LERU: Banding together for European Research innovation

Alongside twenty of the most respected European universities, the University of Helsinki is a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU). The League understands itself as the voice of research universities during the process of European policy-making.

LERU responds to urgent issues related to higher education and research by giving practical and specific recommendations to European policy-makers. These concern, for example, gender bias in research, the role of the humanities and social sciences in research, and innovation through the natural sciences.

It all started in 2002, at the 100th anniversary of the Association of American Universities (AAU). “This is what we need in Europe as well,” European rectors thought while attending the AAU festivities. The idea led to an association in Europe of twelve leading research-intensive universities.

While selecting the most potential LERU members, an independent evaluation identified the University of Helsinki as ranking 5th in Europe based on its number of publications and citations in various research fields.

“Although we were quite sure to be the leading research university in Finland we truly did not expect to belong to the best ones within Europe,” comments Markus Laitinen, the University’s present senior liaison officer for LERU. “We were all the more surprised and happy! In a way, LERU has boosted our self-confidence.”

The League regularly publishes in-depth monographs and makes concrete recommendations for policy-makers, universities, researchers and other stakeholders.

According to Laitinen, these joint reports carry much more weight than a publication by a single university. No wonder LERU has gained ground: when new European research policies are made, decision-makers now refer to LERUS’s research articles and collective publications. Furthermore, the network has gained importance by facilitating collaboration between the member universities in various areas. As Laitinen states, “Joint meetings for benchmarking have, for example, been organised for librarians, communication officers, people involved in developing research careers and those involved with alumni and fundraising.”

In a nutshell, Laitinen is convinced that now there is less need for the University of Helsinki to persuade others of its excellence because, in his words, “LERU lends sufficient credibility to our image as a globally influential, research-oriented university.”

In 2012 LERU is celebrating its 10th anniversary. And as Laitinen predicts, “There will still be plenty to do in the future when it comes to research policies in the EU.” Improving tax and social security systems related to the mobility of researchers are to his understanding high on the list of importance as is the promotion of excellence as a basis for research funding.