The University of Strathclyde will host the closing workshop in the 2007-08 ECIU Leadership Development Programme.

Swinburne University of Technology is hosting the next meeting of the ECIU Executive Board and has invited interested ECIU Board members to travel to Melbourne through their Sarawak Campus in Kuching, Malaysia, for a one day seminar about off-shore campuses.

More information has been sent directly to relevant participants.

The second workshop that form part of the ECIU Leadership Development Programme 2007-08 will take place at Aalborg University, Denmark.

The next AGSE International Entrepreneurship Research Exchange will take place in Melbourne, Australia, from 5-8th February, 2008. The Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship (AGSE) at Swinburne University of Technology (SUT) will host the Exchange as part of the 100 year anniversary of Swinburne.

Keynote speakers currently confirmed are Julio De Castro(Spain), Patricia McDougall(US), Helle Neergard(Denmark) and Andrew Zacharakis(US).

ESMU has invited ECIU representatives to attend the first gathering of university leaders, experts and practitioners on Benchmarking in European Higher Education;; a seminar that will take place in Brussels on 8 November 2007.

Last year ESMU received two-year funding from the European Commission (DG Education and Culture) for a “European Benchmarking Initiative”. The EBI project will produce an overview of benchmarking approaches in European Higher Education as well as benchmarking standards on good practices for university governance. The project is developing a multidimensional benchmarking approach with different models and indicators to assist European HEIs in finding the most appropriate type of benchmarking for their own needs.

In an increasingly competitive Higher Education environment, benchmarking is a modern management tool which university leaders and decision-makers cannot afford to ignore. Performance indicators and benchmarks are both needed to make informed choices for the strategic developments of our universities and support our attractiveness on the international scene.

ESMU, the European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities (www.esmu.be) has been offering a Benchmarking programme since 2000, originally with ACU (Association of Commonwealth Universities), using the approach adopted for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Awards (US) and the European Excellence Awards. The programme has attracted some 40 leading European universities to exchange good practices and learn from each other in key areas such as their governance, strategic partnerships, internationalization or marketing strategies.

The Director from Aalborg University, Peter Plenge, has been invited to speak on the ECIUs behalf at the event.

Participants from the 2006-2007 ECIU Leadership Development programme will be meeting up at Aalborg University, Denmark, for the first ever alumni meeting for participants of the Leadership Development Programme. The meeting has been organised by the participants themselves with a main objective being to maintain the close contacts and networks that have been developed over the last year, and to continue the leadership skills development. The focus of the two-day seminar is on conflict resolution and management.

As Aalborg University has access to the use of Klitgaarden Refugium (the Danish Royal Family’s former summer residence) in the coastal town of Skagen, the participants will be staying at the and will enjoy the relaxing surroundings.

The ECIU Student Wing is meeting in conjunction with the ECIU Executive Board meeting and will also take part in the formal celebrations of the ECIU's 10th Anniversary.

The ECIU Student Mobility Group will meet in conjunction with the ECIU Executive Board meeting at Twente and will also take part in the celebrations surrounding the ECIU's 10th Anniversary.

The Executive Board meeting will have a strategic session about how the Consortium can further enhance student mobility within the Consortium and the Student Mobility Group is expected to provide important input to this discussion, as is the ECIU Student Wing.

The ECIU Marketing and Communications Group will also be meeting at Twente in connection with the ECIUs 10th Anniversary celebrations and will be updating their plan for marketing activities in 2007.

The University of Twente will be hosting the ECIUs 10 Year Anniversary on 1 November and the ECIU Executive Board meeting on 2 November.

More information about these meetings will be circulated in summer 2007.