In March, the Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS) marked a significant milestone with its first official visit to Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Whare Wanaka o Aoraki Lincoln University (LU) hosted the annual ELLS Spring Meeting of the ELLS Task Force. Lincoln University is the only international partner university in New Zealand, and one of only two international partners located outside Europe, and plays a unique role in extending the alliance’s global reach.
The visit brought together representatives from the majority of ELLS member universities for a four-day meeting, creating valuable opportunities to deepen international collaboration in life sciences education and future research partnerships.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Student Life, Damian Lodge, says it was wonderful to host ELLS partners and show them Lincoln University’s revitalised campus, research facilities and exciting new educational programmes.
“This was an opportunity for the specialised agricultural and life sciences universities from Europe to meet with our academic staff, build networks and discuss student mobility and potential future research collaborations,” says Damian.
The ELLS Task Force Chair, Professor Arnold Bregt from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, says he was impressed by the facilities at Lincoln University and enjoyed the welcoming environment during the visit.
“We were delighted to visit Lincoln University, a partner of the ELLS alliance,” said Professor Bregt. “We host meetings at a different member university annually. We especially enjoyed visiting the University’s farms and research facilities and learning about the planned agrivoltaics installation.“
As a land-based alliance, ELLS focuses on areas including natural resource management, agricultural and forestry sciences, life sciences, animal sciences, food sciences, agricultural economics, environmental sciences and rural development. This cohesion allows ELLS to promote the global exchange of knowledge and innovation through student exchanges, Master’s programmes and summer school, offering students many amazing opportunities from undergraduate to post-graduate studies.
Student involvement remains central to ELLS’s mission. A key feature is the annual ELLS Scientific Student Conference, which brings together students from member universities to present their research. The event is coordinated by the ELLS Student Association (ELSA), whose leadership also took part in the New Zealand visit. One of the ELSA leadership team, Master’s student at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Tereza Otcova, was among the delegation visiting Lincoln University.
“Each member and partner university in ELLS has two student representatives on ELSA. I was excited to come to Lincoln and share what we do with Lincoln University Students’ Association and organise the appointment of two student representatives to ELSA.”
The visit also highlighted existing student exchange pathways. Professor Hermann Bürstmayr from BOKU University in Vienna noted the success of the Master of Natural Resources Management and Ecological Engineering program, which allows Lincoln students to study a semester at BOKU. “These exchanges offer many benefits in study opportunities. Not only are students experiencing a different culture, but they are also expanding their skills and knowledge in new areas. Farm systems, for example, differ from country to country, so there is much that can be learnt, with the view of adopting new methods that can create more sustainable systems worldwide.”