Founded in 2002, the League of European Research Universities (LERU) is an association of 24 leading research-intensive universities that share the values of high-quality teaching within an environment of internationally competitive research.
Summary
Mission
LERU advocates:
- education through an awareness of the frontiers of human understanding;
- the creation of new knowledge through basic research, which is the ultimate source of innovation in society;
- and the promotion of research across a broad front in partnership with industry and society at large.
The purpose of the League is to advocate these values, to influence policy in Europe and to develop best practices through mutual exchange of experience.
LERU regularly publishes a variety of papers and reports, including high-level policy statements, in-depth analyses and concrete recommendations for policymakers, universities, researchers and other stakeholders, helping to shape research policy at the EU level.
Members
LERU's members are based in twelve European countries. Membership, which is by invitation, is periodically evaluated against a broad set of quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as research volume, impact and funding, strengths in PhD training, size and disciplinary breadth, and peer-recognised academic excellence.
Governance
> Rectors' Assembly
The Rectors’ Assembly is the highest decision-making governance body of the League, consisting of the heads of the member institutions.
> Board of Directors
Five Rectors serve as the Board of Directors (BoD). The Chair of the BoD also presides over the Rectors’ Assembly.
Presently, the LERU Directors are:
- Linda Doyle, Chair
Provost of Trinity College Dublin - Sari Lindblom
Rector of the University of Helsinki - Peter Mathieson
Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Edinburgh - Peter-Paul Verbeek
Rector-Magnificus of the University of Amsterdam - Henrik C. Wegener
Rector of the University of Copenhagen
Facts and figures
In 2022-2023 :
- Together LERU member universities account for more than 842,000 students
- About 18,000 doctorates were awarded at LERU universities.
- The total research budget of LERU’s members exceeds €11 billion.
- 20% of ERC grants have been awarded to researchers at LERU universities.
- 10,038 research grants from Horizon 2020 were awarded to LERU universities
- Over 230 Nobel Prize and Field Medal winners have studied or worked at LERU universities
- 5,384 start-ups and spin-out compagnies have been created at LERU universities
- More than 230,000 staff work at the member institutions
