Office of International Research

Universities operate in a global context and networking with external partners is increasingly part of administrative as well as academic activity. The choice of partners requires a mutual determination to the achievement of clear benefits. McGill is a key player in several international networks and seeks through them to anticipate trends in society and in higher education, and to identify and to position itself for emerging opportunities. For example, McGill is a founding member of Universitas 21, a new consortium which over the last two years has involved 16 leading universities in 8 countries. The member institutions will adopt common standards of excellence, exchange students, faculty and staff, and be partners in activities of mutual interest.

During May 1998, McGill's International Research Office has discussed opportunities for academic and scholarly mobility, collaboration on course offerings, innovative educational opportunities and partnerships with officials of several countries. During May, these have included visits by the Director-General and Associate Director-General of CONACYT (the Mexican funding council for academic research and scholarship in science and technology), and by heads or representatives of international cooperation offices of universities in France (during the ACFAS conference) and the United Kingdom. The summer period will be one of preparation and follow-up.

Bilateral Collaboration

McGill faculty members are behind numerous valuable academic exchanges with partner universities abroad. As stated by Associate Dean of Law Daniel Jutras, "Synergy in research and in teaching are the key advantages of joint research." His faculty has collaborated in comparative constitutional law and aboriginal law with universities in Melbourne and New South Wales in Australia.

Collaborative activity normally begins with a faculty member's professional links with a colleague abroad. When formal agreements are required to enhance academic cooperation, the Office of International Research will advise on procedures. These are also available on OIR's web site.

Web site

The Office of International Research (OIR) invites you to visit its new web site at http://ww2.mcgill.ca/fgsr/oir/. The site provides information on current international projects and collaboration agreements as well as hints for successful international projects. OIR regularly distributes information on funding sources for international projects to departments and centres at McGill. If you would like to be on the electronic distribution list, contact OIR at (tel) 4197.