annual report 2011 – 2012...• global higher education and research – bristol, uk – february...
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Worldwide Universities NetworkAnnual Report
2011 – 2012
www.wun.ac.uk
2
4 Global Challenge Conferences:
• Public Health – Shanghai, China – May 2011
• Understanding Cultures – Cape Town, South Africa – July 2011
• Adapting to Climate Change – Southampton, UK – September 2011
• Global Higher Education and Research – Bristol, UK – February 2012
•85 active
Interdisciplinary Research Groups
WUN Research Development Fund
directly injects £198,534 into collaborative research projects.
Lifting the bar in direct engagement with international agencies, government and industry including World Bank, OECD, WHO, DFiD, DEFRA, National Science Foundation, UK Research Councils, British Council, AusAID, Danone, Johnson & Johnson, NovoNordisk and Arup.
Completion of a track record exercise revealing that WUN has catalysed to date:
• £18.37 million in external funding
• 177 published papers
• 176 journal articles
• 16 books
• 23 book chapters
Growing policy impact in adoption of WUN declarations and communications in public health, climate change and education:
• Shanghai Declaration of the WUN Network on Early Life Opportunities for Addressing NCDs in Developing Countries adopted by WHO and fed into the UN.
• WUN Communiqué on Combining Climate Change and NCD Prevention adopted by the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance and fed into the UN.
• WUN Presidents Forum on Higher Education reform presented to OECD and global fora.
A growing network of 19 partners with 3 new members:
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• The University of Rochester
• The University of Campinas
by the numbers
Table of contents
WUN Strategy Map 2
Introduction from the Chair 3
Introduction from the Chief Executive 4
Academic Advisory Group 5
WUN Conference and AGM 2012 London 6
Global Challenge: Adapting to Climate Change 7
Global Challenge: Public Health 9
Global Challenge: Global Higher Education and Research 12
Global Challenge: Understanding Cultures 14
Other research programs 16
Fostering the next generation of researchers 17
How to partner with WUN 18
Leadership and Governance 23
2
W
UN
Str
ate
gy
Map
To b
e o
ne o
f th
e le
adin
g In
tern
atio
nal
Hig
her
Ed
uca
tio
n ne
two
rks,
co
llab
ora
ting
to
acc
eler
ate
the
crea
tio
n o
f kn
ow
led
ge
and
to
dev
elo
p t
he p
eop
le r
equi
red
to
ad
dre
ss t
he c
hal
leng
es a
nd
op
po
rtun
itie
s o
f o
ur r
apid
ly c
han
gin
g w
orl
d
WU
N P
urp
ose
: W
UN
Cre
ates
new
mul
tilat
eral
op
po
rtun
ities
fo
r in
tern
atio
nal c
olla
bo
ratio
n in
res
earc
h an
d g
rad
uate
ed
ucat
ion.
It
is a
flex
ible
dyn
amic
org
anis
atio
n th
at u
ses
the
com
bin
ed r
eso
urce
s an
d in
telle
ctua
l pow
er o
f its
mem
ber
ship
to
ach
ieve
co
llect
ive
inte
rnat
iona
l ob
ject
ives
and
to
str
etch
inte
rnat
iona
l am
biti
ons
Dev
elo
p a
vib
rant
inte
rnat
ion
al
netw
ork
co
llab
ora
ting
on
a d
iver
se r
ang
e o
f p
roje
cts
Nur
ture
hig
h im
pac
t re
sear
ch
com
mun
itie
s ta
cklin
g
pro
ble
ms
of
glo
bal
imp
ort
ance
Fo
ster
a w
orl
d le
adin
g
gra
du
ate
edu
cati
on
pro
gra
mm
e fo
r th
e ne
xt
gen
erat
ion
of
inno
vato
rs
Est
ablis
h a
po
wer
ful
inte
rnat
ion
al p
artn
ersh
ip w
ith
stra
teg
ic in
fluen
ce
Dev
elop
and
mai
ntai
n a
broa
d po
rtfo
lio o
f int
erna
tiona
l m
ultil
ater
al p
roje
cts
Dev
elop
and
str
ateg
ical
ly
supp
ort
a lim
ited
num
ber
of
pote
ntia
l win
ners
at
Glo
bal
Cha
lleng
e le
vel
Bui
ld a
str
ong
inte
rnat
iona
l gr
adua
te c
omm
unity
eng
aged
in
hig
h qu
ality
col
labo
rativ
e re
sear
ch s
emin
ars
& a
cad
emic
pr
ogra
mm
es
Incr
ease
the
pow
er o
f the
“W
UN
voi
ce”
in a
lobb
ying
and
am
bass
ador
ial r
ole.
Dev
elop
a g
reat
er s
ense
of
owne
rshi
p an
d le
ader
ship
with
in
WU
N m
embe
rs o
f WU
N a
ctiv
ities
Ext
end
the
geog
raph
ic a
nd
cultu
ral s
cope
& a
cad
emic
ca
pabi
lity
for
spec
ific
proj
ects
th
roug
h th
e “W
UN
plu
s” c
once
pt
Dev
elop
and
ext
end
the
rese
arch
m
obili
ty p
rogr
amm
e
Ens
ure
that
WU
N is
rec
ogni
sed
for
the
vast
pot
entia
l of i
ts
inte
llect
ual r
esou
rces
by
exte
rnal
st
akeh
old
ers
Faci
litat
e un
der
stan
ding
, co
mm
unic
atio
n an
d in
tera
ctio
ns
with
in W
UN
to in
crea
se th
e co
llabo
ratio
n an
d bu
ild th
e co
mm
unity
Cre
ate
and
mai
ntai
n a
stra
tegi
c ov
ersi
ght
of th
e W
UN
pot
entia
l G
loba
l Cha
lleng
e pr
iorit
ies
Dev
elop
par
tner
ship
s w
ith le
adin
g in
tern
atio
nal
corp
orat
ions
, pro
vidi
ng
oppo
rtun
ities
for
them
and
our
gr
adua
tes
Bui
ld a
str
ong
und
erst
andi
ng
with
in th
e W
UN
com
mun
ity
of th
e va
lue
to b
e ga
ined
fr
om e
ffect
ive
inte
rnat
iona
l co
llabo
ratio
n
.....s
upp
ort
ed a
nd f
acili
tate
d in
a s
usta
inab
le, i
nteg
rate
d, r
esp
ons
ive
and
str
ateg
ic m
anne
r. W
e w
ill n
eed
to.
..
Ens
ure
del
iver
y an
d im
pact
of
WU
N p
roje
cts
thro
ugh
stro
ng
alig
nmen
t w
ith m
embe
rs’
prio
ritie
s
Focu
s ou
r at
tent
ion
and
reso
urce
s up
on th
ese
prio
ritie
s,
ensu
ring
acco
unta
bilit
y a
nd
del
iver
y
Com
mun
icat
e a
clea
r vi
sion
and
st
rate
gy fo
r W
UN
and
ens
ure
this
has
wid
e en
gage
men
t
Impr
ove
the
mar
ketin
g, b
rand
ing
and
profi
le r
aisi
ng o
f WU
N
3
Open an atlas or online map and you’ll see a world divided by borders and shades of different colours separating nations and states. But go to your email, Facebook account or favourite blog and those borders disappear into networks of connections governed by shared interests, concerns and challenges.
Among them is the Worldwide Universities Network, a collection of 19 research-intensive universities, joined together by a shared interest in working collaboratively to address a number of pressing global challenges. Our membership has grown in 2011 to include the University of Rochester in New York, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the State University of Campinas in Brazil, extending the network to six continents.
It has been a busy year. We have sharpened our focus, established active steering groups and held four major conferences, providing leadership and direction to WUN’s four areas of global challenge: adapting to climate change, understanding cultures, global public health and non-communicable diseases, and global higher education and research. We have sought opportunities to reach out to the international community where possible. The Shanghai Declaration on non-communicable diseases, developed at the WUN conference on global public health in 2012 and then submitted to the World Health Organization (WHO), is just one example.
WUN continues to expand its networks of knowledge. In addition to attracting new member institutions, many research projects initiated and supported within WUN include numerous academic partners outside the network. Through those connections, we are raising the profile of WUN and its aims, and widening our potential spheres of influence and impact throughout the academic global community and beyond.
The talent and knowledge created, uncovered, and advanced in research-intensive universities across the world are resources that can, and should, be amplified and multiplied for the benefit of global communities through collaboration and connection. I invite you to continue reading to learn more about how WUN continues this important work, by nurturing, supporting and strengthening international, interdisciplinary research networks and partnerships that seek to create and apply new knowledge to pressing global challenges.
Indira V Samarasekera OC Chair, WUN Partnership Board President, University of Alberta
To b
e o
ne o
f th
e le
adin
g In
tern
atio
nal
Hig
her
Ed
uca
tio
n ne
two
rks,
co
llab
ora
ting
to
acc
eler
ate
the
crea
tio
n o
f kn
ow
led
ge
and
to
dev
elo
p t
he p
eop
le r
equi
red
to
ad
dre
ss t
he c
hal
leng
es a
nd
op
po
rtun
itie
s o
f o
ur r
apid
ly c
han
gin
g w
orl
d
WU
N P
urp
ose
: W
UN
Cre
ates
new
mul
tilat
eral
op
po
rtun
ities
fo
r in
tern
atio
nal c
olla
bo
ratio
n in
res
earc
h an
d g
rad
uate
ed
ucat
ion.
