University Alliances and Coalitions

Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU)
Coimbra Group
Group of Eight (Go8)
Ivy League
Russell Group
Universitas 21

Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU)
http://www.apru.org/about/

Formed in 1997, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is a consortium of 36 leading research universities in the Pacific Rim. APRU aims to foster education, research and enterprise thereby contributing to the economic, scientific and cultural advancement in the Pacific Rim.

APRU aims to promote scientific, educational and cultural collaboration among Pacific Rim economies. In both its objectives and guiding principles, APRU embodies a commitment to global academic and research standards.

APRU recognizes that its activities can be powerful catalysts for expanding educational, economic, and technological cooperation among the Pacific Rim economies. In this regard, the association seeks to promote dialogue and collaboration between academic institutions in Pacific Rim economies so that they can become effective players in the global knowledge economy.

Members

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The Coimbra Group
http://www.coimbra-group.be/

Founded in 1985 and formally constituted by charter in 1987, the Coimbra Group is a network of European universities that gathers 39 of the oldest and most prestigious universities on the continent. The group took its name from the city of Coimbra, Portugal and the university located there, itself one of the oldest in Europe. Coincidentally, the University of Coimbra celebrated its 700th anniversary in the same year the group was founded.

It is committed to creating special academic and cultural ties in order to promote, for the benefit of its members, internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and research, and service to society. It is also the purpose of the Group to influence European educational policy and to develop best practice through the mutual exchange of experience.

Members:

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Group of 8 (Australian Universities)
http://www.go8.edu.au/about/go8.htm

The Group of Eight (Go8) is a lobby group for the tertiary institutions generally considered to be the most prestigious and research-intensive universities in Australia. Operating informally as a network of vice-chancellors since 1994 and formally incorporated in 1999, it ensures that Australia continues to have universities of a world-class standard. The group, in arguing for prioritization of research funding and in lobbying for increased funding for the largest and most popular campuses, sometimes finds itself at odds with smaller, regional and rural universities.

Members:

• The University of Adelaide
• The Australian National University
• The University of Melbourne
• Monash University
• The University of New South Wales
• The University of Queensland
• The University of Sydney
• The University of Western Australia

The Group of Eight Deans of Engineering and Associates represent the ten most research intensive engineering faculties in Australia. In 2002 the Group won over 90% of the Australia Research Council Discovery funding for Engineering and Technology. They are partners in over 95% of the engineering related CRCs and produce over 80% of the Engineering and Technology Journal papers. They enrol approximately half of the engineering students in Australia. The Group is comprised of the eight engineering faculties and schools of the Go8 universities plus the associates and the engineering faculties of the Universities of Newcastle and Wollongong. These faculties were invited to join in recognition of the outstanding quality of their engineering research, teaching and scholarship.

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The Ivy League
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League

The 'Ivy League' comprises 8 U.S. universities– a small group of private universities that enjoy a reputation for providing excellent education, and attract top students.

It is interesting to note that the term 'ivy league' originally referred not to academics but to sports. The original Ivy League brought together not minds, but football teams. That said, these eight universities have some educational and institutional traits in common beyond their athletics programs. All are long-established, private universities; all are in the Northeastern U.S.; all benefit from sizeable endowments and generous alumni financial support; all are highly selective – and all are very expensive.

• Brown University -- Providence, RI
• Dartmouth College -- Hanover, NH
• Columbia University -- New York, NY
• Cornell University -- Ithica, NY
• Harvard University -- Cambridge, MA
• University of Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, PA
• Princeton University -- Princeton, NJ
• Yale University -- New Haven, CT

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The Russell Group
http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/about.html

The Russell Group is a group of large research-led British universities established in 1994 to represent their interests to the UK Government, Parliament and other similar bodies. Often referred to as the British equivalent of the Ivy League, it contains most of the United Kingdom's leading universities and 18 of its 19 members are in the top 20 in terms of research funding, though some top research universities (notably the University of Durham and the University of York) are not members.

The Russell Group states that its objectives are to:

• Lead the UK's research effort;
• Maximize income for its member institutions;
• Attract the best staff and students to those institutions;
• Create the regulatory environment in which it can achieve these objectives by reducing government interference; and
• Identify ways to co-operate in order to exploit the universities' collaborative advantage.

It achieves these objectives by lobbying the UK Government and Parliament; by commissioning reports, research and opinion polls; and by creating a forum in which the universities can discuss issues of common concern and identify ways to work together.

Members:

• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• Cardiff University
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Glasgow
• Imperial College London
• King's College London
• University of Leeds
• University of Liverpool
• London School of Economics
• University of Manchester
• University of Newcastle upon Tyne
• University of Nottingham
• University of Oxford
• University of Sheffield
• University of Southampton
• University College London
• University of Warwick

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Universitas 21
http://www.universitas21.com/

It s an international network of research-intensive universities, and it is established as an "international reference point and resource for strategic thinking on issues of global significance."

Founded in 1997, Universitas 21 currently has 20 member universities in 12 different countries and territories. The network's purpose is to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between the member universities and to create opportunities for them on a scale that none of them would be able to achieve operating independently or through traditional bilateral alliances. Universitas 21 engages in a number of activities on three different levels:

• The first level encourages traditional collegial activities such as student exchange programs.
• The second level facilitates greater international collaboration between members, such as the sharing of learning materials.
• The third level focuses on opportunities for entrepreneurial activities. An example of this is U21Global (an online university created in partnership with Thomson Learning).

Members:

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