A delegation from the University of Groningen has visited its German partner universities in the Northwest Alliance. The programme included a visit to the new clusters of excellence "NaviSense" and "The Mars Perspective".

President Prof Dr Jouke de Vries and deans visited the two German universities of the Northwest Alliance, of which the University of Groningen is a privileged partner.

In Oldenburg, the delegation met the team from the "NaviSense" cluster of excellence, among others. Prof Dr David Lentink reported on his experiences of how cutting-edge research benefits from cooperation between several universities, even across national borders. The bionics expert from the University of Groningen is one of the 20 leading scientists at "NaviSense" and also conducts research in Oldenburg. There, he benefits from the research infrastructure in the field of magnetic sense, while in Groningen he makes particular use of the opportunities to conduct research into robotics.

After their visit to Oldenburg, the delegation travelled on to the University of Bremen. In Bremen, the delegation visited the Centre for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), where they also learned about Bremen's new cluster of excellence "The Mars Perspective". "NaviSense" and "The Mars Perspective" are two of the four clusters of excellence of the Northwest Alliance, which is currently in the running for funding as a University Cluster of Excellence as part of the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments.

"The University of Groningen values its cooperation with the Universities of Oldenburg and Bremen and sees its proposal "Northwest Alliance: Connecting for Tomorrow" as an exceptional opportunity to strengthen cross-border research and innovation and realise common goals," said de Vries. He supports the application, which not only connects two Federal States, but also two countries.