Vision & Mission |
Founded in 1950, under the auspices of UNESCO, the International Association of Universities (IAU) is the leading global association of higher education institutions and organisations from around the world.
IAU is an independent, bilingual (English and French), non-governmental, membership organization. IAU membership is open to higher education institutions (HEIs) and organisations.
As a global forum for leaders of institutions and associations, IAU convenes and connects almost 600 Members from more than 130 countries to identify, reflect and act on common priorities. It acts as the global voice of higher education to a wide range of international and inter-governmental organizations, in particular to UNESCO. Members avail of a wide range of services on a priority basis, but these extend also to other HE stakeholders, such as organisations, institutions, higher education authorities, policy and decision-makers, specialists, administrators, teachers, researchers and students.
IAU is funded primarily through its membership fees and depends on these to effectively carry out its wide portfolio of activities encompassing its series of online webinars and thematic debates, events and conferences, publications, projects and other initiatives.
We need your support to maintain our high quality services and advocacy for the key transformative role higher education plays in society - for a better and more sustainable world.
IAU is an official partner of UNESCO (Associate status) and has been given special consultative status by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
IAU was granted the participatory status with the Council of Europe.
For more information on IAU’s activities and membership, please click here or contact [email protected].
IAU works to enhance higher education community’s role and actions in advancing societies worldwide. As a global membership organization, IAU represents and serves the full spectrum of higher education institutions and their associations. The IAU Strategy 2030, adopted during the 16th IAU General Conference, in 2022, affirms IAU’s focus on four key higher education priority themes, while improving support and services to members as well as enhancing their visibility and engagement.
IAU 4 strategic priorities:
IAU fulfils its goals through:
IAU continuously enhances its efficiency by:
NGO in official partnership with UNESCO in associate status |
International Association of Universities, UNESCO House, 1 rue Miollis, 75732 Paris cedex 15, France |
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