ACU Secretary General, Dr Joanna Newman shared a powerful message on International Women's Day, reaffirming the role of higher education in challenging societal inequalities. ACU also profiled female scholars and academics, as well as the programmes that promote and enable women's equity and access to higher education.

Last Monday was Commonwealth Day and the 10th anniversary of the Commonwealth Charter. The occasions were marked with Commonwealth events throughout the week. ACU had three causes for celebration as it is also our 110th anniversary year.

The International Association of Universities (IAU) have launched the report of the third global survey on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD), conducted in 2022.

In total, 464 valid responses from higher education institutions in 120 countries were collected. The findings show that higher education and partnerships are essential to address the global challenges identified in the UN Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to build a more sustainable future together.

The survey was conducted in collaboration with ASEF (Asia-Europe Foundation), Crue (Conferencia de Rectores de Universidades Españolas), MECCE (The Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education Project).

Applications are now open for Commonwealth Peace and Reconciliation Challenge Grants. Aimed at academic and professional staff at ACU member universities, grants of up to 2,500 GBP will support collaborative work addressing advancing peace, reconciliation, and indigenous knowledge.

To date, the grants have funded a diverse range of projects, workshops and events.

Closing date: Monday 10 April 2023

Fund exciting and transformative projects in your community with a Higher Education and the SDGs Challenge Grant.

There are four grants of GBP 2,500 available to fund collaborative work around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Previous grants have been used to fund a diverse range of activities, Previously, the grants have been used to fund projects such as including providing clean energy sources for Fijian schools and supporting women’s economic empowerment by addressing financial access and literacy. Find out more about this funding, and how you can use it, on our website - at the link below.

Closing date: Tuesday 2 May 2023

More guest speakers have been announced for the ACU India Roundtables.

Hosted by ACU member institutions, the roundtable events take place from 27 - 31 March 2023 at CHRIST (Deemed to be University) in Bengaluru, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, and Amity University Uttar Pradesh, in Noida (Delhi NCR).

The roundtables will bring universities together to discuss topics of common relevance, such as digitalisation, internationalisation, and sustainable partnerships. They also present the opportunity to network with peers from across the Commonwealth and explore sustainable projects and partnerships. Joining the Bengaluru and Mumbai events respectively are:

• Professor Sabu Padmadas, Associate Dean International at the University of Southampton - 27 March, Bengaluru
  
  
• Lorna Cuckow, Deputy Director International and Head of International Partnerships and Relations at the University of Bristol - 29 March, Mumbai
  
  
• Monica Kennedy, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Mumbai at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) - 29 March, Mumbai

ACU will launch our new Equitable Research Partnerships Toolkit via an online webinar on 25 April at 11:00 UTC.

Join us for an exclusive first look at the toolkit, expertly designed to cultivate equitable higher education research partnerships that function on a fair and level playing field.

Applications for the next round of Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships (QECS) open on Wednesday 29 March 2023. Aimed at students who are committed to creating change in their communities, QECS offers a unique opportunity to study a two-year master’s degree in a low or middle-income Commonwealth country.