United Nations University (UNU) is a university established on December 6, 1973 by adoption of resolution 3081 by the United Nations General Assembly, upon the suggestion of U Thant, UN Secretary-General at the time.

Unlike most universities, it does not take students, nor does it award degrees. Rather it runs a number of research centres around the world, where research fellows or Ph.D. students from other universities can come to do research. It especially targets researchers and students from developing countries. UNU is headed by a Rector, and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It does not receive any funding from the regular UN budget; it relies instead upon voluntary contributions from member states and the return on its investments, which are currently valued at US$350 million. The budget of UNU is approximately US$37 million per annum. UNU relocated its Institute of Advanced Studies to the Minato Mirai 21 development in Yokohama, Japan in March, 2004.

As of January 2006 UNU-INTECH and the Maastricht Economic Research Institute of Innovation and Technology (MERIT) from the Maastricht University fused into UNU-MERIT with MERIT director Luc Soete as its new director. UNU-WIDER, the World Institute for Development Economics Research is the first UNU research and training centre, located in Helsinki, Finland, established in 1984.

Structure and campuses

• Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, with offices at UN Headquarters New York and UNESCO Headquarters Paris.
• UNU - World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) in Helsinki, Finland - development economics
• UNU - Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) in Maastricht, the Netherlands - socio-economic impacts of new technologies
• UNU - Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) in Accra, Ghana - natural resources management
• UNU - International Institute for Software Technology (UNU-IIST) in Macau S.A.R., China - software technologies for development
• UNU - Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) in Yokohama, Japan - strategic approaches to sustainable development
• UNU - Programme for Biotechnology in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNU-BIOLAC) in Planta Baja, Venezuela - biotechnology and society
• UNU - International Leadership Institute (UNU-ILI) in Amman, Jordan - leadership development
• UNU - International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - water, environment and human health
• UNU - Programme for Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) in Bruges, Belgium - local/global governance, regional integration
• UNU - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) in Bonn, Germany - environment and human security
• UNU - Food and Nutrition Programme for Human and Social Development (UNU-FNP) in Ithaca, New York
• UNU - Geothermal Training Programme (UNU-GTP) in Reykjavík, Iceland - geothermal research, exploration and development
• UNU - Fisheries Training Programme (UNU-FTP) in Reykjavík, Iceland - postgraduate fisheries research and development

See also

• List of universities in Japan
• University for Peace
• UNU-IIST

External links

• United Nations University website
• UNU Update, the newsletter of the United Nations University
• UNU-MERIT website
• UNU-WIDER website
• RUN (Research in the UN) A digital repository of UN research materials
• UNU Online Learning Develops online interactive learning resources

United Nations specialized agencies | Universities and colleges in Japan

Universität der Vereinten Nationen | Universidad de Naciones Unidas | Université des Nations unies | 国際連合大学 | 联合国大学