It
is a
flex
ible
dyn
amic
org
anis
atio
n th
at u
ses
the
com
bin
ed r
eso
urce
s an
d in
telle
ctua
l pow
er o
f its
mem
ber
ship
to
ach
ieve
co
llect
ive
inte
rnat
iona
l ob
ject
ives
and
to
str
etch
inte
rnat
iona
l am
biti
ons
Dev
elo
p a
vib
rant
inte
rnat
ion
al
netw
ork
co
llab
ora
ting
on
a d
iver
se r
ang
e o
f p
roje
cts
Nur
ture
hig
h im
pac
t re
sear
ch
com
mun
itie
s ta
cklin
g
pro
ble
ms
of
glo
bal
imp
ort
ance
Fo
ster
a w
orl
d le
adin
g
gra
du
ate
edu
cati
on
pro
gra
mm
e fo
r th
e ne
xt
gen
erat
ion
of
inno
vato
rs
Est
ablis
h a
po
wer
ful
inte
rnat
ion
al p
artn
ersh
ip w
ith
stra
teg
ic in
fluen
ce
Dev
elop
and
mai
ntai
n a
broa
d po
rtfo
lio o
f int
erna
tiona
l m
ultil
ater
al p
roje
cts
Dev
elop
and
str
ateg
ical
ly
supp
ort
a lim
ited
num
ber
of
pote
ntia
l win
ners
at
Glo
bal
Cha
lleng
e le
vel
Bui
ld a
str
ong
inte
rnat
iona
l gr
adua
te c
omm
unity
eng
aged
in
hig
h qu
ality
col
labo
rativ
e re
sear
ch s
emin
ars
& a
cad
emic
pr
ogra
mm
es
Incr
ease
the
pow
er o
f the
“W
UN
voi
ce”
in a
lobb
ying
and
am
bass
ador
ial r
ole.
Dev
elop
a g
reat
er s
ense
of
owne
rshi
p an
d le
ader
ship
with
in
WU
N m
embe
rs o
f WU
N a
ctiv
ities
Ext
end
the
geog
raph
ic a
nd
cultu
ral s
cope
& a
cad
emic
ca
pabi
lity
for
spec
ific
proj
ects
th
roug
h th
e “W
UN
plu
s” c
once
pt
Dev
elop
and
ext
end
the
rese
arch
m
obili
ty p
rogr
amm
e
Ens
ure
that
WU
N is
rec
ogni
sed
for
the
vast
pot
entia
l of i
ts
inte
llect
ual r
esou
rces
by
exte
rnal
st
akeh
old
ers
Faci
litat
e un
der
stan
ding
, co
mm
unic
atio
n an
d in
tera
ctio
ns
with
in W
UN
to in
crea
se th
e co
llabo
ratio
n an
d bu
ild th
e co
mm
unity
Cre
ate
and
mai
ntai
n a
stra
tegi
c ov
ersi
ght
of th
e W
UN
pot
entia
l G
loba
l Cha
lleng
e pr
iorit
ies
Dev
elop
par
tner
ship
s w
ith le
adin
g in
tern
atio
nal
corp
orat
ions
, pro
vidi
ng
oppo
rtun
ities
for
them
and
our
gr
adua
tes
Bui
ld a
str
ong
und
erst
andi
ng
with
in th
e W
UN
com
mun
ity
of th
e va
lue
to b
e ga
ined
fr
om e
ffect
ive
inte
rnat
iona
l co
llabo
ratio
n
.....s
upp
ort
ed a
nd f
acili
tate
d in
a s
usta
inab
le, i
nteg
rate
d, r
esp
ons
ive
and
str
ateg
ic m
anne
r. W
e w
ill n
eed
to.
..
Ens
ure
del
iver
y an
d im
pact
of
WU
N p
roje
cts
thro
ugh
stro
ng
alig
nmen
t w
ith m
embe
rs’
prio
ritie
s
Focu
s ou
r at
tent
ion
and
reso
urce
s up
on th
ese
prio
ritie
s,
ensu
ring
acco
unta
bilit
y a
nd
del
iver
y
Com
mun
icat
e a
clea
r vi
sion
and
st
rate
gy fo
r W
UN
and
ens
ure
this
has
wid
e en
gage
men
t
Impr
ove
the
mar
ketin
g, b
rand
ing
and
profi
le r
aisi
ng o
f WU
N
Introduction from the Chair
4
These selected highlights of WUN 2011-2012 present a snapshot through a busy and successful year. WUN continues to evolve rapidly, based on the vision of the founders.
We are delighted to welcome our new partners: the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Rochester and the State University of Campinas. Their active engagement gives us a convincing global reach when added to our established partners, now with six in the Asia Pacific, seven in Europe-Africa, and five in the Americas. We will continue to build as an integrated team, but are unlikely to go beyond 20-25 members, all of them international research intensive universities.
The governance of WUN is strong and led by the Partnership Board, comprising the 18 partner university Presidents and the Chief Executive. The Academic Advisory Group, made up of the university Vice-Presidents, plays a vital role in the development of strategic options, quality review of all WUN programs, annual implementation of the Research Development Fund, and championship of WUN in their respective universities. The four Global Challenges, with the 85 Interdisciplinary Research Groups, are operated through expert steering groups. The Coordinators Group, with an individual appointed by each university, ensures the promotion, development and engagement of staff and students in the collaborative programs of WUN.
The Global Challenges focus WUN on some of the pressing issues of our world. In Adapting to Climate Change, interdisciplinary teams address pivotal questions in food security, oceanography, glaciology, and atmospheric adaptation. In Understanding Cultures, the programs range from international relations in the rise of the BRICS to the currency of medieval thought and to postcolonial development over the past century. In Public Health, the focus is on the new epidemics of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, along with the international agencies that can enhance preventative approaches. In Globalisation of Higher Education and Research, the emphasis is on the reforms required to afford improved education, innovation and development. Pages 7 to 15 share just some of the stories of the work we are doing in these important fields.
The future directions of WUN are developed carefully to ensure quality and delivery of knowledge, know-how and teamwork with partners from governments, NGOs, industry, international agencies and alumni. WUN has advanced in its knowledge, impact and policy options during 2011-12, and will bring further innovation to focus in 2012-13.
John Hearn Chief Executive, Worldwide Universities Network
Introduction from the Chief Executive
5
The WUN Academic Advisory Group (AAG) is composed of senior academic staff from each of the WUN universities. Its role is to provide advice to the Chief Executive and the Partnership Board on a range of functions within the network and to assist the WUN Coordinators and the General Manager on key WUN initiatives. The AAG member at each institution provides a vital link between the activities of the network and local academic endeavours.
A major focus of the AAG is enhancing the quality and impact of WUN’s academic efforts. AAG members helped to design and implement the evaluation of proposals for WUN central funding in the annual Research Development Fund (RDF) programme. AAG members also serve as leaders of the WUN Global Challenge Steering Groups, helping to align and guide our collective research efforts towards solving substantial interdisciplinary problems that require a global approach. Finally, the AAG holds monthly conference calls in which members provide essential feedback to the WUN enterprise.
For the past year, I have had the honour of serving as Chair of the AAG Steering Group, which includes six members of the AAG selected to ensure representation from each major geographic region of the network. In 2011-2012, we have worked closely with the WUN Secretariat to refine the RDF evaluation process and the Global Challenge structure, both of which are now models for how a global network of universities should operate. We have also been deeply engaged in efforts to implement a systematic data-gathering exercise that will allow WUN to recognise and evaluate the numerous accomplishments of the network’s researchers and educators.
In our capacity as advisers and guides to the WUN enterprise, AAG members play an exciting role in a vibrant collective effort to harness the diverse strengths of the WUN institutions and focus them on the important problems of our time.
Peter Schiffer Chair, WUN Academic Advisory Group Associate Vice-President for Research and Professor of Physics The Pennsylvania State University
Academic Advisory Group
6
103 delegates, representing every WUN partner met in London in May 2012 to participate in three days of conferences, meetings and events.
The WUN Conference and AGM continues to grow in size and importance year upon year as the flagship event in the WUN calendar. It is the one annual event where the entire WUN community can come together to celebrate the previous year’s achievements and to plan ahead for the coming year.
A highlight of the 2012 conference was the 2nd WUN Presidents Forum. Following on from the success of the inaugural forum in Shanghai in 2011, the 2012 event took as its theme The Knowledge Gap. The forum examined in four sessions the increasingly vital role that universities play in society and how universities can work closer with government, agencies, industry and communities to address global challenges. The Presidents Forum provides an opportunity for WUN Presidents, Vice-Chancellors and Rectors to engage in high-level dialogue on issues facing global higher education together with leaders from government, agencies and industry.
The UK Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts, addressed the conference, outlining current issues in UK higher education and emphasising the need for international partnerships and the mobility of researchers and students.
In addition to the annual meetings of the Global Challenge Steering Groups and the various governance groups of WUN, the 2012 conference saw the first meeting of WUN Research Managers and Administrators and provided this important group of WUN stakeholders a chance to share information and devise strategies to leverage their considerable knowledge and contacts as a resource for the development of the global challenges.
