Global universities join forces to form U7 Alliance

A new U7 Alliance bringing together the presidents of leading universities from across the G7 countries has formed with the aim of tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges from climate change to inequality.

An international partnership of university presidents from research-intensive institutions who will work together, the U7 Alliance is made up of more than 30 universities from the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US.

“The U7 Alliance will stimulate discussion and ideas, with a view to making long-lasting commitments”

In creating the U7 Alliance, the world’s leading universities recognise they have a unique responsibility as global actors, in fields well beyond academia, to take concrete action both together and within their institutions for a local, regional and global impact.

President and provost of U7 Alliance member University College London, Michael Arthur, said the alliance brings together universities who have a passion for sharing knowledge, finding solutions and making a positive difference to the world.

“Universities are uniquely placed to bring together research, expertise and best practices, which can positively affect our local, national and international communities,” he explained.

“The U7 Alliance will stimulate discussion and ideas, with a view to making long-lasting commitments and taking concrete action and, in doing so, we can further demonstrate the public good of universities.”

The U7 Alliance will also meet yearly for an annual summit to discuss a common agenda and establish a space for universities’ action.

The inaugural summit will be held in Paris on 9-10 July and will tackle five major global challenges: the key role of universities in a global world; climate change and cleaner energy; inequality and polarised societies; technological transformations; and community engagement and impact.

Hosted at Sciences Po, the summit will conclude with 15 concrete commitments, as voted on by the university presidents.

For the first U7 Alliance summit, invitations have also been extended to institutions in 14 other countries – Argentina, Morocco, Senegal, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, India, Ghana, South Africa, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and Mexico.

Founding members of the U7 Alliance

1. University College of London – Great Britain
2. University of Cambridge – Great Britain
3. Imperial College London – Great Britain
4. University of Edinburgh – Great Britain
5. London School of Economics and Political Science – Great Britain
6. Freie Universität Berlin – Germany
7. Universität Heidelberg – Germany
8. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich – Germany
9. University of Mannheim – Germany
10. Technical University of Munich – Germany
11. Universita Bocconi – Italy
12. University of Naples Federico II – Italy
13. Sapienza University of Rome – Italy
14. Columbia University, New York – United States of America
15. University of British Columbia – Canada
16. McGill University – Canada
17. Université de Montréal – Canada
18. University of Ottawa – Canada
19. University of Toronto – Canada
20. Hitotsubashi University – Japan
21. Keio University – Japan
22. Osaka University – Japan
23. University of Tokyo – Japan
24. Aix-Marseille Université – France
25. Université de Bordeaux – France
26. Université Côte d’Azur –France
27. Ecole Polytechnique – France
28. Université Grenoble Alpes – France
29. HEC Paris – France
30. Université de Lyon – France
31. Université Paris Diderot – France
32. Université Paris Saclay – France
33. Université Paris Sciences et Lettres – France
34. Sciences Po – France
35. Sorbonne Université – France
36. Université de Strasbourg -France

Universities invited to the first summit

1. Ashesi University – Ghana
2. University of Cape Town – South Africa
3. Université Cheikh Anta Diop – Senegal
4. University of Ibadan – Nigeria
5. Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny – Ivory Coast
6. Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique – Morocco
7. Australian National University – Australia
8. Seoul National University – South Korea
9. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico – Mexico
10. National University of Singapore – Singapore