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University ConsortiaWhy, how and with whom?And the CALDO case study****Britta Baron, University of AlbertaCanada-China Academic Forum, ChengduAugust 2012

Definition & HistoryA University Consortium is an alliance between two or more universities or between two or more components of a university (faculty, department, individual researchers/professors) which is meant to serve a more or less distinctive purpose relating to teaching/learning, research and/or administrationConsortia have been in existence for a long timeSince 1990 rapidly growing number of consortiaForms of ConsortiaConsortia come as:Domestically or internationally formed alliancesSmall (2 partners) or large (50+ partners)Open or closed membershipLoosely organized, somewhat organized or highly structured in terms of legal foundation, number of staff specifically assigned to consortium, budget, accountability on specific outcomesor any combination of the abovePurpose of ConsortiaConsortia are meant to serve the purpose of:Building channels for cross-border mobility of students and faculty for the sake of exposure to other country/culture/language, e.g. ERASMUS partnershipsStrengthening own institutional brandFocusing institution-wide interaction and linkages on a select number of partners for the sake of greater efficiency, accountability and reliability, e.g. WUN, Universitas 21Opening access to fundingPooling of resourcesPooling of ResourcesDelivering specific services or building particular projects/programs that one institution could not run by itselfDomesticallyCollaboratively run degree programsMarketing or recruitmentJoint research to handle complex, multidisciplinary research questions Administrative purposes, e.g. Canadian Re-insurance consortiumDelivery of online courses, e.g. edX (Harvard and MIT), Coursera (U Michigan, Princeton, Stanford and U Penn)InternationallyJoint and dual degree programsStudent and faculty mobilityJoint researchHiring to talent, e.g. U Monash/U Warwick consortiumor any combination of the aboveFocus of ConsortiaConsortia are built around:One shared region One shared discipline or sub-disciplineAssumption of similar profile and standingComplimentarily of strengthOne key feature of central importance, e.g. TU9, Gof8, U15, Coimbra GroupDevelopment of ConsortiaCall from regional, national or supra-national organizations, such as provincial or national governments, European Union, UNESCO e.g. India-UK consortia, ERASMUS Mundus consortiaBottom-up initiative of like-minded partnersOpen-ended or with limited life spanTrendsRapidly increasing numberGreater diversity of formats, size, purposes etcMore and more geared towards strategic purposes that are of key importance to overall institutional agendaIncreasing trend to professional management of consortiaCombination of purposes within one given consortiumNetworking of consortiaAnd now to the case of CALDO,Consortium of University of Alberta, Universit Laval, Dalhousie University and University of Ottawa

www.caldo.caCALDO HistoryCALDO = Consortium of University of Alberta, Laval University, Dalhousie University and University of OttawaInitiated - October 2009Agreement signed - August 2010First CALDO event in Ottawa on innovation and internationalization in Australian Universities - November 2010First joint mission of all CALDO members to Chile/Brazil - November 2010Executive Director takes up work - December 2010CALDO GoalsBased on rationale of:Common academic standards, G13 membershipRegional and linguistic diversityOverlapping research profilesWillingness to cooperate personal contactsAiming at:Collaborating with national partners abroad for graduate mobility and research cooperatingFilling gap in CanadaSeminars workshops or trends and developments in internet higher education researchCALDO International EngagementFocus on graduate students who receive sponsorshipRecruitmentOne-stop shop info/advisingSpecial mentoring/assistanceReportingNetwork buildingAgreements with nationwide organizationsDifferent strategies in different countries always focusing on graduate mobility and research cooperationCALDO and BrazilOriginal focus on ChileBuilding contacts in Brazil in November 2010Launch of Science without Borders in summer of 2011General agreement with CNPq in September of 2011General agreement with CAPES in November 2011, signing in Ottawa in the presence of CAPES PresidentWork plans for CAPES and CNPq ready by mid December 2011Launch of CALDO undergraduate call in March 2012CALDO and Science without BordersOperating for all components of Science without BordersCapacity assessed at 2840 for the consortium over a period of 4 yearsBreakdown of capacity by scholarship category:Undergraduates: 400Full PhD: 1200Sandwich PhD: 240Postdoc: 1000Full tuition fees for undergraduates; waiving international differentials for PhD students= Total: 2840CALDO OperationsOne part-time Executive Director, Dr John Zee at U Laval (coordination of meetings, overview on activities in various sub teams, initial contact for international partners)Executive Team (AVP or VP International), meets by teleconference or in person every 4 to 6 weeksCALDO Operations (contd)CALDO One Stop Shop (OSS) at University of Alberta is based on working group of key people for admission in 4 universitiesCALDO OSS provides services for:Calculating overall capacityAdvice on placement opportunities to Brazilian students and researchersCoordination of student placementFee paymentsCALDO social mediaCollaboration with CBIE regarding allocation of students/researchers to appropriate Canadian universitiesCALDO Operations (contd)Working Group Recruitment led by U LavalWorking Group PR/Publications led by U OttawaResearch agreement with FAPESP and research workshops led by DalhousieCALDO ChallengesUnder-resourcedSmall number of membersContinuityCALDO AdvantagesContributes to filling the Canada national gapSmall number of players with diverse but coherent profiles: research intensive universitiesDirect link into faculties and admin units at member universitiesGood interaction of all playersEnhanced visibility for member institutions and for CanadaSide Effects and Unintended ConsequencesOther CALDO cooperation, e.g. CALDO NorthCALDO network as default option for inter-university collaborationsCALDO seen as partner by various organizations inside and outside of Canada, e.g. Group of Eight in Australia, SUNY systemMutual learning within membersEnhancing infrastructure in member universities, e.g. sponsored student services, advertising vacancies for PhD and Postdoc studentsTemplate for others, e.g. Brazilian consortium of top research universities

Thank you!Britta Baron Vice-Provost & Associate Vice-President (International)britta.baron@ualberta.ca