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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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Newly Released: IAU Position Paper on Open Science
The IAU is pleased to announce the release of the new IAU Position Paper: Universities, Open Science, and the Free Flow of Knowledge. The IAU adopted this position paper at the IAU 17th General Conference on 4 November 2026.
Now Available: IAU Horizons on The Value of Universities in the Era of AI
In this edition of IAU Horizons, the In Focus section is devoted to the theme of the IAU 17th General Conference: The Value of Universities in an Era of Artificial Intelligence. While countries around the world and societies at every level are grappling with how this technology will shape the future of our societies and, ultimately, the human condition, we, too, are compelled to contemplate the impact this will have on higher education and beyond.
Survey Report Launch: 2nd IAU Global Survey on Digital Transformation
The International Association of Universities (IAU) is pleased to present its second Global Survey Report on Digital Transformation, offering a global perspective on how higher education institutions are navigating an evolving digital landscape.
Institutional Site Visit: Spaces, Structures, and Cultures for Innovation at MIT
The IAU is pleased to announce that the next Institutional Site Visit will take place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA, USA, from 15-16 June 2027.
Applications Now Open: Study Visit at Bifröst University, Iceland
The International Association of Universities (IAU) is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the third 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 Bifröst University in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Focus on Higher Education at UNESCO Digital Learning Week 2026
From 8-11 September 2026, the IAU attended the UNESCO Digital Learning Week 2026 in its Headquarters in Paris. Under the theme Education in the age of AI: Facts | Frictions | Frontiers, this year’s programme focused on three key dimensions of the impact of this revolutionary technology on the education sector. It examined what counts as fact in an age of synthetic knowledge, how to navigate the friction that AI is generating across education systems, and, finally, what new frontiers are emerging.
The Role of Universities in Advancing AI for Good
In 2026, the 7th ASEF Higher Education Innovation Laboratory (ASEFInnoLab7) brought together university leaders, policy researchers, and innovators from across Asia and Europe under the banner of “The Role of Universities in Advancing AI for Good.”
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.
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.
Applications Now Open: Study Visit at Universidade Aberta, Portugal
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.
Open EU Alliance Meeting and Study Visit at UNED
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.
IAU 17th General Conference: Call for Proposals
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.
Applications Now Open: Study Visit at UNED, Spain
The International Association of Universities (IAU) is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the first in a series of four Study Visits, organised by the IAU in its role as an Associative partner of OpenEU.
Global Mapping on Higher Education Institutions’ Use of Artificial Intelligence
Within the framework of the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI), the Action Group on the Futures of Higher Education and Artificial Intelligence, co-led by the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) and the United Nations University (UNU), is conducting a global mapping to better understand how higher education institutions are using artificial intelligence (AI) across their various functions: teaching and learning, research, administrative management, and community engagement.
The Academic Conscience and Artificial Intelligence
The series will consist of six online episodes, with interpretation in English and French. Each episode will feature one keynote speaker presenting for 20 minutes, followed by a moderated conversation with selected discussants, and an open Q&A session with the audience. This format is designed to foster participatory dialogue and multi-perspective exchange across regions and disciplines.
Special Issue Call for Papers on Open Science
This Higher Education Policy (HEP) special issue invites scholarly contributions that critically examine the promises and contradictions of open science. 'Contributions should critically engage with the ways in which financial interests, policy frameworks, geopolitical asymmetries, and disciplinary hierarchies shape current models of openness.
Universities and AI: Insights from the IAU Global Survey at UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week 2025
Trine Jensen, Manager of Higher Education and Digital Transformation, represented the IAU at UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week 2025. This year’s conference was themed around ‘AI and the future of education: Disruptions, dilemmas and directions’, which took place from the 2nd to the 5th of September at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.
Institutional Site Visit on Artificial Intelligence at BNU
From August 20 to 21, 2025, IAU Institutional Site Visit on Artificial Intelligence and the Global University Leaders Forum——Harnessing AI to Transform Higher Education was successfully held at the Changping and Haidian Campuses of Beijing Normal University (BNU). Leaders, experts, and scholars from 18 universities across 16 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania gathered in Beijing to engage in in-depth discussions on the transformation of higher education empowered by artificial intelligence and to examine relevant practical achievements. The Site Visit and the Forum was co-hosted by International Association of Universities (IAU) and UNESCO Chair on Artificial Intelligence in Education, Beijing Normal University, which marked the first implementation of the “IAU Institutional Site Visit” program in China and also the flagship cooperative initiative following Beijing Normal University’s official accession to IAU.
High Level Expert Group Meeting with UN-OHRLLS on Online Universities
In early June 2025, the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) convened a High Level Expert Group Meeting on online university or equivalent platform for STEM education for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) within the framework of the the Doha Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries (2022 – 2031).