It is an international network that brings together universities from Guangzhou's sister cities around the world, led by Guangzhou University. The aim of GISU is to promote cultural and academic collaborations between member universities, create exchange programs between students and academics, and develop common solutions to global problems. METU has been a member of GISU since 2019 upon the proposal of the Confucius Institute and participates in this platform and contributes to various collaborations. The network currently represents 27 members and affiliates, 7 continents, 22 countries, 25 cities, a population of approximately 60 million, 659,000 students, and 70,000 faculty and staff. Online participation has been provided to a few of its events to date, and in 2023, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Sürer gave an online seminar called Digital Globalization of Gaming and Extended Reality Industries in March 2024. The responsibility assigned to us as METU in the network is to develop a student and staff exchange initiative-program agreement open to the participation of all members within the GISU network, together with the University of Coimbra, Portugal, as a co-chair, and to prioritize the exchange of postdocs in particular. The proposal for an exchange program within the GISU network was brought to the agenda at the GISU general assembly in 2023, and the responsibility for this was given to the representatives of the two universities above in 2024. Approximately 15 universities, including METU, have signed the declaration of intent, which is the first stage for its development. In the next stage, a common agreement text will be created and its terms and conditions will be discussed in the GISU exchange committee meetings (online) where we co-chair. Once the final text is prepared, it will be presented to both the university administrations and the GISU general assembly. The goal is to start a multilateral exchange program within GISU by 2028.
To reach GISU, its initiatives, projects and programs, please click here.
