Pioneering partnership with Copenhagen
An innovative partnership is flourishing between the University of Leeds and the University of Copenhagen - ranked among the world’s top 50 universities – creating new opportunities in research, teaching and leadership.
The two universities have teamed up to carry out joint activities in a fresh and novel way, such as working on collaborative research grants and applications, discussing ideas about teaching, staff and student exchanges, PhD fellowships, research skills training events, administration, leadership and strategic planning.
The partnership has been forged between Leeds’ Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Performance, Visual Arts and Communications and Copenhagen’s Faculty of Humanities, which is the oldest in Europe with a history stretching back to 1479.
“This isn’t just a paper partnership,” says Professor Thompson, dean of the Faculty of Arts at Leeds. “It’s a genuinely multifaceted relationship which is really starting to gain traction; we want to open up the benefits to as many staff as possible – not just academics but also administrative staff.
“International collaborations will increasingly become the norm in higher education, so we’re keen to experiment and try out new ways of working together on areas of mutual interest,” he says. “Copenhagen is a highly ranked university and we believe many of our staff will be able to find valuable opportunities out there.”
Leeds recently hosted an international PhD training course for arts and humanities students from the universities of Leeds, Copenhagen and Oslo from 27 to 29 May. It was designed to develop their skills in discussing key research issues, explore what makes an ‘outstanding PhD’; and address the challenges of starting a research career during the global economic recession.
“It was fantastic, the event made me really very proud to be dean,” says Professor Thompson. “There were 30 PhD students all clearly having a rewarding and enjoyable time, and it exemplified all that is best about academic life and international collaboration.”
The universities now plan to make a joint bid for EU funding to establish a European postgraduate training network to help develop students to their full potential. He says the partnership is also an important vehicle for generating new research collaborations with modest pump priming, with a view to making large bids for EU funding in the future.
Leeds also hosted three bilateral workshops with Copenhagen in May 2008, funded by the Higher Education Academy’s Leadership Foundation, where staff in the schools of music, English and history explored ways of delivering strategic goals and enhancing leadership at a school and faculty level.
The partnership was formed in spring 2008 when the University of Copenhagen approached Leeds after hearing about the impact that our strategy map is making in the higher education sector. “Copenhagen was in the process of putting together their own strategy map, so they were very keen to work with us.”
For more details contact Professor Stuart Taberner or Professor David Cooper.
See www.humanities.ku.dk/partnerships/leeds_partnership
