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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IAU Celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science at UNESCO
The 2025 International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGS) brings renewed focus to closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. To mark the occasion, the International Association of Universities (IAU) was onsite at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris to take part in a series of events highlighting the importance of diversity, inclusion, and representation in science.
IAU Supports the Launch of OpenEU: A New European Universities Alliance
The OpenEU Alliance has been launched as part of the broader European Universities Initiative, a flagship programme under the European Strategy for Universities. The International Association of Universities (IAU) was pleased to be onsite for the launch, with Secretary General Dr. Hilligje van’t Land participating alongside university leadership teams and colleagues from EADTU.
HEIAS at Toyo University, Japan
Following the successful launch of the Higher Education Internationalization Advisory Services programme (HEIAS) at the IAU 2024 International Conference in Tokyo, Japan at Sophia University, the IAU is pleased to announce that Toyo University will be the first higher education institution to participate in the HEIAS programme.
HEIAS Annual Grant
Each year the IAU reserves a budget to cover one of the HEIAS programmes for one IAU Member HEI. The grant will cover the full fee of the service; the institution will only have to cover the travel and subsistence costs (accommodation and meals) of the members of the expert panel.
IAU Horizons 30.1 - Call for papers on Transforming Our World: Shaping the Path Forward
The International Association of Universities (IAU) calls on higher education leaders to reflect on their engagement with the SDGs and to share insights on both the achievements and shortcomings of the current agenda.
Fostering a Global Conversation and Cooperation in Higher Education
What is higher education for? What does it mean for international higher education to be fair and ethical? Where does transnational higher education sit in the balance bewteen cooperation and competition? IAU Deputy Secretary General Andreas Corcoran recently discussed these questions, amongst others, with Fabrizio Trifirò on the latest episode of the "Experiences of International Education" podcast.
Dialogue with the UNESCO Education Programme
The International Association of Universities (IAU) was pleased to take part in the 2024 International Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations, held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris over the course of three days. The conference convenes representatives from over 400 NGOs working across UNESCO’s areas of competence and serves as a platform to strengthen collaboration between civil society and the organization.
Call for Papers: Higher Education Policy
The IAU has launched a Call for Papers for a Special Edition of its quarterly research journal, Higher Education Policy. The special edition will be entitled International Organizations and Higher Education and abstracts should be submitted before 15 January 2025.
UNESCO Participation Programme: Promoting Equitable and Inclusive Internationalization at Universities in Africa
The International Association of Universities (IAU) is proud to announce that it has been awarded a grant under the UNESCO Participation Programme for a new initiative titled "Promoting Equitable and Inclusive Internationalization at Universities in Africa." This project underscores IAU’s long-standing commitment to supporting higher education institutions in developing inclusive and contextually grounded internationalization strategies.
Empowering and Advancing Africa's Scientific Enterprise
The International Association of Universities (IAU) was pleased to be represented by IAU Board Member Professor Abdul Rasheed Na’Allah at the 15th General Assembly and Scientific Conference of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), held in Abuja, Nigeria from 9–12 December 2025.
Advocating for Stronger Higher Education Cooperation in Africa at UNESCO Forum
The International Association of Universities (IAU) was proud to be represented at the recent UNESCO Forum on Higher Education in Africa: A Driver for Sustainable Development, a major event that brought together higher education institutions, youth leaders, skills providers, and development partners from across the continent. Held under UNESCO’s global priority on Africa and aligned with Agenda 2063 – The Africa We Want – the Forum provided a vital space to reflect on how Africa’s higher education ecosystem is helping to address sustainable development challenges at local, national, and regional levels.
International Forum on the Futures of Education
From 2–4 December 2024, UNESCO convened the International Forum on the Futures of Education in Suwon, Gyeonggido, Republic of Korea. The event brought together policymakers, scholars, practitioners, and international organizations to reflect on how education can be reimagined to build more sustainable, inclusive, and just societies. Central to the discussions was UNESCO’s call to renew the social contract for education.
Higher Education Policy Vol.37, Is.4
The last edition of 2024 of HEP brings us a diverse collection of papers, looking at themes such as the employability of public and private university graduates in Spain, the development of policy and practices in trans-national higher education in China, post-Covid 19, actions taken by two local higher education institutions in Portugal to address the employability agenda, and the historical and institutional roots of oppressive mechanisms employed by the Islamic Republic in Iranian universities since the 1979 revolution.
ELP Gathers Higher Education Leaders in Tokyo
In November 2024, the IAU marked a significant milestone in its Executive Leadership Programme (ELP) by celebrating the graduation of the 2023–2024 cohort and welcoming the launch of the 2024–2025 edition. The event, hosted at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, convened senior higher education leaders from around the world for several days of intensive learning, collaboration, and forward-looking dialogue.
Global Education Meeting 2024: A Pivotal Moment for Inclusive and Equitable Education
From October 31 to November 1, 2024, Fortaleza, Brazil, hosted the highly anticipated Global Education Meeting (GEM), convened by UNESCO and the SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee. This landmark event brought together education leaders, policymakers, practitioners, and advocates from every corner of the world to accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) — ensuring inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all.
Introducing the Latest IAU Programme: HEIAS
The International Association of Universities is pleased to launch its newest programme of work under the internationalization thematic priority area: HEIAS. This programme expands on the foundation laid by the original IAU ISAS and ISAS 2.0 programmes, which were created to support higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing, reviewing, and enhancing their internationalization strategies.
World Teacher’s Day 2024
On 5 October, the International Association of Universities (IAU) joined the global education community at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris to celebrate International Teachers’ Day 2024. This year’s observance held special significance as it was coupled with the award ceremony of the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development, a prestigious biennial prize supported by the Hamdan Foundation.
Transforming Knowledge for Africa’s Future
The IAU was proud to serve as a key partner at the recent International Forum of UNESCO Chairs and Partners on “Transforming Knowledge for Africa’s Future,” held in Addis Ababa from 30 September - 2 October 2024. Convened by UNESCO and the African Union, the Forum brought together diverse actors from across the globe to explore strategies to strengthen higher education systems, advance knowledge co-creation, and support sustainable development in Africa.
IAU Highlights Global Perspectives at Digital Transformation Symposium
The IAU was pleased to take part in the “Digital Transformation Symposium” hosted by Linnaeus University, Sweden. IAU Manager for Digital Transformation Trine Jensen delivered a keynote address exploring the current state of digital transformation within higher education from a global perspective.
Co-Creating Change for Sustainability
The IAU was pleased to take part in the 2024 Higher Education Summit, held at the Università degli Studi di Padova under the theme “Co-Creating Change for Sustainability.” Organised in collaboration with the COPERNICUS Alliance, the Summit brought together academic leaders, practitioners, and students to explore transformative approaches to embedding sustainability in higher education.