United Nations University

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The 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. The university motto is "Advancing knowledge for human security, peace, and development."

The United Nations University provides educational opportunities to researchers mainly at the graduate and post-graduate level through an extensive range of fellowship schemes. It operates through 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.

[edit] 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