The actions of the cluster Institutional Management comprise two dimensions: first of all, offering a unique platform for cooperation between the central university management and second, setting up transversal initiatives in support of the academic clusters, such as mobility calls.
The U4 Academic Leadership programme is a training course for top-level executives in university management from one of our four co-operative universities. The programme allows university leaders (both from academia and administration) to strengthen their skills in leadership
In 2013 a new network of careers advisers for master students, PhD and postdoc researchers was created at a U4 meeting held at Ghent University. While career services for master students have been common practice for years, career services for the group of early stage researchers are
In recent years European universities have been striving to enhance their international profile by building strategic partnerships and thematic networks with one or several universities abroad. In most cases, their partner universities have an excellent reputation or possess a specific profile
Since 2009 the U4 partners have made a joint effort in setting up projects in the framework of Erasmus Action 2 partnerships, formerly known as External Coopertation Windows. The first consortium with all U4 partners represented was the LiSUM project ('Linking Sino-European
The following list contains European funded research and cooperation projects with two or more partners from the U4 network. Please click on the acronyms of the projects to find more information on the role of the U4 partners in these projects. You will also find the necessary contact details in
IPT&L or 'International Perspectives in Teaching and Learning' addresses the needs of teaching coordinators and curriculum developers of international programmes, focusing on what it takes to organize a good degree programme from an international point of view.
Aiming at tailor-made support for individual researchers and fostering cooperation among the U4 partners in common research foci, the "Joint Expertise Sharing" (JES) platform was set up to make information about potential supervisors in the common research foci of the U4 partners easily
A handbook for the development of joint degree courses integrating all partners will be available soon and will ease the establishment of further joint degree courses between the U4 partners. This type of approach for offering courses in multiple fields at a consortium level scarcely exists
The U4 Network intends to take account of the growing importance of research infrastructures at European universities by making strategic agreements and setting common goals in the area of university collections.
In continuation of the 2010 and 2011 benchmarking exercises initiated by Ghent University, the U4 partners have established a rotating peer review cycle to delve into different themes and challenges of university management: finance, gender, HR, infrastructure, ...
As in other fields of cooperation the U4 network is an important motor for agenda-setting and enhancing knowhow for the individual U4 partners, who have different focuses and are at different speeds in setting up strategies to meet the global sustainability challenges. That is why the U4
The focus of the U4 Student Network is on sharing experiences and on exchanging best practices concerning student participation and regarding various dimensions of student life at the respective partner universities.
