International cooperation

Examples of international cooperation

• Aurora Network and Aurora Alliance

  VU Amsterdam is the proud co-founder of the Aurora network, a consortium of research intensive universities deeply committed to the social impact of our activities, and with a history of engagement with our communities.
  
  Originated from this network we are now part of the Aurora Alliance, an Erasmus+ selected European Universities Initiative. Our vision is to use academic excellence in education and research to influence societal change. We do this by learning for societal impact, engaging several communities and striving to be pioneers in sustainability. By using our educational concepts in the Alliance, such as Community Service Learning and Entrepreneurship, we try to work together and strengthen each other’s inspirational educational environments.

• University Social Responsibility Network (USRN)

  Based on the belief that universities have obligation to work together to address the economic, social, cultural and environmental challenges in the world and to find solutions so as to make our world more just, inclusive, peaceful and sustainable, the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) was established in 2015. It is a global network for the promotion of social responsibility as a core component of the academic mission. USRN's mission fits VU Amsterdam very well and will help us to realise our strategic goals. The network currently has 20 members, and we are USRN’s first member institution in the Netherlands. 

• Centre for International Cooperation (CIS-VU)

  The Centre for International Cooperation of VU Amsterdam initiates, facilitates, and co-implements projects in capacity building, research collaboration and education with a strong commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. CIS-VU has a vast international cooperation network, that includes academic institutions, government institutions, NGOs and small and medium enterprises in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their programmes focus on Food and Nutrition and Sustainable Land Management; ICT for Development; Conflict Resolution and Mediation; Good Governance & Democratisation and Security & Rule of Law. CIS-VU adheres to an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach in serving its role as a central hub, where research meets practice.

• Erasmus+ Projects

  VU Amsterdam aims to be diverse, sustainable, and entrepreneurial. The Erasmus+ programme assists VU Amsterdam in achieving these strategic goals. International collaboration, partnerships and exchanges all contribute to innovation and diversity on our campus. Thanks to the Erasmus+ programme, students and staff can contribute to solutions for global challenges.

  Students and staff can receive scholarships for exchanges with foreign universities. In addition, VU Amsterdam receives funding for various educational projects. Visit www.vu.nl/erasmus for more information about scholarships or examples of VU Amsterdam projects that have been (co)financed by Erasmus+.

• Exchange partners

  VU Amsterdam has a network of over 200 foreign universities within and outside Europe with whom we exchange students. To facilitate student mobility, we have contracts with these exchange partners. Some contracts are open to students from all fields of study, while others are only available for specific programmes, such as Law or Business Administration. The Study Abroad Map provides an overview of all exchange partners, including the number of available spots and fields of study.

• Visits from international delegations / visitors

  VU Amsterdam regularly welcomes representatives from international institutions at different levels in the organisation. Examples are:

  • administrative missions in which the Executive Board or the faculty board is involved;
  • contact persons of our strategic partners,
  • networks or the International Offices of our exchange partners;
  • individual visitors for our researchers;
  • cooperation partners such as recruitment agents that we use to recruit students.