Conferences

On 15 and 16 November 2015 Uppsala University hosted the annual U4 rectors' conference, which provided the setting for the yearly evaluation of the U4 strategic partnership.

The rectors of the four partner universities gather at the rector's meeting to meet in conclave and debate the future perspectives and the strategy of the network. In addition, the representatives of the academic clusters and of several working groups took the opportunity to report on their activities in 2015 and to present their aims for the coming year.

The evaluation of 2015 was very positive. The U4 network entails more and more projects and in existing initiatives the cooperation gets increasingly intensive. In addition, there have never been more students and staff in exchange between the U4 partners than in 2015.

From 4 to 6 November 2015 a well attended conference of the cluster Social Sciences, Economics and Law (SSEL) 'Governance of a Contemporary Multilateral Institutional Architecture' was hosted by the University of Groningen.

This interdisciplinary topic brought 80 participants to "Het Kasteel", the venue of the conference in Groningen. 35 papers were presented, both by experienced and junior scholars. The cluster conference was well received by the participants who liked the setting in panels and the interdisciplinary character. Contacts for PhD cooperation were highly appreciated and input was given to broaden the scope of the conference with further focus on networking and deepening of contacts. To support this process, dates were set for specific workshops to be held.

From 7 to 9 October 2015, twenty scholars from nine universities took part in the interdisciplinary conference 'Scriptural Interpretation at the Interface between Education und Religion' hosted by the Department of New Testament Studies at the University of Göttingen and held at Mariaspring.

Over almost two decades, scholars in biblical and religious studies from the universities of Durham, Göttingen and Groningen have met every second year in order to jointly explore 'Themes in Biblical Narrative' (TBN). Now, this well-established partnership has been put on an even broader basis.

The U4 network cluster conference of the cluster Social Sciences, Economics and Law (SSEL) on Governance of a Contemporary Multilateral Institutional Architecture is organized from 4 to 6 November 2015 in Groningen in the congress center Het Kasteel.

The conference includes the following panels:

1. Governance of Politics, Conflicts and Interventions

2. Governance of E-Democracy and Internet Architecture

3. Governance of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity

The U4 cooperation is especially intended to take stock of academic research activities within the participating universities. The aim is to disseminate research, stimulate research cooperation, provide a venue for innovative and multi-disciplinary research approaches and critical reflection. The conference theme of governance of a contemporary multilateral institutional architecture from the systems' and individual perspectives calls for a transnational, interdisciplinary and cross boundary approach of societal challenges. It will be looking at social processes and governance interactions via informal as well as formal rules, private as well as public actors to create social sustainability. This may occur at all levels in a society – a multilevel phenomenon.

Download the conference programme

Panels | Timeline | Organizers | Costs and venue | Conference registration

When reproduction moves from the private sphere to a medical setting, it gives rise to a whole set of new issues and decisions to be made by lay people. The interdisciplinary Parenthood Research Group was set up in 2011 to conduct an empirical bioethics study about the meaning of genetic and non-genetic parenthood for families using assisted reproductive technologies. One of the aims of the GOA Parenthood project was to identify elements that are considered morally relevant by the (candidate) parents, the known donors, or the children; elements that are new (and potentially) challenging for the way bioethics is currently looking at questions that involve families.