Universities can play a key role in promoting informed trade policy through training, research and policy advice. Helping universities to carry out this function is important for ensuring that countries have the capacity to benefit from trade.
Recognizing this role, UNCTAD will host the first annual meeting of university members of its Virtual Institute (Vi) network from 11 to 15 July, when academics from 12 countries (see list below) will share knowledge and experiences. The University of International Business and Economics of Beijing, for example, will report on how it prepares its graduates to become policy makers; Jawaharlal Nehru University of New Delhi will explain how it conducts research into FDI in South Asia; and the University of Mauritius will describe how it uses information and communications technologies (ICTs) to teach international economics.
The purpose of the meeting is for UNCTAD and the universities to agree on ways of working together and learning from each other so as to promote sustainable approaches to improving the quality and impact of teaching and research on trade and related areas.
Virtual Institute members are committed to providing up-to-date, practical and relevant teaching and research appropriate to the specific needs of their home countries. The meeting will discuss new Vi teaching materials and will launch a new Vi website (http://vi.unctad.org), offering resources on topical trade issues and tools for discussion and sharing. Keynote speeches will focus on how academic work can influence effective policy-making. Topics will include the links between trade and poverty reduction, participatory approaches to building national trade-related capacities, the role of dispute settlement for developing countries and the role of UNCTAD in economic research and analysis. The programme is designed to be interactive, produce tangible outcomes and foster the sharing of experiences and ideas.
Background
The UNCTAD Virtual Institute was launched as a partnership at UNCTAD XI (June 2004) and consists of a global network of institutions of higher learning whose teaching and research programmes are concerned with globalization, international trade and development. Members of the Vi network aim to enhance their curricula, knowledge, training skills and research expertise in these areas in order to build the capacity of future decision makers and contribute to informed policy-making. Vi provides its members with access to UNCTAD´s analytical work, teaching materials and tools that can be adapted to their national educational contexts. It also makes available a network of universities with whom they can share training resources and experiences and collaborate on curriculum development and research.
Participating in the meeting will be professors from a number of disciplines related to UNCTAD´s work, representing the following institutions: University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil; Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada; University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China; Pierre Mendès France University, Grenoble, France; Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India; School of International Relations, Tehran, Iran; University of Jordan; University of Mauritius; Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal; University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania; and University of the West Indies.
