Mission

Global engagement:

• Increases the global relevance of the knowledge we gain, produce, and teach, and global engagement also promotes its utilization. The countries that constitute the Global South are home to the vast majority of the world’s population. Many challenges are global challenges, or have a global nature (e.g. climate, but also think about drug shortages, maintaining open societies, ensuring children everywhere can develop to reach their full potential, etc.).  Addressing and solving these requires a global approach based on cross-country collaboration and insights from different parts of the world. The countries that constitute the Global South are also home to the majority of the world’s population. 
• Strengthens our research networks and associated strategic position.   
• Can help UU researchers contribute to questions that only or more efficiently are answered through research with Global South populations. Examples: research on optimal therapeutic management for diseases that occur more often there (Zika, Malaria, sickle cell disease). But also: questions related to climate resilience, biodiversity, etc. 
• Can strengthen our access to a global talent pool – students and researchers - which adds diversity in thinking, experiences and approaches of numerous outstanding, innovative scholars. Essential, because the best research is conducted in diverse teams!
• Can strengthen the quality of our curricula, including accessing insights and perspectives from across the globe, and decolonizing curricula where necessary. 
• Can improve cross cultural competencies of UU students and staff, and can expose them to new experiences and diverse insights that shape their scientific and personal outlook in transformative ways. 

Students and staff in higher education institutions in low- and middle income countries often face many challenges that limit their education- and research opportunities. Compounded by the history of colonization, discrimination, economic exclusion, the huge disparities in CO2 emissions since the beginning for the Industrial Revolution, etc., striving for equity is both a moral obligation as well as an obligation under international law.

The renewed focus on Global Engagement is intended to strengthen and expand  Utrecht University’s cooperation with partners in the Global South. In order to excel in research and education it is necessary to look beyond the European framework of networks and universities. ‘Collaboration across borders’ is one of the five leading principles in the new strategic plan of the Executive Board.

1. Funds: explore how UU can improve our access to funding opportunities (with a focus on students and academics from low- and middle-income countries);
2. Communities: connect and create communities around Global Engagement (with the possibility of sub-communities, for example around regions or themes);
3. Publicity & dissemination: making it known to the UU community (and beyond) that Global Engagement is a strategic priority, what it means and what we are working on.