In this story, we hear how two WUN member researchers benefited from new connections made through the Research Mobility Program: Colin Chu, who worked with engineers at the University of Rochester, and Victoria Rivera Ugarte, who collaborated with social scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Click through to learn more about their discoveries and plans.
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, interruptions to public services and the imposition of social distancing have had major impacts on global agriculture and food supply. Professor Mark Eisler of the WUN supported Global Farm Platform discusses likely impacts of the crisis and the potential for rebuilding systems in more environmentally and economically sustainable way.
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Stressors and traumas such as violence and abuse, the effects of poverty, and the experience of emergencies or disasters have a major impact on the health of pregnant women and their children.
As the impact of climate change multiplies the threats, understanding why and how we can make effective and early interventions is paramount.
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WUN is hosting a series of webinars to help member universities benefit from each other's experience in addressing some of the unprecedented pandemic-related challenges now facing them. Each webinar will last an hour, and will be organised around the sharing of insights about a specific challenge, followed by a broad Q&A.
The focus of our first webinar, to be held on Tuesday 5 May (click through for local times) will be student mental health. The webinar will begin with the sharing of both research and practice insights and experiences from members of the WUN Student Mental Health Working Group. This will be followed by a broader discussion with all attendees.
To enable WUN as a network to best address research needs triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, WUN is making available a limited number of grants for collaborative projects that focus on research challenges related to the present pandemic, and are urgent and of the moment.
We therefore welcome special requests to support projects that a) should be undertaken now, because circumstances will be less favourable later; b) benefit particularly from collaboration among WUN partners (e.g., capitalize on the geographical and cultural diversity of the network).
Click through for full details.
Although we won't be able to gather this year for the 2020 WUN Annual General Meeting (AGM), we are excited to announce the dates for WUN AGM 2021!
Working with Tecnológico de Monterrey, we have been able to confirm arrangements for the WUN AGM 2021, which will take place in Monterrey, Mexico from 17-21 May 2021.
Bill Flanagan has been named the 14th president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta.
While disasters and environmental factors have always been important drivers of migration, even more people are expected to move as they face the projected impacts of climate change, including more extreme weather events, changes in water quality and availability, and interactions with conflict.
A recent ruling of the UN Human Rights Committee, which stated that people cannot be sent back to countries where climate change impacts place them in immediate danger, was treated by many commentators as a landmark protection for environmental migrants. As Professor Andreas Neef (University of Auckland) explains in this feature, the reality is more complex. Recipient of a 2020 WUN Research Development Fund award, a WUN member consortium will advance interdisciplinary research into climate-induced migration. It aims to help improve policies through a better understanding of the complex drivers of migration and displacement associated with climatic changes. Click through for the full story.
Professor Simone Buitendijk has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, succeeding Sir Alan Langlands, starting from 1 September 2020.
