Participatory action research (PAR) brings research to serve communities by addressing questions brought forward by community members and supporting community-based action. To compare its practices worldwide. UW-Madison Professor Randy Stoecker (center) draws on experiences and expertise of international colleagues to create a sustainable online database of practitioners and craft a cross-national comparative evaluation protocol that will inform Participatory Action Research (PAR) theory and practice.
By collaborating beyond the boundaries of the state, UW-Madison researchers leverage expertise and resources to maximize the impact of their contributions and to position the University as an essential resource worldwide. As a world-class research university, UW-Madison attracts knowledge-based industries and trains globally competent workers to keep Wisconsin competitive. The Global Public University series is a forum for discussing trends, challenges, and opportunities that impact public universities and their relationships to their local and regional communities.
A WUN-supported exchange between faculty at UW-Madison and Zhejiang University led to the development of the UW-Madison China Summer Program in Engineering. In addition to taking two engineering courses, UW-Madison engineering students toured regional industrial sites and learned about Chinese culture. Here, Prof. Limin Qiu shows UW-Madison engineering students how to make dumplings.

Promising early-career economic geographers from around the world and leading experts in the field gathered in Madison for the The Summer Institute in Economic Geography, a week long research and professional development program. Participants visited the Milwaukee Art Museum on a field trip to study Milwaukee’s economic development strategies. A WUN seed grant led to subsequent support from Economic Geography and the National Science Foundation.

 

Photo by Kris Olds

The rapid movement of people, ideas, and practices poses challenges for managing populations and creating political communities. UW-Madison Professor Tejumola Olaniyan engaged leading international researchers in a WUN-supported conference on current debates on discourses and practices of diaspora and cosmpolitanism. The event received additional support from the UW-Madison Chancellor's Office, the Anonymous Fund, and the African Studies Program.

NEW! Announcing 2009 WUN Travel Award Winners

 

 

Welcome to the Worldwide Universities Network at the University of Wisconsin-Madison!


WUN is a consortium of leading public research universities. Together, members seek to strengthen international partnerships and advance knowledge and understanding on issues of global concern through collaborative international research, virtual seminars, innovative learning opportunities, and online resource development. By participating in WUN, UW-Madison advances its global engagement in several ways: