At LERU’s 20th anniversary conference in Leiden, the Netherlands, on 19-20 May 2022, LERU and its global network partners released a new statement re-affirming the values of research-intensive universities.

As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and is confronting unprecedented political, economic and societal challenges, research-intensive universities across the globe are uniquely placed and ready to help deliver solutions. They provide independent and rigorous new knowledge to individuals and communities, to the government, business and other sectors, to policy and decision makers. They contribute to economic growth directly and- vitally- indirectly, through their constant supply of talented graduates into society.

The so-called “Leiden Principles” emphasise the critical importance of five principles to ensure the continued, valued contribution of research-intensive universities. The five principles revolve around the key notions of trust, diversity, openness, stewardship and freedom.

The Leiden principles are signed by the AAU (U.S.), Go8 (Australia), U15 Canada, U15 Germany, RU 11 Japan, Russell group (U.K.) and LERU. Collectively, they represent 161 world-renowned, leading universities.