Strategic partnership between Universität Hamburg and UG ratified

The University of the North’s international network keeps expanding. Around 50 staff from Universität Hamburg (University of Hamburg, UH) and the University of Groningen (UG) have just spent several days together in Hamburg, discussing ways to intensify our universities’ alliance. These deliberations culminated in the sealing of this strategic partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by Vice President of the UH, Prof. Susanne Rupp, and President of the Board of the UG, Prof. Jouke de Vries.

The two universities have enjoyed academic ties for a number of years, and the time is now ripe for them to set joint research priorities. Certain fields of research lend themselves particularly well to a joint project approach: data science, infection research, marketing and business administration, health economics, the energy transition (hydrogen!) and astrophysics. Both universities will be granting financial support to enable researchers to share and develop ideas. The partnership will also involve the establishment of student exchanges and the aligning of teaching and exchange formats.

Universität Hamburg has been building a strategic network of international university partnerships since 2012, as part of its internationalization strategy, and has already established such partnerships with Lund University and the University of Strasbourg. The University of Groningen will be its third European partner.

Jouke de Vries: ‘This MoU with Hamburg marks an important milestone in the implementation of the University of the North’s strategy. My aim is to intensify and substantiate our relations with cities and regions in both the North of the Netherlands and North-West Germany in the context of building a strong, competitive knowledge network.’

Universität Hamburg was established in 1919. It is Germany’s third largest university, with around 43,000 students spread across 8 faculties. This year, it was admitted to the Excellence Strategy programme run by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research. Under this programme, 11 Exzellenzuniversitäten (‘universities of excellence’) receive federal and regional government funding over a period of seven years. At the city level, Hamburg and Groningen also enjoy close ties. They renewed their twinning agreement in April 2019. The focus of this is on renewable energy, science and research, urban development, mobility and health.