News
Read below IAU news both from the Association and from its Members. Search or filter news by category (IAU or Member News), as well as by subject matter.
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Discussions on the Transformative Impact of Education
From 26-28 August, Isabel Toman, IAU Senior Programme Officer for Higher Education and Sustainable Development (HESD) attended and presented a paper at the 2026 Higher Education Summit.
IAU Contributions to GSE 2026: Grounding AI and Digital Transformation in Human Agency and Empirical Evidence
From 18 to 20 August, the International Association of Universities (IAU) participated in the Global Smart Education Conference 2026 (GSE 2026) held at Beijing Normal University (BNU), China.
Advancing Education and Science for Sustainable Development
In July 2026, the IAU actively participated in two pivotal UNESCO events this July: the Transforming Education Summit +4 (TES+4) and the 2026 Global Conference on the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD 2024–2033).
Navigating forcibly displaced learners’ pathways to higher education and beyond: Ukrainian students in French higher education
The IAU is pleased to announce that the article Navigating forcibly displaced learners’ pathways to higher education and beyond: Ukrainian students in French higher education has recently been published. This publication, written by Yasar Kondakci, Sevgi Kaya Kasikci, Giorgio Marinoni, and Kateryna Nakvatska, was born on the initiative of Kateryna during her internship at the IAU in 2024.
IAU and CAPES Sign MoU to Advance Internationalization of Brazilian Higher Education
The IAU is pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) under the CAPES-Global.edu project, a major Brazilian government initiative for the internationalization of post-graduate higher education.
IAU Contributions to the Université Côte d'Azur International Digital Week 2026
The IAU was pleased to participate in the 5th edition of the Université Côte d'Azur International Digital Week, contributing expert insights and facilitating critical discussions on the intersection of digital transformation, internationalisation, and the future of higher education.
IAU Contributes to the Revision of the UNESCO Recommendation on Higher-Education Teaching Personnel
In the three decades since the adoption of the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel (1997), the global higher education landscape has undergone profound transformation.
International University Collaboration: Strengthening Academic and Cultural Ties at the 35th Meeting of the AULP
From 15–17 June 2026, IAU Secretary General Hilligje van’t Land joined 150 university leaders from Lusophone countries and China at the 35th Meeting of the Association of Portuguese Language Universities (AULP), marking the organisation’s 40th anniversary.
Advancing Women’s Leadership in European Higher Education Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions
On 10 June 2026, the European Women Rectors Association (EWORA) convened its annual conference in Brussels, bringing together women academic leaders from Europe and beyond under the theme: “Women’s Leadership in Academia in Times of Rising Geopolitical Tensions”. The event provided a critical space to reflect on the role of universities in upholding democracy, academic freedom, and international cooperation—values under pressure in an era of fragmentation and uncertainty.
GaragErasmus Annual Meeting 2026
IAU Manager of Higher Education and Internationalization, Giorgio Marinoni, recently contributed to the 2026 Annual Meeting of the garagErasmus Foundation. GaragErasmus is the Erasmus Generation Professional Network and aims t be a creative hub for mobile talents to support the shaping of a new Europe.
Pillars of Freedom: Safeguarding Knowledge and Building Institutional Resilience
IAU Secretary General Hilligje van’t Land participated in the Science|Business roundtable "Pillars of Freedom: Safeguarding knowledge, building institutional resilience" in Brussels.
IAU at the HLPF 2026
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.”
European Academic Recognition in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
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.
Toward a High-Impact University That Changes the World
The IAU was pleased to have been invited for the second year in a row to the Network for University Leaders in Governance and Management (DG2) 2026 Summer School, hosted by UNIMINUTO, Colombia.
Celebrating 75 Years of Global Cooperation in Higher Education
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
Transforming the Internationalization of Higher Education for a Multipolar World: IAU Contributions at FAUBAI 2026
The IAU was pleased to participate and contribute to the 2026 FAUBAI Conference on 12-15 April in Florianópolis, Brazil.
IAU Advances Global Collaboration for Equitable Higher Education at the Global Education Coalition Meeting 2026
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.”
Transforming Higher Education: Global Collaboration on Visioning and Action
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.
Advancing EU–Canada Academic Cooperation
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.