From 29 to 31 August, the Northwest Alliance – the strategic alliance between the University of Bremen and the University of Oldenburg – presented itself together with the U Bremen Research Alliance at the annual conference of the German Academic International Network (GAIN) in Boston.
With four clusters of excellence that will begin their work on 1 January 2026, the Northwest Alliance stands for cutting-edge research in highly socially relevant areas , from marine to hearing and animal navigation research to space research. The conference with more than 600 participants from the USA and Germany was an excellent opportunity to talk to researchers currently working in the USA about career prospects in Northwest Germany. The two university boards were represented by Prof. Dr. Katharina Al-Shamery, Vice President for Academic Career Paths, Equal Opportunities and International Affairs at the University of Oldenburg, and Professor Michal Kucera, Vice Rector for Research and Transfer at the University of Bremen.
Both also contributed their expertise to a jointly organised workshop on the topic of "Career paths in university alliances in the changing academic system". Together with other experts - including Prof. Dr Frank Ziegele (CHE Centre for Higher Education Development), Dr Christina Reinhardt (Ruhr University Bochum) and Dr Simone Schwanitz (Max Planck Society) - they discussed new, attractive career paths and forms in interorganisational cooperation structures.