WUN Conference and AGM 2012 London
7
Climate change poses a number of urgent challenges to humanity, including the need to adapt to increasing food and water shortages, environmental changes, and population displacement and migration. Collaborative, multidisciplinary research will play a central role in mounting an effective response to these challenges.
Drawing on substantial breadth and depth of expertise in both the natural and social sciences across its global network, WUN is well-placed to carry out this multidisciplinary research and address the complex scientific, cultural, health and social issues surrounding climate change. Experts across the globe are working collaboratively to explore and discover sustainable strategies to help humanity to adapt to it.
WUN focuses its resources in this Global Challenge on food security, water management, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, urbanisation, energy and health, across 35 international research programmes. We also work with policy-makers and practitioners to disseminate, translate and deliver research-driven outcomes at the global, regional and local level. A strong emphasis is placed on equity and social justice, and on identifying climatic and societal response thresholds to make our research useful to stakeholders at all levels.
2nd WUN Adapting to Climate Change Global Challenge Conference – Southampton, UK
The 2nd WUN Adapting to Climate Change Global Challenge Conference was hosted by the University of Southampton in September 2011. The aim was to review how the issue of adaptation to climate change is currently framed, share new insights and highlight priorities for future research and action. Over 70 WUN researchers from across both the natural and social sciences came together in order to develop a holistic, multidisciplinary response to one of the biggest challenges facing humanity.
Three themes underpinned the conference: the drivers and pressures of climate change, the impact on systems affected by climate change, and managing a response to climate change. Speakers from seven WUN partner universities brought delegates up to date on the key challenges in their areas of expertise, including adapting to near-term climate change, ocean acidification and restoring rivers. Two keynote addresses focused on the complex issues of adapting
to sea-level rise and geo-engineering the climate.
A strong emphasis was placed on building partnerships with key stakeholders. On Day 2, interactive sessions were held with major policy-making and practitioner bodies such as the World Bank, the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the US National Science Foundation. Delegates were able to hear about and discuss their latest initiatives, funding programs and policy requirements.
The conference has helped to focus and refine the efforts of the WUN Adapting to Climate Change Global Challenge, and has resulted in an operational plan, capability statement and value proposition for the challenge. It has also resulted in the creation of a matrix that clearly lays out the research strengths of WUN in this critical field across the areas of food security, water security, energy security, urbanisation and human security.
Solar radiation management: a climate balancing act
Managing solar radiation is one proposed solution for combating global warming, with possible strategies including satellites that block the sun, placing aerosol particles in the upper atmosphere and making the Earth’s surface more reflective. However, a collaborative climate science project by WUN partners, the University of Bristol and Penn State University, has found that such efforts would require a difficult balancing act between reducing sea level rise and reducing the rate of surface air temperature change.
To stop sea level rise, according to the researchers, incoming solar radiation would have to be decreased rapidly, but this approach would produce undesirable rapid cooling of the surface air temperature. Adopting a more gradual approach would reduce the risks of rapid cooling, but allow for considerable sea level rise. “Basic physics and past observations suggest that reducing the net influx of solar energy will cool the Earth,” said Peter J Irvine, a graduate student at the University of Bristol and participant in a WUN Research Mobility Programme exchange with Penn State. “However, surface air temperatures would respond much more quickly and sea levels will respond much more slowly.”
While solar radiation management approaches could be cheaper than lowering carbon dioxide emissions,
Global Challenge: Adapting to Climate Change
8
the team found they are no substitute for curbing emissions and are inherently risky. The forcing required to stop sea level rise could cause rapid cooling with a rate similar to the peak business-as-usual warming rate; such cooling would be a major problem if it exceeds the capacity of plants and animals to adapt. “It could be more damaging than the increasing temperatures caused by increasing carbon dioxide,” said Klaus Keller, associate professor of geosciences at Penn State. The collaboration’s findings were published in Nature Climate Change.
The indoor impact of climate change
Research into the impact of climate change often assumes that buildings will shelter human populations from its harmful consequences. But will such protection be adequate?
Climate change is likely to affect indoor environmental quality in a range of ways, including some that have not been considered in climate change literature to date. Examples include higher indoor temperatures and extreme heat events; higher ozone levels and chemical by-products caused by chemical reactions with ozone indoors; increased outdoor pollution which raises pollution levels indoors; reduced ventilation that saves energy but increases indoor pollution; increased moisture and humidity leading to indoor mould; and ecological shifts leading to the spread of infectious diseases indoors.
Now a research team led by Nanjing University with partners at Sheffield and Penn State is working to gain a deeper understanding of the potential impact of climate change on indoor environmental quality. Initiated with the support of the WUN Research Development Fund, the project explores the indoor effects of climate change in different locales across China, the US and the UK.
A key aim of the project is to mitigate the risk of poor indoor environmental quality under climate change conditions by developing adaptation strategies for architects, building service engineers and stakeholders. The initiative will also help policy-makers to weigh the importance of indoor environmental concerns when setting priorities for further research or policy exploration.
Investigating the links between climate change and NCDs
Climate change and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are among the most complex challenges facing humanity. A major WUN project led by the University of Sydney in collaboration with the University of Bristol, is examining the overlap between these two important issues and how the law might be used to craft solutions.
The project began with the 2nd WUN Global Health Justice Workshop held in May 2011 in Sydney. It brought together 25 academics from 11 universities and institutions, including WUN partners Penn State, Alberta, Leeds and Western Australia as well as Sydney and Bristol, to agree on overarching research priorities and commence a process of exploring and expanding these. The workshop resulted in a communiqué detailing five priorities - the tension between health and the environment versus economic gain, food systems, corporate social responsibility, health in all policies and regulatory interventions.
Following this, an international Delphi survey was undertaken which sought the input of experts in law, policy, public health, nutrition, architecture and other relevant disciplines on adding to the original questions and refining them into specific, prioritised research questions. “While the survey results are still being analysed it is clear from the preliminary findings that the respondents overwhelmingly identified food, nutrition and agriculture issues as the primary concern followed closely by issues relating to urbanisation,” Professor Colagiuri said.
Collaborators at Sydney and Bristol are currently preparing and submitting journal articles on the project process and results, and the role of law in addressing the identified priorities, in order to raise awareness about these issues in the academic community. Importantly, the project results are also being fed directly into global health policy. For example, the International Diabetes Federation is using its findings in the creation of a new policy brief and report on diabetes and climate change and in side-events at the 2012 World Health Assembly and the Rio+20 UN sustainability conference.
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The emphasis of the WUN Public Health Global Challenge is on addressing the urgent challenge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Researchers take a life course approach to the subject of NCDs, especially in low and middle income countries and transitioning populations, but also in developed societies with significant social disparities. This focus is based on substantial evidence for the inextricable links between maternal, perinatal, infant and childhood factors and the risk of developing NCDs later in life, through changing the sensitivity to later life exposures. It is also recognised that some NCDs are linked to communicable disease, and that some have genetic predisposing factors.
Our researchers pay particular attention to increasing access to education, promoting health literacy in children, adolescents and parents, and empowering women, whether through population-based or individual-based approaches. This not only helps to reduce the burden of NCDs but also provides other benefits such as gender equality and promoting neurocognitive capacities. Another important goal for all the projects in this Global Challenge is to seek links and partnerships with other existing global initiatives. These include ventures which aim to realise the Millennium Development Goals as well as programmes in the areas of maternal and child health, and food security.
1st WUN Public Health Global Challenge Conference – Shanghai, China
The inaugural WUN Public Health Global Challenge Conference was hosted alongside the 2011 WUN Conference and AGM in Shanghai in May 2011. Led by the University of Southampton, the conference focussed on the theme of Early Life Opportunities for the Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases in Developing Countries and attracted 70 leading academics and representatives from external agencies including Danone, Johnson and Johnson and Novo Nordisk.
The meeting explored a number of interrelated themes including the identification of early life determinants of NCD risk, early life interventions, partnerships with industry and agencies, and the wider implications of NCD prevention in developing and rapidly industrialising countries.
The primary outcome of the conference was the Shanghai Declaration of the Worldwide Universities
Network on Early Life Opportunities for Addressing NCDs in Developing Countries. Published in The Lancet, the statement has fed directly into the agenda of the WHO and national governments and can be shown to have had a direct impact via the inclusion of early life factors, sometimes taken verbatim from the Declaration, at the Political Declaration which emerged from the UN High Level Meeting . WUN played a significant role in influencing the content of the 2011 UN Political Declaration on NCDs, particularly in relation to women’s health, pregnancy, health literacy and research partnerships. WUN was also a sponsoring organisation at the recent WHO technical consultation on forming a global research network to support the UN Secretary-General’s initiative on women’s and children’s health.
The WUN Early Life Opportunities group will now drive forward the life course agenda with the support of other Research Development Fund collaborations, some of which were conceived at the Shanghai meeting. A key goal is preparing a policy document on how WUN can assist in global efforts to tackle NCDs through partnering with the WHO, the UN, the 1000 Days campaign and other initiatives.
