The city of Oldenburg and the university want to cooperate more closely in future. In an agreement, the city administration and the university have agreed on five strategic priorities.
The cooperation between the city of Oldenburg and the university is a success story. Now both partners are opening a new chapter: Shortly before the celebrations to mark the university's 50th anniversary, which begin on 5 December with a ceremony, the city administration and the university have agreed on joint future priorities as part of a new strategic cooperation agreement. For the first time, cooperation in five core areas will be managed in annual work programmes and regularly evaluated in order to make results visible.
"The University of Oldenburg has been a particular stroke of luck for Oldenburg over the past 50 years. With the new agreement, we are centring our joint activities and aligning them in a results-oriented manner. This is the basis for further growth of the city and the university," said Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann at the presentation of the strategy paper in the town hall. University President Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder emphasised: "The University and the City of Oldenburg have been closely linked for many decades, and our partnership is characterised by trust, appreciation and mutual support. Building on this foundation, we want to think even more purposefully about the future of the city and university together and shape it with foresight."
The strategy paper is to be presented to the city council for approval in November. The University Senate of Carl von Ossietzky University has already taken note of the strategy paper and no resolution was required in the Senate. The new strategy paper replaces an initial cooperation agreement from November 2002, which was signed by the then Lord Mayor Dietmar Schütz and the then President of the University, Prof. Dr Siegfried Grubitzsch.
Continuous co-operation
Krogmann and Bruder pointed out that there is already continuous cooperation between the two institutions, including in so-called "annual talks" at top level with all department heads and the Lord Mayor as well as all members of the university's Executive Board. This format, which has been in place since 2016, has led to a close and trusting exchange and concrete project collaboration. The joint commitment to the development of University Medicine Oldenburg was agreed in such annual meetings.
Five core areas
The strategic cooperation agreement outlines five core areas in which cooperation is to be consolidated, strengthened and further developed over the next five years:
- Climate neutrality: the university and the city are actively working together to protect the climate and support each other in their ambitious goals, for example in achieving climate neutrality, which the university is aiming for by 2030 and the city by 2035.
- Further development of the University of Oldenburg: The university and the city are strengthening their knowledge transfer as well as their cooperation on topics of the future, for example in the qualification of employees and lifelong learning.
- Oldenburg campus: The visibility of the university in the city centre will be further increased, for example through joint events organised by the university and the city.
- Start-up culture: The city and university are jointly developing their start-up support, for example in the areas of sustainability and energy, digitalisation, health and care.
- Internationalisation: Both sides are jointly expanding their international partnerships and are actively recruiting personnel, among other things.
It is the joint goal of the city and the university to build on these core areas in order to shape the cooperation in a measure-oriented and thus concrete manner and to continuously evaluate the respective implementation status as part of annual work programmes. Both Krogmann and Bruder emphasised that cooperation should also be further developed beyond the five core areas in other fields of existing or future co-operation. A coordinating contact person will be appointed on both sides for this as well as for the implementation of the strategy paper.
Lord Mayor: University makes Oldenburg attractive
Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann: "The university has had a significant influence on the city's development, when I think of the science axis in the west and the Wechloy district. Institutes and spin-offs such as OFFIS and Computing Science, hearing research, the wind research centre and, of course, university medicine have had a lasting and structural impact on the city. Not forgetting the core competences in education and further education, which make Oldenburg so attractive for students nationwide. The university's expertise in continuing education is of crucial importance for overcoming the shortage of skilled labour nationwide."
University President: Benefiting from each other
University President Bruder: "I am sure that we will benefit from involving each other in projects and sharing expertise in all areas. I would like to thank the city leadership and Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann in particular for enabling us to agree on such action-oriented and concrete cooperation."
Historical ties
Krogmann and Bruder emphasised that the university and the city are characterised by historical ties. The decision to establish an academic university was taken by the Oldenburg City Council back in 1959, and in the 50 years of its existence, the university has made a major contribution to social, cultural and economic life in Oldenburg and the entire north-west region. Another example of this is the KIBUM children's and young people's book fair in Oldenburg, which has attracted national and international attention and has been jointly organised by the city and the university since 1975.
