Internationalising Higher Education

The Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) is a model of global partnership in higher education, focusing on one of the newly formed WUN Global Challenges: 'Adapting to Climate Change'. This poster will seek to draw out the lessons learnt from WUN after nearly ten years as one of the most active global networks of research intensive universities, exploring the opportunities and challenges of working in multilateral international partnerships through an honest exploration of WUN's exciting successes and gallant failures. The WUN Global Challenge concept embodies the notion behind the Network as a whole; international higher education partnership is not merely desirable but essential in the modern world. By bringing together intellectual strengths and resources, and facilitating research collaborations, WUN strives to address global issues from a range of national, regional and disciplinary perspectives. 'Adapting to Climate Change' involves a high number of diverse projects addressing related issues across the academic spectrum: from climate modelling and prediction software to historic imaging of paleo climates, from scientific questions of soil sustainability to understanding the impact on the socially vulnerable. By setting out clear examples of global partnerships in action, this poster will provide a unique perspective on the ubiquitous challenges of collaborative academic endeavour, from overcoming international funding barriers to using innovative technologies to work around the world's time zones.