Digital media strategies to reduce NCDs in the Pacific
Tobacco smoking is a leading risk factor for NCDs in the Pacific. However, effective tobacco control is hampered by a number of obstacles: bilateral or multilateral trade agreements; slow implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (a global tobacco control treaty); weak enforcement of existing smoke-free environment laws; and unrestricted sales and promotions of tobacco. Tobacco control advocacy, policy analysis, and research capacity are also under-developed in the region.
Global Challenge: Public Health
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Now a WUN research collaboration is exploring how digital media can be used as a tool to advocate for tobacco control and to shape public and political opinion in the Pacific. It aims to find ways to supply current tobacco control information to mobilise Pacific nation policy-makers, key influencers and the public (especially women and young people), bringing about sustainable health gains. The project is led by the University of Auckland and involves WUN partners Alberta and Sydney together with communities and researchers in Fiji. Pooling expertise across WUN universities has been key to enabling the ambitious project.
The team has begun by undertaking a baseline survey that maps current access to different types of media across the Pacific. This will be followed by an in-depth analysis of the types of media Pacific Islands-based health workers are already using for tobacco control and the strategies that tobacco controllers are currently employing. The team is also investigating what training schemes are available to Pacific nation tobacco control workers with a view to building capacity in this area.
Tackling oral diseases to improve general health
Oral diseases are the most common of the chronic diseases and are important public health problems because of their prevalence, their impact on individuals and society, and the expense of treatment (in most industrialised countries, 5-10% of public health expenditure can relate to oral health). The greatest burden of oral diseases falls on poor and disadvantaged population groups across the globe.
Bringing together international expertise to carry out research at the forefront of oral health science is the aim of the WUN Oral Health Sciences Network. The collaboration is led by Nanjing University and the University of Leeds and includes scholars at WUN partners Bristol, Sheffield, Sydney, Washington and Western Australia.
The network seeks to improve oral health outcomes both in our own communities and around the world. A key priority is not separating oral health from the rest of the body but incorporating it into general health promotion, not least because oral diseases share some of the same determinants as NCDs, such as obesity. This integration should underlie future oral health strategies and is expected to lead to an improvement in general health for the whole population and particularly for groups at high risk.
Research of the WUN Oral Health Sciences Network is divided into the streams of stem cell therapy, translational research, traditional Chinese medicine and the effect of diabetes on dental stem cells. Following successful conferences at Nanjing and Leeds, the 3rd WUN Oral Health Sciences Symposium will be hosted by the University of Western Australia in 2013.
Confronting the growing problem of chronic lung disease
Chronic lung disease was the focus of a major international conference held in November 2011 at the University of Cape Town’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine. The event was made possible by a WUN Research Development Fund grant awarded to conference hosts Dr William Horsnell from the University of Cape Town and Dr Alun Kirby from the University of York.
Entitled 21st Century Challenges of Chronic Lung Disease, the conference aimed to expand the dialogue between clinical and basic science research in order to address the increasing incidence of chronic lung disease afflicting societies across the globe. It brought together key researchers from the field of chronic lung disease working in both clinical and basic settings.
Presentations were delivered on a range of topics including HIV co-infection in patients with chronic lung disease, and current and future directions in tackling the condition. A one-room format provided
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an intimate environment for the exchange of ideas and opinions, the development of novel research questions and the formation of new scholarly partnerships. Since its conclusion, the event has led to a number of new academic interactions, research visits and collaborative projects.
Importantly, the conference attracted a significant number of postgraduate students and emerging researchers.
Empowering patients: a new approach to preventing and treating NCDs
Developing a model of primary health care which places patients at the heart of the system is the goal of an innovative collaboration from the WUN Shaping Health Systems Interdisciplinary Research Group. The Navigating from Below initiative is exploring how primary care systems can be “turned upside down” to place patients at the helm of preventative care and treatment for NCDs. It unites researchers from three WUN partners: the University of Sydney, the University of Leeds and the University of Alberta.
“We’ll be comparing how primary health care is organised and funded across our different locations, and how existing mechanisms in these sites are helping to empower the patient,” said Professor Stephanie Short, principal investigator from Sydney. She gave as an example a coordinated care trial currently underway in Australia, which seeks to give people with diabetes more say in health decision-making. “Ultimately, our aim is to put patients in the driving seat of their own care,” she added.
The collaboration will explore a variety of research questions, including how to strengthen the patient’s role in coordinating care and how to improve so-called “care-life balance”, so that healthcare demands on patients are compatible with the adoption of healthy lifestyles.
At the heart of the project is a research intensive to be hosted by Sydney in mid-2012. The workshop will bring together junior and senior scholars to develop a framework and choose case studies for comparative research. Established researchers will mentor young academics and postgraduates to help nurture a new generation of specialists in the field. The project will culminate in the publication of a major paper that will form the basis for future research and interventions.
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Global Challenge: Global Higher Education and Research
Higher education has not escaped the challenges and opportunities that have arisen from increasing globalisation. Researchers have come to view the world as a borderless lab, expecting to be able to migrate internationally with ease; students demand skills that will allow them to graduate with international competencies; universities have branched out far beyond their local communities, opening campuses and offering programmes in far-flung locations. Global mobility occurs at the speed of light, where an Indian PhD student with a degree from a US institution seeks to collaborate with a Chinese partner on a project that will assist an African village.
WUN is addressing the sources, mechanisms and social structures that give rise to today’s global higher education and research challenges. Researchers throughout the network collaborate on a diverse range of topics including higher education access and affordability; public-private intersections and collaborations in higher education; old and new technologies shaping today’s skill base; and the changing roles of academics, students and administrators in a globalised era.
1st WUN Global Higher Education and Research Global Challenge Conference – Bristol, UK
The 1st WUN Global Higher Education and Research Global Challenge Conference was hosted by the University of Bristol in February 2012 under the banner Globalising Geographies of Higher Education and Research. It grew out of the realisation that new international higher education and research collaborations are being fostered by multiple constituencies: funding bodies which are increasingly focused on research “grand challenges”; universities seeking to expand their impact in resource-constrained environments; industry and third sector organisations pursuing new collaborations; and individual academics for whom global networks are key to a successful career. The conference grappled with how to realise these ambitions and work successfully across institutions, disciplines and continents.
Discussion focused on identifying the challenges of globalising higher education and research, and exploring how to better support international endeavours. Delegates also addressed the issue of sourcing funds and administration for complex research initiatives which span multiple institutions and countries. Workshops explored four key themes – globalising academics, globalising infrastructure, globalising learning and globalising institutions – as well as the issue of competition from multinational corporations, think-tanks and consultants.
Over 80 delegates from six continents working across the higher education and research spectrum attended the high-profile gathering. Research development professionals and members of funding bodies and higher education associations also contributed to the discussions. The outcomes will be shared on the respected blog, GlobalHigherEd, and an edited collection of papers based on the event will also be published.
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Global Challenge: Global Higher Education and Research
Higher education has not escaped the challenges and opportunities that have arisen from increasing globalisation. Researchers have come to view the world as a borderless lab, expecting to be able to migrate internationally with ease; students demand skills that will allow them to graduate with international competencies; universities have branched out far beyond their local communities, opening campuses and offering programmes in far-flung locations. Global mobility occurs at the speed of light, where an Indian PhD student with a degree from a US institution seeks to collaborate with a Chinese partner on a project that will assist an African village.
WUN is addressing the sources, mechanisms and social structures that give rise to today’s global higher education and research challenges. Researchers throughout the network collaborate on a diverse range of topics including higher education access and affordability; public-private intersections and collaborations in higher education; old and new technologies shaping today’s skill base; and the changing roles of academics, students and administrators in a globalised era.
1st WUN Global Higher Education and Research Global Challenge Conference – Bristol, UK
The 1st WUN Global Higher Education and Research Global Challenge Conference was hosted by the University of Bristol in February 2012 under the banner Globalising Geographies of Higher Education and Research. It grew out of the realisation that new international higher education and research collaborations are being fostered by multiple constituencies: funding bodies which are increasingly focused on research “grand challenges”; universities seeking to expand their impact in resource-constrained environments; industry and third sector organisations pursuing new collaborations; and individual academics for whom global networks are key to a successful career. The conference grappled with how to realise these ambitions and work successfully across institutions, disciplines and continents.
Discussion focused on identifying the challenges of globalising higher education and research, and exploring how to better support international endeavours. Delegates also addressed the issue of sourcing funds and administration for complex research initiatives which span multiple institutions and countries. Workshops explored four key themes – globalising academics, globalising infrastructure, globalising learning and globalising institutions – as well as the issue of competition from multinational corporations, think-tanks and consultants.
Over 80 delegates from six continents working across the higher education and research spectrum attended the high-profile gathering. Research development professionals and members of funding bodies and higher education associations also contributed to the discussions. The outcomes will be shared on the respected blog, GlobalHigherEd, and an edited collection of papers based on the event will also be published.
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Exploring new frontiers in higher education and research
Research groups affiliated with the WUN Global Higher Education and Research Global Challenge undertook a variety of events and research projects during 2011-2012. Recurring themes included access to education, new technologies and the shifting roles of university staff and students.
