North America
The United States and Canada are important partner countries for Lund University in research, education, external collaboration and student exchange. Lund University has a large number of student exchange agreements with universities in both countries, at both university-wide and faculty levels.
Global Dynamic Engagement (GDE) is an approach on which Lund University bases its work to strengthen and further develop its international impact regarding research, education and innovation. Democracy, academic freedom and taking responsibility are the cornerstones of this work.
GDE for North America
In the roadmap for North America for 2026, prioritised activities are presented for the university-wide work during the year but does not exclude other issues that may become relevant for prioritisation. This is in accordance with the method used for the platform for strategic work, which Lund University is working to regarding 2025–2027.
- Strengthening collaborations in California, with a particular focus on Global Hub SF Bay Area and the University of California, Berkeley, through the GloHub project
- Enhancing collaborations in the Great Lakes region, with a specific focus on the University of Chicago and the University of Toronto, aiming to explore opportunities for increased doctoral mobility and to establish seed funding mechanisms to support joint initiatives and researcher exchange
- Developing collaborations with highly ranked universities on the US East and West Coasts
- Promoting research and innovation collaborations with partner universities in Canada within the framework of Horizon Europe
Read more about support and tools for responsible engagement
Read more about support and tools for sustainable engagement
LU has many well-established collaborations with North American universities, and other external stakeholders, such as embassies and partner companies operating in North America.
Lund University has initiated an in-depth collaboration with University of California, Berkeley. UC Berkeley, together with University of Melbourne and National University of Singapore, is part of the LU-led project GloHub, which aims to explore and test novel ways of international university collaborations. Within the framework of the project, Lund University offers funding for collaborative research and education initiatives with the partner universities.
Lund University has 32 student exchange agreements with Canadian universities, of which 11 are university-wide, and 40 student exchange agreements with American universities, of which 21 are university-wide. The university also has agreements for commissioned education, so-called Study Abroad agreements, with American universities, at both university-wide and faculty/institutional levels.
Universitas 21 (U21)
U21 is a leading global network of research-intensive universities that encourages its members to share best practices and collaborate across borders. U21 has five members in North America:
- McMaster University (Canada)
- University of California at Davis (USA)
- University of Connecticut (USA)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA)
- University of Maryland (USA)
For each institution, there are university-wide declarations of intent, so-called 'Memorandum of Understanding', and student mobility agreements (with the exception of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).
The United States is Lund University’s largest co-publication partner worldwide. Canada ranks 14th.
In the United States, most co-publications are with:
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Harvard Medical School
- Harvard University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Stanford University
- University of California, San Francisco
- Yale University
In Canada, most co-publications are with:
- University of Toronto
- University of British Columbia
- McGill University
- McMaster University
- University of Calgary
Contact
Alice Kjellsson
International coordinator
+46 46 222 30 19
alice [dot] kjellsson [at] global [dot] lu [dot] se
GDE Fact Sheet
The purpose, the process and the roadmap