The Universities of Oldenburg and Vechta, Jade University of Applied Sciences and Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences are strengthening their cooperation with Dutch partners.
Taking on social responsibility together and strengthening cross-border transfer in the north-west - that is the aim of the north-west German universities and the Dutch University of the North. At a joint meeting today, Thursday 23 November, on the Innovation Campus of the University of Oldenburg, Prof. Dr Jouke de Vries, President of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and representative of the University of the North, presented the heads of the north-west German universities with a document confirming their future cooperation.
"As universities in the north-west, we have a responsibility to play an active role in shaping upcoming social changes. Our Dutch partners, who have joined forces in the University of the North, and we are united by the goal of pooling existing knowledge, creating new knowledge and ensuring that research and innovation benefit the development of our region," emphasises Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder.
Strengthening innovation in the region
To achieve this, the universities of Oldenburg and Vechta, the Jade University of Applied Sciences and the Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences want to network more closely in the transfer of knowledge and technologies, but also of skilled labour and education, and work together with business and civil society to strengthen innovation in the region.
The University of the North in the Netherlands brings together the University of Groningen, the Hanze University of Applied Science Groningen, the Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen (UMCG), the NHL Stenden University of Applied Science and the van hall larenstein University of Applied Sciences. Together with business and civil society organisations, they also pursue the goal of helping to shape change in the three northern provinces of the Netherlands through research, teaching and innovation.
Cross-border cooperation
The Universities of Oldenburg and Groningen and the other partners in the University of the North have been working together successfully in research, teaching and transfer for a long time. This includes co-operation in the "Start-Up Region Northwest" project, which has been tapping into the region's knowledge- and technology-based start-up potential across borders since 2020.
In addition, the universities of Groningen and Oldenburg have been cooperating since last year in the project "Wissen.schaf(f)t.Transfer. This project is based at the Groningen university site in Papenburg and aims to define regional challenges - for example in the areas of energy, health and sustainable society - and to develop appropriate solutions together with the regional economy.
