The University of Warwick has today signed and launched two major teaching and research collaborations with partner universities and colleges in Paris and Brussels.

The initiative, launched today in the University of Warwick’s base in London’s Shard building, commits Warwick to a close and active research and teaching alliance with French and Belgian partners despite the political and economic cleavages that Brexit could bring to future UK relations with continental Europe.

The University of Warwick’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Croft said:

“Europe-wide research and teaching collaboration has helped transform the lives not just of our students and researchers, it has underpinned jobs, and spurred innovation and advances in health, manufacturing, culture and so much more. Politicians in and out of office in every country in Europe are still deliberating how the UK can still be part of that in future but we can’t afford simply to wait for that to be fully resolved. We chose to act now not just to show our commitment to work together in future but to begin work on a range of activities that delivers on such a commitment.

“I am delighted to be able to begin that work today as we join in partnership with colleagues from L’Université Paris Seine, and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Warwick will be seeking opportunities to form further such partnerships with higher education institutions in other European countries that we hope will become a network of actively engaged students, teachers and researchers.”

Professor Seán Hand, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Europe) at the University of Warwick, said:

"These institutional collaborations with Paris Seine and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel also initiate for Warwick a long-term strategy of extensive and ambitious European engagement. We shall seek to strike complementary and innovative partnerships with our European counterparts that will collectively form a dynamic network centred on truly collaborative research, teaching, and enterprise activities. One especially exciting feature of this is the opportunity to develop multilateral arrangements that involve several nations, systems and disciplines. Warwick is a highly internationalist university, with an established presence in key European cities. At a time of significant national and international changes affecting our sector, we naturally wish to be in the vanguard of educational innovation in Europe."

The initiative is launching today at the University of Warwick’s base in London’s Shard building with the signing of agreements to commence work immediately on a detailed work programme of research and teaching partnerships that will be established in the next 48 months.

With L’Université Paris Seine the University of Warwick will:

• Develop a Joint Masters in Mathematical modelling aiming to be ready to take its first students in the academic year 2019/20

• Establish a collaborative Mathematics appointment — L’Université Paris-Seine will appoint a lecturer in Mathematics by the Autumn of 2018. The post holder will spend up to 3 months a year at Warwick to interact with researchers in Warwick.

• Create 4 Rutherford Fellowships for Early Career Researchers with L’Université Paris Seine

• Establish 5 reciprocal joint PhD studentships

• Create a series of student exchanges including a possible exchange between ESSEC (part of L’Université Paris Seine) and Warwick Business School for students on Masters in Finance programmes.

• Mount two large academic conferences with L’Université Paris Seine (on Global Complexity in 2018 and Arts and Heritage in 2019).

• Explore opportunities for a range of further research or teaching collaborations (or both) in a range of disciplines including: Business, cultural and media policy, applied linguistics, mathematics, statistics, computer science, education, and range of other arts and humanities areas.

With Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) Warwick will:

• Establish a double Master of arts Degree (MA) degree linking Warwick’s Politics and International Studies programmes with VUB’s Institute of European Studies Advanced Masters in European Integration aiming to be in place by 2019/2020

• Explore a bilateral exchange of students between Warwick’s Faculty of Social Sciences and VUB’s Bachelor of Social Sciences programme

• Fund 2 Early Career Researchers fellowships with VUB

• Begin to explore the establishment of 5 reciprocal joint PhD studentships

• Holding a series of impact events with Warwick’s Department of Politics and International Studies at VUB engaging European policymakers

• Explore research partnerships at VUB with Warwick researchers in subjects including Politics and International Studies, Law, Employment, and Applied Linguistics among others

• Explore a partnership between Warwick Medical School and VUB’s Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy around areas such as reproductive health

The agreements to form these partnerships with Warwick were signed today by Warwick’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart Croft , Professor François Germinet, Président of Université Paris Seine and Professor Caroline Pauwels, Rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Professor François Germinet, Président of Université Paris Seine said:

“This is a real opportunity for us to create new partnerships in forerunning areas of research, as well as set up new teaching programmes based on a combination of strong academic skills and soft skills. This alliance p is also important in the pursuit of academic excellence and will provide optimal benefit for the partners through academic and research development and support programmes.”

