Welcome to the Utrecht Network

The 25th Anniversary of Utrecht Network (April 26-27, 2012, Utrecht)
In 2012 the Utrecht Network celebrates its 25th anniversary.  Part of this celebration will be the seminar for Utrecht Network Rectors and institutional Utrecht Network representatives. Theme of the seminar is:
Erasmus for All: the Future of Joint Programmes

What is Utrecht Network
The Utrecht Network is a representative European-wide network of universities cooperating in the area of internationalisation. The group is particularly committed to such areas as student and staff mobility, summer schools, the internationalisation of curricula, joint curricula and double/joint degrees. Utrecht Network represents 31 European universities in 29 countries, co-operating in the area of internationalisation in the broadest sense of the word.

Activities
At the present time, the Utrecht Network carries out a wide range of classic student and teacher mobility programmes. Within Europe, mobility is largely promoted within the European Union's Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP), as well as other programmes allowing for mobility of this type with neighbouring countries. Actually Utrecht Network members are jointly involved in several international EC funded projects like JOICON, on good practicces for the management and administration of joint programmes, and several Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window projects, like CONNEC and EUROSA
The international Utrecht Network Summer Schools have become a fixed component of the network's activities. These receive strong financial support from the network, and draw on academics from member universities for their teaching staff; the majority of students also come from member universities, with others from partners in the MAUI and AEN consortia

Overviews activities member universities
Utrecht Network provides overviews of master programmes at member univerisites and of Staff Trainings offerd by the members
From its early years, the Utrecht Network has promoted professional staff development by staff visits to other universities in the network. The intention has been to increase the professional expertise of the group as a whole and thus enable it to meet its primary goals more effectively.

Organisation
Once a year, during the spring, all the members of the Utrecht Network meet at the Annual General Meeting. During this AGM, decisions are taken and future activities are plotted. The delegates are always those persons responsible for, or most closely involved in, the institution's general internationalisation policies and strategies.
As tools for achieving its ends, the Utrecht Network encourages the creation of special interest groups to explore new areas of activity. These may lead to the creation of specially focused Task Forces, which are provided with substantial long-term funding; seed money is also offered to New Initiatives, especially those aimed at initiating Utrecht Network participation in new projects.
The board of the network is the 5 persons Steering Committee. It meets as often as necessary in order to ensure an effective response to topical issues and to take decisions that cannot be postponed. The daily business of the network and the support for the Steering Committte is organised by the part-time Executive Secretariat, located at Utrecht University.

Student mobility
Europe
The Utrecht Network started off as a small group that was active in student exchanges since the early 1980s. At the start of the ERASMUS programme, the existing activities were adopted as the first framework ICP, followed by a steady expansion in the number of partners and exchange students. Initially, this quick start formed the great advantage of the institution-wide approach taken by the Utrecht Network. At present, however, the fact that this construction makes practically every student, from each discipline and from all affiliated universities, a potential ERASMUS student, is regarded as the most important advantage. Furthermore, thanks to the large numbers involved, it is possible to correct possible "imbalances" which exist in the mobility, and means that the Utrecht Network can offer all participants a sound basis for broad student mobility. See where Utrecht Network can bring you in Europe.
Each academic year student mobility within the Utrecht network totals about 1200 students.

USA
In the context of co-operation with the USA, too, the Utrecht Network functiones as a consortium, while planning and carrying out activities in the field of exchange. Together with the MAUI-consortium in the Mid-West USA, the Utrecht Network developed a system which makes student mobility possible within a wide variety of disciplines and between all participating universities. Approximately 100 students are exchanged each year. For more information, please proceed to the MAUI website.

Australia
The Utrecht Network exchanges students with AEN (Australian-European Network), a consortium of 7 universities in Australia. Approximately 50 students are exchanged each year. For more information, please proceed to the AEN website.
 

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