One highlight of the year was the WUN panel at the 2012 Annual Association of International Education Administrators, which examined how university networks work collaboratively to address common objectives in research, teaching and service. Its members were John Hearn, Chief Executive of WUN; Gilles Bousquet, Global Higher Education and Research Steering Committee Chair and Dean of Internationalization at Wisconsin-Madison; and Peter Schiffer, AAG Chair and Associate Vice-President for Research at Penn State.
Another highlight was the WUN Ideas and Universities Virtual Seminar Series, which brings academics from all
corners of the globe together in an exchange of ideas designed to catalyse new research collaborations. Five new WUN institutions – Auckland, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Leeds, Nanjing and Cape Town – entered the programme, joining existing partners Wisconsin-Madison, Zhejiang, Sydney, the University of Western Australia and the Hong Kong Institute of Education.
WUN researchers Ian Wei from Bristol and Adam Nelson from Wisconsin-Madison also produced a book, The Global University: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives, with contributions from Sydney, Zhejiang and the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The volume, published by Palgrave Macmillan, resulted from the Ideas and Universities conference held in Wisconsin-Madison in 2010. Meanwhile, a research project at Wisconsin-Madison examining Chinese investment in global higher education received external research funding by leveraging local WUN seed funding.
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In our globalised world, many major contemporary issues, including health, security, environmental sustainability and economic stability, do not recognise national borders. Gaining a nuanced understanding of cultures other than our own has therefore become increasingly vital.
The WUN Understanding Cultures Global Challenge brings together scholars from a number of different disciplines to develop research into culture and society across national borders. Researchers throughout the network collaborate on projects addressing a number of themes, including but not limited to:
HIV/AIDS – specifically supporting global efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, and the human rights of those affected by HIV/AIDS
Migration and identity – specifically advancing understanding of migration issues, negotiating tensions between national and personal identity, upholding the dignity and well-being of migrants and responses to population movements and economic and social change
Delivering justice – specifically judicial and non-judicial approaches to addressing violations of legal and human rights, particularly where individuals or states have experienced traumatic crime, conflict or authoritarian rule.
1st WUN Understanding Cultures Global Challenge Conference – Cape Town, South Africa
The contested politics of culture was the focus of the inaugural WUN Understanding Cultures Global Challenge Conference held at the University of Cape Town in July 2011. Entitled Uses and Abuses of Culture, the three-day meeting marked Cape Town’s debut as host of a WUN event since becoming the first African institution to join the network in 2009. It was held at Cape Town’s Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA).
The conference brought together delegates from nine WUN member universities in a spirited dialogue and identified points of intellectual convergence as the basis for future collaboration. Although “culture” as an academic interest has generally been thought of as the exclusive turf of social scientists and humanities scholars, the meeting also attracted a number of representatives from the natural sciences, public health and law.
That spread of disciplines under one roof may not be unique, but it is unusual, according to HUMA director and meeting host, Professor Deborah Posel. “What participants across this range of fields of study and areas of expertise discovered is their shared interest in researching something they call culture, even if they don’t necessarily mean the same thing by it,” she said. “So conversations about culture become a kind of interdisciplinary glue.”
Topics under discussion included culture in the context of power and colonisation, the relationship between Islam and the west, and the links between culture and human rights. The last day of the conference focused on HIV/AIDS, with presenters exploring the perception and experience of the disease, as well as AIDS conspiracy beliefs.
Global Challenge: Understanding Cultures
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Multi-million pound funding for centre for medieval European literature
Medieval European literature has traditionally been studied from perspectives informed by 19th and 20th century nationalism. Now, a new pan-European approach to the study of medieval literature will be pioneered at a collaborative research centre to be based jointly at WUN partner, the University of York, and the University of Southern Denmark.
The Centre for Medieval Literature has its roots in a WUN medieval multilingualism project and has drawn on the resources of WUN’s Co-operative for the Advancement of Research through a Medieval European Network (CARMEN): an alliance of national associations of medievalists, universities, and related public and private bodies actively involved in Middle Ages research. In 2011, a generous grant of nearly £4 million from the Danish National Research Foundation enabled the creation of the Centre, with initial funding set to run for six years.
The goal of the Centre is to shape the study of medieval European literature in the 21st century, and enable new European stories to be told about the medieval past. It will co-ordinate scholarship through workshops and conferences, produce publications and host PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Scholars working across the literature traditions of Europe, with expertise from Iceland to the Middle East, will be involved.
Plans are in place for the creation of new literary histories, translation programmes and digital resources on medieval literature. Outreach activities, such as working with museums and media, will also expand public understanding of the European past. The project is being led by the University of York’s Centre for Medieval Studies and Department of English and Related Literature.
Cross-cultural perspectives on global power
Social transformation and cultural conflict in the period between the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 2011 Arab Spring is the focus of a new joint research project funded by WUN. The collaboration, entitled Geographies of Power: Justice, Revolution, and the Cultural Imagination, is bringing together a diverse range of scholars from Penn State University as well as WUN partners Cape Town, York, Alberta and Nanjing. It is led by Professor Sophia McClennen, director of the Center for Global Studies at Penn State.
The project is premised on the idea that frontiers of cultural understanding are undergoing a transformation that can only be appreciated from a cross-cultural perspective and by using a multidisciplinary methodology alert to the historical precedents behind current geopolitical and cultural conflicts. It will involve a series of meetings throughout the year, research mobility for scholars and a conference on geographies of power in the spring of 2013.
Collaborating in China studies
As China’s economic, political and cultural impact continues apace, WUN is calling upon its considerable resources in contemporary China studies to help China understand the west, and the west to understand China. Three of China’s leading universities – Nanjing and Zhejiang on the mainland, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong – are part of our network, together with some of the world’s most prestigious research centres in China studies. As a result, WUN is uniquely placed to be a leading voice in scholarly discussion about China, and to make a contribution to global policy and research.
One important vehicle for WUN’s efforts to deepen understanding of China is the annual International Summer School for China Studies, hosted by Nanjing University, which is now in its third year. This initiative provides an opportunity for researchers and PhD students throughout the network to collaborate and exchange ideas directly with Chinese scholars. In a new collaboration, the 2012 Summer School will be jointly delivered by WUN partner, the University of Sydney.
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WUN CogCom: revolutionising wireless communications
The emerging field of cognitive communications promises to radically transform the way that wireless communication devices and networks behave. It is exploring how cognition can be applied to wireless systems, resulting in the “intelligent” assignment of resources and operations. Two main areas of study have been identified: cognitive radio, which deals with intelligent assignment and use of the radio spectrum, and cognitive networking, which deals with intelligent routing of information through a network. Distributed artificial intelligence can also be applied to other areas including cognitive acoustics and “green radio”, where cognition is used to help wireless systems conserve energy intelligently.
To help bring these technological advances into reality, the WUN Cognitive Communications Consortium, known as WUN CogCom, was established in late 2008. It brings together experts from the disciplines of wireless communications, distributed artificial intelligence, electromagnetics, regulatory policy and economics, and implementation. The initiative has grown rapidly and is now the largest of all the WUN research groups, uniting over 90 academic institutions and industrial members from Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia. In 2011-2012, WUN CogCom welcomed new participants from Israel, Jordan and Morocco.
WUN CogCom members meet on a regular basis to progress their research agenda. In 2010, the consortium held its first public workshop at the University of York alongside the largest wireless communications conference in Europe that year, the International Symposium on Wireless Communications Systems. During 2011, the consortium met twice in Aachen, Germany and Houston, US, alongside other major international conferences. The next meeting is planned for Ottawa, Canada in June 2012.
One significant output from the collaboration is a forthcoming book entitled Cognitive Communications: Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI), Regulatory Policy and Economics to be published by Wiley. All 29 contributors to the publication are members of WUN CogCom.
Working together in the consortium has also helped to strengthen the research links between York and Zhejiang University. Professor David Grace from York, who is Chair of WUN CogCom, was made a guest professor at Zhejiang in October 2011. The position will enable him to pursue more extensive collaboration at Zhejiang, not least through the York-Zhejiang joint laboratory on cognitive radio and green communications. Professor Grace is a co-director of the laboratory together with Professor Honggang Zhang from Zhejiang, who is an honorary visiting professor at York.
Other research programs
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Nurturing PhD students and early-career academics, and propelling their careers on the international stage, is an important goal of WUN. We proactively seek to include emerging researchers in our collaborative programs, and provide opportunities for them to be mentored by established experts in their field.
The Research Mobility Programme (RMP) is our central strategy for fostering the personal and academic development of researchers in an early stage of their career and internationalising their focus. The programme typically provides for short exchanges to partner WUN universities for durations of two to three months. Institutions across our network open up their facilities, share expertise and establish new relationships at both graduate and supervisor level with participants in the programme. All WUN members waive any fees associated with the RMP.
Emerging researchers benefit by expanding their knowledge base and enriching their dissertations with insights from different research cultures. They also develop the skills required for international academic success, and forge lasting links with new contacts and mentors.
Katherine Duarte, a PhD student in the Department of Information Science and Media Studies at the University of Bergen, is a recent beneficiary of the RMP. In May 2011, she received a grant of 25,000 NOK through the university to assist her research project on the challenges of communicating about climate change in the media, including dealing with its uncertainties and controversies. The grant enabled her to pursue research at WUN partner, the University of Cape Town, and then attend the COP17 United Nations summit on climate change in Durban.