Vincenzo Esposito Vinzi, Dean and President of ESSEC Business School, member of the University of Paris Seine, said:

“It is important today for our institutions to work together to produce cutting-edge knowledge and to train influential and responsible leaders who are attentive to new trends. With the call for expression of interest and this partnership, we will construct a strong alliance with European Universities and Business Schools in order to be a major player on the international higher education stage and propose our students truly innovative and disruptive learning experiences."

Caroline Pauwels, rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel said:

“This agreement is an opportunity for both our universities. Politicians in Europe may choose to go their own way, but we as academics choose to move in the other direction. We don’t build walls between our universities and societies. We break them down.”

28 March 2018

Watch an interview with Professor Sean Hand on Warwick in Europe here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ask6vzl4US8

Notes for Editors

The University of Warwick is one of the UK’s leading research universities. Warwick ranked 7th overall in the UK Government’s most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014. Four of its departments were ranked as the leading academic department for outputs (publications) in the country. The REF described 87% of Warwick’s research as ‘world -leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Warwick’s Global Research Priorities focus its world-class, multidisciplinary research on key areas of international significance. Warwick has just under 26,000 students 9,400 of which are postgraduates. Warwick has students from over 140 countries.

The University of Paris Seine ComUE is a network of excellence. Bringing together 15 higher education institutions, this group enables its members to collaborate, to gather, to create and to decompartmentalise. In other words, to do together what they would not be able to do by themselves. The ComUE represents essential leverage and visibility for its community in terms of academic training, research, student life, professional integration and international and socio-economic partnerships. Its community is composed of 37,000 students, 2,700 teacher-researchers and 2,000 administrative staff members.

Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an open-minded and internationally oriented university in Brussels, the heart of Europe. By providing excellent research and education on a human scale, VUB aims to make an active and committed contribution to a better society. More info: www.vub.be/en

For further information please contact:

For the University of Warwick
Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Media Relations
University of Warwick
Tel UK 024 76523708 office 07767 655860 mobile
Tel International: +44 (0)24 76523708 office +44 (0)7767 655860 mobile/cell
Email p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk

 

For ESSEC Business School - University of Paris Seine

Aude Renoud, Deputy Director of Communication, +33(0)6 35 36 79 39, renoud@essec.edu

Aurélie Tennerel, Head of Press Relations, +33 (0)6 68 27 21 47, tennerel@essec.edu

 

For Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Prof. dr. Luk Van Langenhove
Academic director of the Institute for European Studies (IES)
Senior advisor for European strategy to the vice-chancellor of the University of Warwick
Mobile +32 (0)473 98 19 56
Email Luk.Van.Langenhove@vub.be

Sarah Janssens, Marketing & communication, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Tel +32 (0)2 629 11 04
Email  sarah.g.janssens@vub.be

 

 

WATCH

an interview with Professor Sean Hand on Warwick in Europe here.

CONTACT

For the University of Warwick

Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Media Relations University of Warwick

Tel office: +44 (0)24 76523708 office

mobile/cell +44 (0)7767 655860

Email p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk

For ESSEC Business School - University of Paris Seine

Aude Renoud, Deputy Director of Communication,

+33(0)6 35 36 79 39,

renoud@essec.edu

Aurélie Tennerel,

Head of Press Relations, +33 (0)6 68 27 21 47,

tennerel@essec.edu

For Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Prof. dr. Luk Van Langenhove, Academic director of the Institute for European Studies (IES) and Senior advisor for European strategy to the vice-chancellor of the University of Warwick

Mobile +32 (0)473 98 19 56

Email Luk.Van.Langenhove@vub.be

Sarah Janssens, Marketing & communication, Vrije Universiteit Brussel Tel +32 (0)2 629 11 04

Email sarah.g.janssens@vub.be