The position of Chairman of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) has officially been held by ETH President Ralph Eichler since 1 January, 2013 – and now the unofficial transition has taken place. Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, President of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and previous Chairman of the Alliance, met with his successor yesterday on the occasion of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to exchange ideas.

The fact that the meeting took place against the backdrop of the WEF is no coincidence. The IARU is an alliance of the world's ten leading research-intensive universities which all share similar visions and goals in university education and the training of future world leaders (see the box). Working together, the Alliance members wish to contribute to solutions for the most urgent challenges the global community faces today. An additional goal is an intensive exchange of experience and knowledge. “We have established many useful partnerships and work closely together with university members at all levels of our institutions. We have built up a high level of trust within the IARU,” says Tan Chorh Chuan as he looks back upon the past years.

Sustainable exchange at all levels

The IARU Global Summer Program, which gathers students every year from all participating universities for international workshops, is a showcase project of previous IARU activities. In 2013, ETH Sustainability will organise a course in Singapore as part of the next summer school session. The IARU universities have been committed to sustainability not only in teaching and research but also in very tangible terms as regards university operations. Since 2007, the participating universities have been working together for sustainable university operations and have developed and defined standards for the reduction of their CO₂ emissions.

Ensuring the future quality of the universities in a globally networked environment is another matter ETH President Ralph Eichler sees as a further key issue to address during his upcoming term as Chairman of the Alliance. “The political and social backgrounds are completely different in Asia, Europe, Australia and North America. So it is important that we not only understand these differences but that we also learn from each other. Thanks to the IARU, we have the opportunity to compare university systems from four continents with first-hand information,” adds Eichler.

In March, representatives from the universities will meet in Peking to exchange information on the topic of technology transfer. A meeting in October at ETH Zurich will address the subject of gender equality. At an additional meeting, the focus will be on the increasing globalisation of research financing. The IARU also intends to play a larger role in ensuring that the value of basic research is better recognised in society. Alumni of the universities make a significant contribution to this strong network. The first joint alumni event will be held in San Francisco in 2013.

IARU university alliance

The International Alliance of Research Universities IARU was established at the end of 2005 in cooperation with the following universities: Australian National University, ETH Zurich, National University of Singapore, Peking University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Cambridge, University of Copenhagen, University of Oxford, University of Tokyo and Yale University.