From 2012- 2020 the Gilbert Award recognised outstanding achievement in the internationalisation of higher education, named in honour of Professor Alan Gilbert, founder of the Universitas 21 network and major lifelong proponent of the benefits of internationalisation.
The U21 Gilbert Medal is the most prestigious award that our network can make. It celebrates our shared commitment to the importance of international higher education achievement and honours the vision of the late Professor Alan Gilbert who died in July 2010. It promotes some of the core objectives of the Universitas 21 network: increasing understanding, trust and partnership between international universities; enhancing teaching, learning and research across physical boundaries; and strengthening collaboration between like-minded universities across the world.
The Gilbert Medal is usually awarded annually to a person of international standing and all faculty, staff and the student body members within the U21 network are able to nominate inspirational figures. Presidents and Vice Chancellors of U21 institutions decide on the winner, who is invited to receive their award at a ceremony at the Annual Presidential Meeting. The first award was presented at Lund University in May 2012.Students at Lund University were given the opportunity to participate by designing the medal to be presented.