Highlights of her stay at Cape Town included a workshop on the coverage of climate change featuring over 20 international colleagues and a climate change colloquium at the Centre for Film and Media Studies. “The colloquium was a great opportunity to learn about what South Africa, and especially Cape Town, is doing about climate change mitigation and adaptation,” she said, adding that it also provided significant opportunities for international networking.
She went on to visit Durban during the COP17 summit, where she conducted several interviews that provided invaluable input for her PhD project. “When it comes to the benefits and outcomes of the stay, I think it was enormously fruitful to be in South Africa before, during and after the COP17, especially since my project is about how the media covers the issues of climate change,” she said.
Fostering the next generation of researchers
Frances Giampapa, PhD student from the University of Bristol during a research visit to Penn State University
Katherine Duarte, PhD student from the University of Bergen during a research visit to the University of Cape Town
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External agencies: policy-makers, funding agencies, philanthropic organisations Many external agencies decide to partner with WUN members and adopt the combined capacity of its members into their own development projects. WUN welcomes discussion on this and provision is often made for it at our workshops and conferences. If you wish to be part of this dialogue, particularly on one of our Global Challenges, we encourage you to contact the Chief Executive in the first instance.
“WUN+”: researchers in other universities and the private sector WUN researchers are encouraged to work with experts beyond the network to increase the intellectual reach of their work. This is at the discretion of the WUN researchers leading and contributing to existing programmes. Unfortunately, WUN+ researchers do not qualify for direct funding from the network.
Universities wishing to join WUN Our Partnership Board makes decisions on membership on the advice of the Chief Executive. However, as outlined above, we welcome the participation of those from outside WUN on specific research projects and initiatives.
The WUN Research Development Fund WUN offers over £200,000 of seed funds to foster international collaborative research on an annual basis. Grants in the order of £10,000 to £15,000 are awarded to research teams of WUN members to catalyse collaboration.
Funded programs may include exploratory research initiatives, targeted workshops, faculty exchanges and the formation of collaborative networks, among other activities. Applications should engage at least three WUN member universities and should span at least two or more geographical regions. We encourage applications that incorporate a research mobility component for early-career researchers and postgraduate students.
The Research Development Fund is launched in August each year and applications must have the support of the local Academic Advisory Group representative. Researchers from outside WUN are not eligible to apply.
Research diversity WUN reviews its research portfolio, and takes decisions about Global Challenge themes members wish to address, on an annual basis. This means that there are innovative research projects and networks emerging continually. A listing of Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) appears at the end of this report.
Infrastructure and support WUN makes a number of tools available to its researchers to support communication in a virtual environment. These include:
• Virtual seminars that bring researchers together across the world to share ideas and debate topics. This service also offers postgraduate students access to thinkers and teachers they would otherwise not have access to on their own campus. Typically, WUN offers over 50 seminars per year in a variety of disciplines. Many of these are open to researchers outside the network.
How to partner with WUN
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• Desktop conferencing used to support meetings and smaller seminars. This is particularly useful for researchers in developing research collaborations.
• Public web pages for promoting projects and initiatives. All research groups involving three or more WUN member universities from two or more geographic regions are offered space on the WUN website to raise their visibility and promote activities.
• Cloud-based communications for sharing data, applications and preparatory work. This is a secure environment and helps to overcome some of the barriers introduced when working in a distributed environment.
• Email lists for day-to-day communications and announcements.
WUN Coordinators If you are a researcher at a WUN institution – whether early-career or established in your field – and you wish to know more about WUN or get an innovative project up and running, the best place to start is with your local WUN Coordinator. Contact details are on the WUN website at www.wun.ac.uk/about/members.
WUN Partner Operations
• WUN members choose their own model of implementation and operation for WUN. However, we have studied the criteria for successful engagement and these include:
• The President of the University acting as champion for the network, engaging on the Partnership Board, advising on strategy and resource development, and attending the Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting.
• A Senior University Officer, preferably a Vice-President, with responsibility for research or internationalisation of a research strategy supporting and guiding the WUN endeavour.
• A Coordinator appointed full or part-time to manage the programme and projects of WUN within the university and serving as conduit between the network and the university community. The Coordinator works with academics to develop initiatives, follow up on programs and communicate academic and funding opportunities.
• A modest sum set aside by each member university to support collaboration among members.
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Eco
-Hyd
rolo
gyD
r P
aul K
emp,
Sou
tham
pton
Nan
jing
Eco
syst
em S
ervi
ces,
Com
plex
ity &
Peo
ple
Pro
fess
or G
uy P
oppy
, Sou
tham
pton
Leed
s, P
enn
Sta
te, U
WA
Effe
ct o
f Clim
ate
Cha
nge
on In
door
Env
ironm
enta
l Qua
lity
Pro
fess
or M
engh
ao Q
in, N
anjin
gP
enn
Sta
te, S
heffi
eld
Fres
hwat
er E
cosy
stem
sP
rofe
ssor
Pet
er D
avie
s, U
WA
Leed
s, S
ydne
y
Gen
der
& C
limat
e C
hang
eP
rofe
ssor
Nan
cy T
uana
, Pen
n S
tate
Ber
gen,
Syd
ney,
UC
T, U
WA
, Was
hing
ton
Glo
bal F
acto
ryD
r H
inric
h Vo
ss, L
eeds
Alb
erta
, Syd
ney,
Zhe
jiang
Glo
bal H
ealth
Jus
tice
Net
wor
kD
r K
eith
Syr
ett,
Dr
Oliv
er Q
uick
, Bris
tol
Alb
erta
, Ber
gen,
Lee
ds, P
enn
Sta
te, S
ydne
y
Glo
bal P
atte
rns
of C
limat
e A
dapt
ion
in K
elps
Dr
Thom
as W
ernb
erg,
UW
AB
erge
n, U
CT
GR
eeni
ng O
rgan
izat
ions
& W
ork
(GR
OW
)P
rofe
ssor
Chr
is C
legg
, Lee
dsN
anjin
g, U
WA
Ice
She
et a
nd C
limat
e In
tera
ctio
n –
Impl
icat
ions
for
Coa
stal
Eng
inee
ring
Dr
Mar
k S
idda
ll, B
risto
lA
lber
ta, B
erge
n, L
eeds
, Pen
n S
tate
, Sou
tham
pton
, UW
A, U
W-M
adis
on,
Imag
inin
g a
War
mer
Wor
ld: U
sing
Sce
nario
Pla
nnin
g to
Cre
ate
Fair
& E
quita
ble
Ada
ptat
ion
Law
& P
olic
yP
rofe
ssor
Dav
id B
attis
ti, W
ashi
ngto
nA
uckl
and,
Ber
gen,
Pen
n S
tate
, UC
T, U
W-M
adis
on
Impa
ct o
f Lan
d U
se C
hang
e on
Fut
ure
Wat
er Q
ualit
yP
rofe
ssor
Nei
l Col
es, U
WA
Sou
tham
pton
, Zhe
jiang
Inva
sive
Spe
cies
Und
er C
limat
e C
hang
e: E
cono
mic
Impa
cts
Pro
fess
or L
inda
Hal
l, A
lber
taA
uckl
and,
Pen
n S
tate
, Sou
tham
pton
, Syd
ney,
UW
A,
Lim
its to
Ada
ptat
ion
Dr
Pet
ra T
scha
kert
, Pen
n S
tate
UC
T, U
WA
NE
OTO
MA
: A C
omm
unity
Dat
abas
e fo
r E
colo
gica
l Res
pons
es to
Clim
ate
Cha
nges
of
the
Rec
ent P
ast
Pro
fess
or J
ack
Willi
ams,
UW
-Mad
ison
Pen
n S
tate
, Sou
tham
pton
Oce
an A
cidi
ficat
ion
Pro
fess
or J
ames
Mur
ray,
Was
hing
ton
Ber
gen,
Bris
tol,
Pen
n S
tate
, Sou
tham
pton
, UW
A, Y
ork
Pal
eo A
rctic
Clim
ates
& E
nviro
nmen
ts (p
AC
E)
Dr
Tim
Whi
te, P
enn
Sta
teB
erge
n, L
eeds
, She
ffiel
d, S
outh
ampt
on
Pla
nt S
yste
ms:
Ada
ptin
g to
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pro
fess
or M
artin
Bar
bett
i, U
WA
Alb
erta
, Zhe
jiang
List
of W
un
in
terd
isci
plin
ary
res
earc
h G
roup
sG
Lob
AL
ch
ALL
en
Ge
ke
y A
DA
PTI
NG
TO
CLI
MAT
E C
HA
NG
E
GLO
BA
L H
IGH
ER
ED
UC
ATIO
N &
RE
SE
AR
CH
PU
BLI
C H
EA
LTH
U
ND
ER
STA
ND
ING
CU
LTU
RE
S
OTH
ER
RE
SE
AR
CH
21
Pla
nt S
yste
ms:
Impr
ovin
g B
ean
Yie
ld U
nder
Dro
ught
& S
alin
ity S
tres
sD
r E
lizab
eth
Van
Volk
enbu
rgh,
Was
hing
ton
Sou
tham
pton
, Syd
ney,
UW
A
Pla
nt S
yste
ms:
Pla
nt U
rban
Res
pons
e N
etw
ork
(PU
RN
)D
r S
oo-H
yung
Kim
, Was
hing
ton
Bris
tol,
She
ffiel
d
Pla
nt S
yste
ms:
Sol
uble
Car
bon
Par
titio
ning
in P
lant
sD
r A
ndre
w M
erch
ant,
Syd
ney
UW
A, W
ashi
ngto
n
Pub
lic H
ealth
and
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Ass
ocia
te P
rofe
ssor
Rut
h C
olag
iuri,
Syd
ney
Alb
erta
, Ber
gen,
Bris
tol,
Leed
s, P
enn
Sta
te, U
WA
Rel
ativ
e S
ea L
evel
, Ice
She
ets
& Is
osta
syD
r M
ark
Sid
dall,
Bris
tol
Alb
erta
, Ber
gen,
Pen
n S
tate
Res
ilient
Pas
ts a
nd S
usta
inab
le F
utur
es?
