Switzerland's News and Information Service Reports on the International Alliance of Research Universities. (February 6, 2006)

    In the middle of last month TFW reported on an international alliance of ten research universities, which included ANU, signing an agreement to organize more joint teaching programs and identified movement of people, ageing and health as areas for research collaboration.

Now Switzerland's News and Information Service reports that Gerhard Schmitt, vice-president for Planning and Logistics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, has hailed the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) as a logical step beyond existing bilateral agreements.

Professor Schmitt said, "It will help the ETH Zurich to gain more recognition worldwide; we can build on very good bilateral contacts and the experience with the Idea League, a network of five leading European universities. [In addition] cooperation with alliance partners will go beyond regular cooperation between professors at different universities." He also emphasised that the IARU would allow the federal institute to increase its presence in Asia in particular.

Nevertheless, the cooperation agreement will not stop competition between the universities, according to Professor Schmitt. "Competition is very tough. We will still try to attract the best researchers to the ETH Zurich, just as other universities are doing."

In support of the IARU Alison Richard, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, told Britain's Guardian, ""If we really want to influence policy and be heard, it will be more likely to happen."

And Jörgen Örström Möller, a Danish social science professor, told The Guardian that universities, which are excluded from strategic alliances, could soon find themselves without the necessary means for research and development.

Just how much effect the IARU or similar alliances will have in furthering national governmental support and how influential they will become in shaping national policies remains to be seen but in any case at least these university administrators are trying.

Just as a reminder, the IARU consists of :

Oxford and Cambridge universities of Britain,

Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley, of the United States,

University of Copenhagen,

ETH Zurich,

Australian National University,

University of Tokyo,

Peking University and

National University of Singapore.