Celebration of 40 years cooperation between Oldenburg and Groningen

University of Groningen and University of Oldenburg (UOL) celebrate 40 years of collaboration in 2020. On 29 October 2020 (Festakt-date) the UG and the UOL officially renewed the partnership that they started 40 years ago. The anniversary was celebrated with a joint conference in Schloss Oldenburg and a variety of academic symposia, lectures and workshops. Due to the coronavirus measures, most of the events took place online. During the (online) Festakt, chairman of the board Jouke de Vries presented a digital gift to his colleague Hans Michael Piper from Oldenburg.

The two universities started working together in 1980 and are currently collaborating in the areas of both teaching and research. The European Medical School Oldenburg-Groningen offers a cross-border medical degree programme, which is unique in Europe. In addition, academics from Groningen and Oldenburg also work together on research and create synergy in fields that are important to the future like hydrogen, spatial sciences and neuroscience. Moreover, the two universities also collaborate in the area of healthcare, enabling patients in the region to benefit from the German-Dutch partnership too.