The presidential of the Universities of Oldenburg and Groningen confirmed at their annual meeting today that their long-standing collaboration rests on a solid foundation and will be further expanded in the coming years.
A mid-term evaluation of their Roadmap for Cooperation 2020-2030 as well as the establishment of new joint research networks thanks to funding approved by the state of Lower Saxony in February were the focus of the meeting. The members of the two governing bodies also discussed University of Groningen's role as a privileged international partner in the joint application of the Universities of Oldenburg and Bremen for designation as "Universitiy of Excellence", as well as in the newly founded Northwest Alliance strategic partnership.
Prof. Dr. Ralph Bruder, President of the University of Oldenburg said: "Oldenburg lies at the centre of a European border region that stretches from Groningen to Bremen. Our successful partnership with the University of Groningen provides us with a strong international network that advances the entire region. This will be further reinforced by the Northwest Alliance, which was recently founded by the Universities of Oldenburg and Bremen and to which the University of Groningen makes an important contribution as a strategic partner." He added that the exchange of experiences and research findings in fields such as medicine and energy research had made major leaps forward in knowledge on both sides possible and could contribute to overcoming the social challenges that both Germany and the Netherlands face.
"The University of Groningen is proud of its long-standing interdisciplinary partnership with the University of Oldenburg. Since 1980, we have worked closely together, and with our Roadmap for Cooperation 2020–2030 we continue to pursue shared ambitions in the fields of health, innovation, sustainability, education and culture. Together, we are strengthening the border region and we remain fully committed to this collaboration for the years to come," said Prof. Dr. Jouke de Vries, President of the Board of the University of Groningen.
Five years ago, the Universities of Oldenburg and Groningen renewed their 40-year strategic partnership and adopted the Roadmap strategy paper. Now, at the halfway point, their presidential boards are very satisfied with the results of the collaboration: numerous joint workshops, teaching events, exchange activities and network meetings have taken place in the Roadmap's seven focus fields: healthy ageing, linguistics, energy research, law, digitalisation, teacher training and knowledge transfer. In addition, a total of 36 bilateral projects were set up between 2021 and 2025. The two universities are also cooperating in eight other third-party funded projects, mainly within the framework of the EU's INTERREG funding programme. Twenty-four binational doctorates are currently in progress within these projects, with seven already successfully completed. The collaboration has resulted in more than 200 scientific publications by authors from both universities, mostly in the field of medicine. Knowledge and technology transfer have centred on the border region around the city of Papenburg. The two universities have been working closely with regional enterprises, political institutions and society in a joint pilot project since 2022 to bolster research and development in the border region. They have also held events in Papenburg at which scientists from Oldenburg and Groningen presented their research to the public.
Over the next five years, researchers from the two universities will be brought even closer together in new networks involving conferences, mutual visits by faculty members, online events and other formats. This is possible thanks the University of Oldenburg's "Programme for Excellence" project, which is supported by the state of Lower Saxony via its "Strategic Development of Potential" funding line and foresees several measures directly involving the partnership between the two universities.
Among other initiatives, around 15 researchers per year will be able to conduct research at the respective partner university for up to four months. In another programme, one doctoral student per year and faculty will be able to complete a doctorate at both universities in parallel. Another initiative will see the establishment of the Oldenburg Young Academy, which is modelled on a similar institution in Groningen and will support talented early career researchers and promote international academic exchange. The University of Oldenburg also plans to hold a conference for student research in Oldenburg to which Dutch students will be invited.
