We are delighted to announce that Mahidol University, the University of Pretoria, and the University of Technology Sydney have joined the Worldwide Universities Network.
In welcoming the new members, Executive Director Peter Lennie noted “the strength of the network lies in its capacity to bring together major research universities from different parts of the world to collaborate on solving global challenges—particularly those related to sustainable development. Each of our new members is a leading university in its region, and in joining WUN each adds distinctive strengths and enlarges our capacity to address research challenges.”
Mahidol University
Mahidol University is a comprehensive university offering more than 300 courses, including more than half in English, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, in the life sciences and medicine, applied sciences, and social sciences. The university has six general hospitals and two dental hospitals that make a significant contribution to public health on a national scale. It is also a powerhouse in frontier research, such as AI, medical robotics, medical devices, biologics and vaccines, viral vector, digital health, drug discovery, aging society, migration, etc.
“Aligning with the SDGs, Mahidol is convinced that collaboration with like-minded institutions in a multilateral setting like WUN will provide members with more opportunities to pool their strengths and learn from one another. Becoming a new member from Southeast Asia will open a potential gateway for member universities to explore further opportunities for research collaboration and other initiatives” noted Mahidol President, Prof. Banchong Mahaisavariya, M.D.
The University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria (UP) is one of Africa’s top universities and the largest in-person enrolment in South Africa with over 55,000 students. Spread over seven campuses, it has nine faculties and a business school, the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).
UP has four recently established innovative platforms, namely Future Africa, Engineering 4.0, the Javett Art Centre and Innovation Africa @UP, which are spaces that enable collaboration and partnerships between academia, business, government and policymakers as well as civil society to co-create new knowledge that translates into solutions.
“We welcome partnerships and collaborations which can serve in our quest to produce transdisciplinary research which makes a difference locally and globally,” UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Tawana Kupe said. “Through this WUN membership we are excited about expanding our networks of research-intensive transdisciplinary collaboration in ever deeper and more significant ways to produce a world of answers to the problems facing African and global societies.”
University of Technology Sydney
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) delivers quality teaching and research in a wide range of fields, from Business, Health and Law to Science and Engineering. More than 46,000 students are enrolled annually at UTS.
WUN’s focus areas that particularly align with UTS research expertise include: Health – advances in biomedical, medical devices, infectious diseases, nursing, public health and policy; Sustainability – innovation in climate change, water, energy and environmental science; and Communities – strengthening organisations and society with a focus on social justice, Indigenous, public policy and business.
Through WUN networks, UTS is keen to offer opportunities for our researchers to build international networks; to expand our activities in mobility and global citizenship learning for students; and to benchmark and share best practice across areas such as student mental health.
“Everything we do as a university is aimed at benefitting society,” says UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt. “We know we can’t do this alone, which is why global partnerships like WUN are so important.”
