Worldwide Universities Network

Global Challenges

WUN has identified four research themes where the netwok has particular capacity to develop solutions to issues of significant global concern.

• Responding to Climate Change (food security, plastics, sustainability, etc.)
• Public Health (Non-Communicable Disease)
• Global Higher Education and Research (theoretical and applied)
• Understanding Cultures (migration, cultural heritage, etc.)

Each Global Challenge has a steering group made up of representatives from WUN member universities.

Research Development Fund

Through its Research Development Fund, WUN provides support to initiate collaborative research that falls within the four global challenges. A call for projects is launched each year in July, with a deadline in October. An email will be sent to the relevant academic staff whenever a call is published.

Interdisciplinary Research Groups

Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) are research collaborations, teams or networks made up of a core of researchers from WUN member universities, and often a number of other partners. IRGs may start-up as a result of existing relationship between researchers, supported by local member university or through funding provided by the Research Development Fund. 

There are currently more than 70 active research groups. UNIL researchers are welcome to connect to the existing groups, and launch new ones.

Completed project

• JIR-CliPS: comparison of Clinical Practice Strategies in Juvenile Inflammatory Diseases between 4 world regions (Prof. Michael Hofer, Faculty of Biology and Medicine)

Current projects

• Education in a Warming World: A Collaborative Research Network on Education and Climate Change (Prof. Julia Steinberger, Faculty of Geosciences and Environment; Prof. Fabrizio Butera, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences)
• Intersectional Research Methodologies: Towards a Sustainable Post COVID 19 Future (Dr Eléonore Lépinard, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences)
• Sexuality across cultures: International Sex Survey in South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, and Taiwan (Prof. Joël Billieux, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences)
• Gender Trouble: Glocalization of gender politics and challenges for public health and democracy (Prof. Irene Maffi, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences)

A special interest groups draws together individuals with a common interest that crosses the Global Challenges. A WUN special interest group is required to deal with a thematically coherent research question that spans multiple WUN Global Challenge areas.

Global Africa Group

This collaborative research program is designed to support sustainable development and capacity-building in Africa in both the natural and social sciences. The five research priorities of the Group sit at the intersection of WUN’s existing expertise and research collaborations, Africa’s development agenda as outlined in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals:

• Environmental change and food security
• Public health
• Governance, inequality and social inclusion
• Higher education and research capacity
• Natural resources for inclusive growth and sustainable development

More information

WUN supports the mobility of young researchers through its Research Mobility Programme. The program aims at providing financial support to allow PhD students and early career researchers to spend up to three months at a member university. Participation in this program is optional and funded by the members’ own funds. The conditions of UNIL's participation to this scheme are yet to be defined.

The IRO covers part of the travel expenses of UNIL teaching staff visiting a WUN member university, under the conditions applicable to bilateral agreements, or to SEMP agreements in case such an agreement has been signed.

The IRO also covers part of the cost of accomodation for visitorrs from WUN member university under the conditions applicable to bilateral agreements, or to SEMP agreements.

Annual General Meeting

The WUN Annual General Meeting (AGM) usually takes place in the second half of May. Multiple governance groups, including the global challenge steering groups come together to network, evaluate the previous year’s achievements and set the course for the year ahead. Academic workshops may also be organised during the AGM.

WUN seminars and workshops

Workshops can be held at any time and are for the relevant Global Challenge Steering Group to approve with the Secretariat if funding support is required. They can be at a member university, jointly organised with a relevant international society or agency, and include research fellows working with such partners.

Autralia

University of Technology Sydney

Brazil

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Canada

University of Alberta

Germany

Ruhr Universität Bochum

Ghana

University of Ghana

Hong Kong SAR

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Ireland

University College Dublin

Mexico

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Netherlands

Maastricht University

New Zealand

The University of Auckland

Norway

University of Bergen

P. R. China

Renmin University of China

South Africa

University of Cape Town

University of Pretoria

Switzerland

University of Lausanne

Taiwan

National Cheng Kung University

Thailand

Mahidol University

Uganda

Makerere University

United Kingdom

University of Bristol

University of Leeds

The University of Sheffield

University of Southampton

University of York

U.S.A.

University of Rochester

The UNIL participation to WUN takes place under the responsability of Prof. Estelle Doudet Vice-Rector for Research.

Prof. Antoine Kernen represents UNIL in the Global Africa Group.

The International Relations Office coordinates the UNIL participation to WUN, under the responsability of its Director, Dr Denis Dafflon.