Kiel University and University of Minnesota seal international partnership

Kiel University and the University of Minnesota (UMN) formalized their collaborative relationship. On November 1, 2022, Prof. Dr. Eckhard Quandt Vice President for Research, Transfer, Scientific Infrastructure, and Digitalisation at Kiel University and Shashank Priya, Vice President for Research at the University of Minnesota (VPR) signed a memorandum of understanding. This agreement opens the door for faculty and student exchanges, joint activities, including conferences and symposia, and will facilitate knowledge transfer at a faster level.

“Extending our international network by such a strong US based partner contributes to our strategic goal to become an international network university“, said Eckhard Quandt. Scientists will be presented the opportunity to closely collaborate with their fellow experts from one of the leading universities in the US. Students will be able to gain international experience and extend their knowledge while studying abroad. “This collaboration impacts positively our profile of being a major research facility in Schleswig-Holstein and Germany. Hence, we are more than delighted to form and further grow this partnership with the UMN,” emphasized Quandt. 

Furthermore the partners agreed to advance their dialogue on collaborative research and educational initiatives, and the development of joint research and education proposals. “We are excited to move forward with this agreement and to leverage our joint academic strengths in areas such as neuromorphic computation and solid state brain imagery, in which Kiel University is a field leader,” VPR Priya said at the signing ceremony. “Having visited Kiel University, I know that it is a scientific leader in Germany, Europe, and the world.”

This relationship with Kiel University will be especially beneficial as UMN develops the International Institute for Biosensing, which will focus on an area of rapidly growing interest across the globe as people increasingly monitor for harmful chemicals and biological agents in their environment. Priya hopes that UMN researchers will be able to visit and leverage research being conducted at Kiel University’s state-of-the-art biomagnetic sensing and neurotronics collaborative research centers.

Located on the northern coast of Germany, Kiel University, which dates back to 1665, has four priority research areas: marine science; life science; societal, environment, and cultural change; and nano, surface, and interface science. Kiel University uses responsible actions to make sure that scientific discoveries are transferred into all sectors of society by interdisciplinary thought.

“We are glad to offer new avenues and welcome new opportunities availed by our colleagues at Kiel University,” said Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education Scott Lanyon, UMN. “Specifically, for our students, we know that agreements and collaborations like this provide incredible education benefits for a globally connected world; that student exposure to innovative research in their domain increases their awareness and ability to interact with their future career; and that student exchanges build networks of professionals.”