has provided a trusted forum for dialogue across cultures and systems, championed core academic values, and supported universities in addressing shared challenges—from access and quality, to academic freedom, sustainability and the public responsibility of higher education

The IAU and EAIE invite you to join us for the 2nd Internationalisation Leadership Dialogue hosted by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 from 9:30 – 14:30.

Since 2025, the IAU offers one fee waiver to cover the participation of one IAU Member HEI for the Responsible Futures International programme.

The IAU was pleased to participate and contribute to the 2026 FAUBAI Conference on 12-15 April in Florianópolis, Brazil. 

Building Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development: The IAU HESD Cluster and the Road Ahead to 2030

Celebrating 75 years of international higher education collaboration…

On 23-24 March the IAU attended the sixth annual Global Education Coalition meeting convened under the theme “Turning vision into value: Transforming education together.”

Each year the IAU reserves a budget to offer free of charge some online HEIAS modules for one IAU Member institution. For 2026, the IAU is pleased to work with the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine under the framework of the HEIAS Annual Grant.

The IAU is pleased to have recently signed two Memorandums of Understanding with the European Association of International Education (EAIE).

The IAU was pleased to participate in the 12 March 2026 launch of the UNESCO publication “Transforming higher education: Global collaboration on visioning and action,” a landmark roadmap designed to reimagine and strengthen the higher education sector worldwide.

From 25 to 27 February 2026, UNICA Days 2026 took place in Brussels under the theme “EU–Canada Cooperation: Shared Values, Shared Futures”. The event was co-organised by UNICA, the Delegation for Relations with Canada of the European Parliament, the International Association of Universities (IAU), and Science|Business.

The IAU was pleased to participate in the Annual Meeting of the OpenEU Alliance and to organise the first OpenEU Study Visit at UNED - Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia.

Framed by the theme “Universities in the Age of AI,” the IAU has opened this call for proposals to identify speakers from different regions of the world that can contribute to the important conversations during breakout sessions of the conference programme.

From 23-25 February 2026, the International Association of Universities (IAU) was pleased to participate in the Universities Australia Solutions Summit, contributing a strong global perspective to discussions on the future of higher education in a rapidly changing world.

Each year, the IAU reserves a dedicated budget to offer a HEIAS Annual Fee Waiver to one IAU Member institution. This Fee Waiver provides access, free of charge, to selected online modules of the HEIAS services, allowing institutions to strengthen their internationalisation strategy through structured, expert-led support.

On 18 February 2026, IAU Secretary General Hilligje van’t Land represented the Association and contributed to the UNESCO symposium convened as part of the RUNES/AFIRSE 2026 International Conference on “The Renewal of the Scientific Contract of Education” and the UNESCO Futures of Education Initiative.

On 9 February, IAU Secretary General Dr. Hilligje van’t Land represented the Association in the seminar “Navigating Recognition of Qualifications in Transnational Education,” hosted by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) in Brussels.

The Student Mobility Summit 2025, hosted by the University of Barcelona, brought together higher education leaders , adminstrators, and stakeholders from across Europe to examine the evolving landscape of international student mobility.

This note, written by an expert group and approved by the IAU Adminsitrative Board, is in Support of the Report of the UNU-Convened Independent Expert Group on Global University Rankings

The International Association of Universities (IAU) was pleased to part in the UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Regional Meeting held from 21-23 January 2026 in Bucharest, Romania.

The IAU is pleased to announce that it will conduct the 4th Global Survey on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development in 2026.

Each year, the IAU reserves a dedicated budget to offer a HEIAS Annual Fee Waiver to one IAU Member institution. This Fee Waiver provides access, free of charge, to selected online modules of the HEIAS services, allowing institutions to strengthen their internationalisation strategy through structured, expert-led support.

We are thrilled to announce that our Member the University of Ilorin has been awarded the IAU Fee Waiver 2025/26 to participate in the Responsible Futures International Programme- becoming the first higher education institution in Nigeria to join the programme.