Des
igni
ng S
ocia
lly S
igni
fican
t Sce
nario
sD
r R
ob M
arch
ant,
York
Leed
s, P
enn
Sta
te, U
WA
Wat
ersh
ed R
e-an
alys
is: T
owar
ds a
Uni
fied
Fram
ewor
k fo
r M
odel
-Dat
a A
cces
s, A
naly
sis
and
Dis
cove
ryP
rofe
ssor
Chr
isto
pher
Duf
fy, P
enn
Sta
te
Leed
s, S
heffi
eld,
UW
-Mad
ison
Wea
ther
ing
Sci
ence
Con
sort
ium
Pro
fess
or S
teve
Ban
war
t, S
heffi
eld
Bris
tol,
Leed
s, P
enn
Sta
te
Glo
bal R
egio
nalis
ms,
Gov
erna
nce
and
Hig
her
Edu
catio
nP
rofe
ssor
Sus
an R
ober
tson
, Bris
tol
Auc
klan
d, P
enn
Sta
te, S
ydne
y, U
CT,
UW
-Mad
ison
Glo
balis
ing
Geo
grap
hies
of R
esea
rch
Pro
fess
or W
endy
Lar
ner,
Bris
tol
Auc
klan
d, U
CT,
UW
A, U
W-M
adis
on
Idea
s an
d U
nive
rsiti
esM
r Ia
n W
ei, B
risto
l & P
rofe
ssor
Ada
m N
elso
n, U
W-M
adis
onA
uckl
and,
Ber
gen,
CU
HK
, Lee
ds, S
outh
ampt
on, S
ydne
y, U
CT,
UW
A, U
W-M
adis
on,
Was
hing
ton,
Zhe
jiang
Labo
rato
ry B
log
Boo
kP
rofe
ssor
Jer
emy
Frey
, Sou
tham
pton
Pen
n S
tate
, Syd
ney
Ear
ly L
ife O
ppor
tuni
ties
for
Pre
vent
ion
of N
on-c
omm
unic
able
Dis
ease
in D
evel
opin
g C
ount
ries
Pro
fess
or M
ark
Han
son,
Sou
tham
pton
Alb
erta
, Auc
klan
d, B
erge
n, B
risto
l, C
UH
K, L
eeds
, Nan
jing,
Pen
n S
tate
, Syd
ney,
UW
A,
Was
hing
ton
Ear
ly O
rigin
s of
Imm
une
Dis
ease
Pro
fess
or S
usan
Pre
scot
t, U
WA
CU
HK
, Nan
jing,
Sou
tham
pton
, Syd
ney,
UC
T, Z
hejia
ng
Glo
bal H
ealth
Jus
tice
Net
wor
kD
r K
eith
Syr
ett,
Dr
Oliv
er Q
uick
, Bris
tol
Alb
erta
, Ber
gen,
Lee
ds, P
enn
Sta
te, S
ydne
y
Hea
lth L
itera
cy N
etw
ork
Dr
Sia
n S
mith
, Syd
ney
Alb
erta
, Auc
klan
d, B
risto
l, C
UH
K, L
eeds
, She
ffiel
d S
outh
ampt
on, U
CT,
Was
hing
ton
Imm
une
Res
pons
es U
nder
lyin
g C
OP
D P
atho
logy
Dr
Willi
am H
orsn
ell,
UC
TB
erge
n, S
outh
ampt
on, U
WA
, Yor
k
Less
ons
for
Life
: Inn
ovat
ing
and
Eva
luat
ing
Sch
ool A
ge H
ealth
Edu
catio
n In
terv
entio
ns
for
the
Pre
vent
ion
and
Con
trol
of N
CD
sD
r M
arcu
s G
race
, Sou
tham
pton
Alb
erta
, Auc
klan
d, C
UH
K, S
ydne
y
Mat
hem
atic
s of
NC
Ds:
Und
erst
andi
ng F
ailu
re o
f Cel
l Sig
nallin
gP
rofe
ssor
Hin
ke O
sing
a, P
rofe
ssor
Ber
nd K
raus
kopf
, Auc
klan
dB
risto
l, S
ydne
y
Med
ia, T
obac
co a
nd T
rade
: Inn
ovat
ive
App
roac
hes
to R
educ
ing
Non
-Com
mun
icab
le
Dis
ease
in th
e P
acifi
cD
r Ju
dith
McC
ool,
Auc
klan
dA
lber
ta, S
ydne
y
Nan
otec
hnol
ogy
for
Hea
lthca
reP
rofe
ssor
Hyw
el M
orga
n, D
r M
aurit
s de
Pla
nque
, Sou
tham
pton
Alb
erta
, Lee
ds, U
WA
Nov
el N
anos
cale
Bio
mim
etic
Coa
ting
Mat
eria
l for
Den
tal I
mpl
ants
Pro
fess
or W
eibi
n S
un, N
anjin
gLe
eds,
Was
hing
ton
Ora
l Hea
lth S
cien
ce N
etw
ork
Pro
fess
or X
ue B
in Y
ang,
Lee
dsA
uckl
and,
Bris
tol,
Nan
jing,
She
ffiel
d, U
WA
Pub
lic H
ealth
& C
limat
e C
hang
e A
ssoc
iate
Pro
fess
or R
uth
Col
agiu
ri, S
ydne
yA
lber
ta, B
erge
n, B
risto
l, Le
eds,
Pen
n S
tate
, UW
A
Put
ting
New
Par
adig
ms
into
Pra
ctic
e: T
rans
atla
ntic
Les
sons
in P
opul
atio
n H
ealth
Im
prov
emen
tP
rofe
ssor
Tom
Oliv
er, U
W-M
adis
onA
lber
ta, L
eeds
Sha
ping
Hea
lth S
yste
ms
Dr
Dun
can
Ros
s, L
eeds
& P
rofe
ssor
Ste
phan
ie S
hort
, Syd
ney
Alb
erta
, Lee
ds, S
ydne
y, U
W-M
adis
on, Z
hejia
ng
Str
engt
heni
ng th
e ev
iden
ce b
ase
for
publ
ic h
ealth
act
ion
in s
ocie
ties
unde
r tr
ansi
tions
th
roug
h de
velo
pmen
t and
app
licat
ion
of a
dvan
ced
met
hodo
logi
esD
r Yu
-Kan
g Tu
, Pro
fess
or M
ark
Gilt
horp
e, L
eeds
Auc
klan
d, B
risto
l, C
UH
K, U
WA
, UW
-Mad
ison
Sup
port
ing
Pat
ient
s to
Mak
e B
est U
se o
f The
ir M
edic
ines
Pro
fess
or T
heo
Ray
nor,
Leed
sS
ydne
y, U
W-M
adis
on
Asi
a P
acifi
c In
tern
atio
nal R
elat
ions
Net
wor
kP
rofe
ssor
Joe
rn D
osch
, Pro
fess
or C
hris
Den
t, Le
eds
& D
r G
ordo
n H
ould
en, A
lber
taB
erge
n, B
risto
l, N
anjin
g, S
heffi
eld,
Syd
ney
CA
RM
EN
(Co-
oper
ativ
e fo
r A
dvan
cem
ent o
f Res
earc
h th
roug
h M
edie
val E
urop
ean
Net
wor
k)D
r E
lizab
eth
Tyle
r, Yo
rkB
erge
n, B
risto
l, U
WA
22 Cha
ngin
g P
oliti
cal C
ultu
re T
hrou
gh E
duca
tion:
Dem
ocra
tic C
itize
nshi
p an
d S
choo
l C
urric
ulum
in P
ost A
part
heid
Sou
th A
frica
P
rofe
ssor
Rob
ert M
atte
s, U
CT
Roc
hest
er, S
ydne
y, U
WA
, UW
-Mad
ison
Col
onia
l & P
ostc
olon
ial S
tudi
esP
rofe
ssor
Rob
ert A
ldric
h, S
ydne
yA
lber
ta, B
risto
l, S
outh
ampt
on, S
ydne
y, U
CT,
UW
A, U
W-M
adis
on
Con
tem
pora
ry C
hina
Cen
ter
Dr
Hin
rich
Voss
, Lee
ds
Alb
erta
, CU
HK
, Nan
jing,
She
ffiel
d, S
ydne
y, U
WA
, Zhe
jiang
Crit
ical
Glo
bal P
over
ty S
tudi
esP
rofe
ssor
Asu
ncio
n Le
ra S
t. C
lair,
Ber
gen
Bris
tol,
Nan
jing,
Pen
n S
tate
, She
ffiel
d, W
ashi
ngto
n
Gen
der
Stu
dies
Pro
fess
or R
uth
Hol
liday
, Lee
dsA
lber
ta, S
ydne
y, U
W-M
adis
on
Geo
grap
hies
of P
ower
: Jus
tice,
Rev
olut
ion
and
the
Cul
tura
l Im
agin
atio
nP
rofe
ssor
Sop
hia
McL
enne
n, P
enn
Sta
te
Alb
erta
, Nan
jing,
UC
T, Y
ork
Glo
bal S
ocia
l Ini
tiativ
e on
Age
ing
Pro
fess
or N
orah
Kea
ting,
Alb
erta
Leed
s, N
anjin
g, S
ydne
y, U
CT
Imm
igra
nts,
Pla
ce, &
Cro
ss-C
ultu
ral U
nder
stan
ding
Ass
ocia
te P
rofe
ssor
Jef
frey
Hou
, Was
hing
ton
Pen
n S
tate
, She
ffiel
d, S
ydne
y, U
W-M
adis
on
Inte
rnat
iona
lism
& C
ultu
ral E
xcha
nge,
187
0-19
20 (I
CE
)D
r G
race
Bro
ckin
gton
, Bris
tol &
Dr
Sar
ah T
urne
r, Yo
rkLe
eds,
Pen
n S
tate
, Syd
ney
Inte
rnat
iona
l and
Com
para
tive
Crim
inal
Jus
tice
Net
wor
kP
rofe
ssor
Mar
k Fi
ndla
y, S
ydne
yLe
eds,
Nan
jing,
She
ffiel
d, U
CT
Law
and
Vio
lenc
e in
the
Mid
dle
Age
sP
rofe
ssor
Ann
e C
urry
, Dr
Pet
er C
lark
e, S
outh
ampt
onB
erge
n, N
anjin
g, S
ydne
y
Mat
erni
ty a
nd Im
mig
ratio
nA
ssoc
iate
Pro
fess
or G
ina
Hig
ginb
otto
mLe
eds,
She
ffiel
d, S
ydne
y
Med
ieva
l Pla
ys in
Mod
ern
Per
form
ance
: an
Inte
rnat
iona
l Arc
hiva
l Pro
ject
(2M
P)
Pro
fess
or P
amel
a K
ing,
Bris
tol
Alb
erta
, Lee
ds, S
outh
ampt
on, S
ydne
y, U
CT
Meg
aciti
esD
r Jo
hn H
udso
n, Y
ork
Bris
tol,
Syd
ney,
Zhe
jiang
Mul
tilin
gual
ism
in th
e M
iddl
e A
ges/
Art
huria
n Li
tera
ture
Pro
fess
or E
lizab
eth
Arc
hiba
ld, P
rofe
ssor
Ad
Put
ter,
Bris
tol
Ber
gen,
Lee
ds, P
enn
