Another day; another "University Alliance for Sustainability". I received this blurb the other day:
Freie Universität Berlin, together with its four strategic partners, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of British Columbia, St. Petersburg State University, and Peking University, will focus on sustainability as a comprehensive topic for collaborating in research, teaching, and campus management. The new alliance will be under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) Potsdam.
Freie Universität Berlin and its strategic partners see it as their responsibility to actively shape the discourse on sustainability and to meet global challenges with activities in all parts of the university. Forming this network under the topic of sustainability is a great chance to further develop structures to work with our most important partners worldwide.
From 2015 on, the University Alliance for Sustainability will be funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and use the partners’ complementary strengths to develop joint research and teaching projects, offer exchange options for faculty, staff, and students, and foster inter-institutional learning with regard to management issues. To this end, the partners will develop joint undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Student initiatives will be able to network with their counterparts at other universities. Funding will also be available for research stays for researchers, summer schools for PhD students, conferences on the topic of “Green Campus” for management personnel, and several study and internship abroad options.
This is their website, and we're all invited to join in.
What to make of this? Russia, China, Canada and Germany is the first thing to note, perhaps, noting who's not on the list. There's also a practical edge to what's proposed – it's not just a talking shop (what did become of the Copernicus Alliance, by the way?). Maybe it's too early to be too cynical about it all. Best to watch what emerges and to wish it well.
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