Sta
te, U
W-M
adis
on, Y
ork
Net
wor
king
You
ng C
itize
nsD
r B
rian
Load
er, Y
ork
Leed
s, S
ydne
y, U
W-M
adis
on, W
ashi
ngto
n
Ski
lled
Mig
ratio
n &
Glo
bal E
nglis
h: L
angu
age,
Dev
elop
men
t & th
e A
frica
n P
rofe
ssio
nal
Pro
fess
or A
thel
stan
Sur
esh
Can
agar
ajah
, Pen
n S
tate
B
risto
l, Le
eds,
Syd
ney,
UC
T, U
W-M
adis
on, W
ashi
ngto
n, Y
ork
Sta
ging
Chi
na
Dr
Li R
uru,
Lee
dsN
anjin
g, Z
hejia
ng
Sta
te a
nd S
ocie
ty a
nd th
e U
ses
of C
ultu
re in
Chi
naA
ssoc
iate
Pro
fess
or G
ary
Sig
ley,
UW
AA
lber
ta, L
eeds
, Nan
jing,
Syd
ney,
Zhe
jiang
Tran
sfor
mat
ive
Just
ice
Net
wor
kP
rofe
ssor
Gor
don
Cra
wfo
rd, D
r Je
lke
Boe
sten
, Lee
ds &
Pro
fess
or P
aul G
read
y, Y
ork
Ber
gen,
She
ffiel
d, S
ydne
y, U
CT,
UW
A, U
W-M
adis
on
Whi
te S
pace
s N
etw
ork
Dr
Sho
na H
unte
r, Le
eds
Sou
tham
pton
, Syd
ney,
UC
T, U
W-M
adis
on
Wor
ld C
inem
as N
etw
ork
Dr
Luci
a N
agib
, Lee
dsS
heffi
eld,
Sou
tham
pton
, Syd
ney,
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Leadership and GovernanceWUN is managed by a Secretariat consisting of the Chief Executive, Professor John Hearn, and the General Manager, Nicholas Haskins. The network is governed by a series of three governance boards:
Partnership Board
The Partnership Board is responsible for setting forth the policy of the network and is made up of the Presidents, Vice-Chancellors or Rectors of the member universities.
University 2012/13 Members
The University of Alberta, Canada President Indira Samarasekera *
The University of Auckland, New Zealand President Stuart McCutcheon +
The University of Bergen, Norway President Sigmund Grønmo +
The University of Bristol, United Kingdom President Eric Thomas
The University of Campinas, Brazil President Fernando Ferreira Costa
The University of Cape Town, South Africa President Max Price
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong President Joseph J.Y. Sung
The University of Leeds, United Kingdom President Michael Arthur +
Nanjing University, China President Jun Chen
The Pennsylvania State University, USA President Rodney Erickson +
The University of Rochester, USA President Joel Seligman
The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom President Keith Burnett
The University of Southampton, United Kingdom President Don Nutbeam
The University of Sydney, Australia President Michael Spence
The University of Western Australia, Australia President Paul Johnson
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Chancellor David Ward
The University of York, United Kingdom President Brian Cantor +
Zhejiang University, China President Wei Yang +
The Worldwide Universities Network Chief Executive John Hearn
Academic Advisory Group
The AAG 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.
University 2012/13 Members
The University of Alberta, Canada Professor Murray Gray
The University of Auckland, New Zealand Professor Jane Harding
The University of Bergen, Norway Professor Astri Andresen
The University of Bristol, United Kingdom Professor Guy Orpen
The University of Campinas, Brazil Professor Leandro R. Tessler +
The University of Cape Town, South Africa Professor Danie Visser +
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Professor Jack Cheng +
The University of Leeds, United Kingdom Professor David Hogg
Nanjing University, China Professor Rong Zhang
The Pennsylvania State University, USA Professor Peter Schiffer
The University of Rochester, USA Professor Peter Lennie +
The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom Professor Rebecca Hughes
The University of Southampton, United Kingdom Professor Philip Nelson
The University of Sydney, Australia Professor Anton McLachlan
The University of Western Australia, Australia Professor Robyn Owens *
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Professor Guido Podestá
The University of York, United Kingdom Professor John Local
Zhejiang University, China Professor Ping Wu
24
Coordinators Group
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.
University 2012/13 Members
The University of Alberta, Canada Dr Stefan Scherer
The University of Auckland, New Zealand Ms Robyn Hill
The University of Bergen, Norway Mr Bjorn Erik Andersen
The University of Bristol, United Kingdom Dr Susan Jim
The University of Campinas, Brazil Professor José Pissolato Filho
The University of Cape Town, South Africa Ms Lara Dunwell
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Ms Shally Fan
The University of Leeds, United Kingdom Ms Louise Heery
Nanjing University, China Ms Cai Dandan
The Pennsylvania State University, USA Ms Coleen A. Hynoski
The University of Rochester, USA Mr Todd St. Vrain
The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom Ms Heather Lonsdale
The University of Southampton, United Kingdom Dr Elisa Lawson
The University of Sydney, Australia Ms Sally Blair
The University of Western Australia, Australia Associate Professor Judith Berman
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Mr David Joiner
The University of York, United Kingdom Ms Harriet Cross*
Zhejiang University, China Mr Hu Zhengming
* denotes Chair + denotes Steering Group member
Global Challenge Steering Groups
The four identified WUN Global Challenges are guided by steering groups made up of representatives of the WUN Partnership Board, AAG and Coordinators Group in addition to a panel of research experts drawn from the field.
The Chairs of the Global Challenge Steering Groups are drawn from the AAG:
Global Challenge 2012/13 Chairs
Adapting to Climate Change Professor Phil Nelson, The University of Southampton
Global Higher Education and Research Professor Rebecca Hughes, The University of Sheffield
Public Health (Non-communicable disease) Professor Jane Harding, The University of Auckland
Understanding Cultures Professor John Local, The University of York
Contacts
For more information on WUN please contact:
Chief Executive: John Hearn [email protected]
General Manager: Nicholas Haskins [email protected]
Worldwide Universities NetworkAnnual Report
2011 – 2012
www.wun.ac.uk