Partnerships
The University of Cologne has a well-established local, regional and international network. At the regional level, in the Rhineland cooperation area, there are numerous scientific partnerships involving close collaboration with local scientific institutions. The University of Cologne, however, also collaborates with non-academic institutions in the context of its partnerships with society. A wide range of international partnerships are detailed on the UoC Global page.
Rhineland cooperation area
The Rhineland is one of Germany's strongest regions for science. Home to over 60 institutions, it has the largest university landscape in Germany and the second-highest number of non-university research institutions. The University of Cologne is part of this dense and efficient network of scientific institutions, cooperating with many of them in areas such as research, teaching, and knowledge transfer in the context of its scientific partnerships.
In addition to its scientific partnerships, the University of Cologne maintains a large number of partnerships with society. In the context of these partnerships, scientists, students and administrators work alongside various private and public institutions, including companies, schools, government agencies and civil society organizations. Along with its partners, the University of Cologne is committed to supporting the people of the Rhineland metropolitan region and helping the region to grow and develop.
Scientific partnerships
Thematic research networks
Cross-institutional networking shapes research across all disciplines, whether in the form of individual collaboration or large networks. The University of Cologne regularly establishes collaborations with Rhineland universities and non-university research institutions on highly relevant areas of interest. These alliances are formed on the basis of shared research interests and are strategically integrated and structurally supported by the participating institutions. The University of Cologne cooperates with all major research institutions in the region, in particular with its strategic partners, the University of Bonn and Forschungszentrum Jülich.
Synergies for excellent research
The thematic research networks comprise externally funded collaborative projects, including Clusters of Excellence, Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) and network projects funded by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. They also include alliances across various locations, including Geoverbund ABC/J (geoscience network), the Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO) in Aachen, Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the West German Genome Centre (WGGC). An overview of the University of Cologne’s major regional research partnerships can be found here. By collaborating with partner institutions in thematic research networks, the University of Cologne is able to increase its critical mass in terms of resources and generate synergies for excellent research. Cooperation occurs on research projects, on jointly used infrastructures, in the context of joint career development and in teaching and transfer.
Regional cooperation is also key to the research profile of the University of Cologne. In all key profile areas (KPAs), researchers work closely with partners from the Rhineland and beyond.
Life-Science Campus Cologne
The joint use of sites with partners provides particularly favourable conditions for scientific collaboration. An outstanding example of this is the internationally renowned Life Science Campus Cologne at the University of Cologne, which is distinguished by close collaboration between the university and the Max Planck Institutes for Biology of Ageing and Metabolism Research, both situated on the same site. The KPAs Aging-Associated Diseases and Cancer Ecosystems benefit particularly from the cross-institutional work taking place on one campus.
Partnerships in teaching
In line with its Mission Statement Teaching and Learning, the University of Cologne is also deeply rooted in the Rhineland cooperation area through numerous partnerships and is actively involved in shaping educational process. It organizes joint degree programmes with neighbouring universities and universities of applied sciences and offers cooperative study programmes, digital teaching projects and innovative teaching formats. Non-university research institutions play a key role in integrating exceptional researchers into university teaching.
Partnerships with society
The Rhineland is located in the heart of Europe and is characterized by densely populated major urban centres and its history as a capital region. Besides scientific institutions, there are also numerous state and federal authorities, internationally active organizations, an efficient business ecosystem and a rich cultural landscape. Members of the University of Cologne collaborate with a range of these institutions in the context of partnerships with society.
Partnerships with society are formed around practical issues and tasks that are jointly addressed and resolved within a regional framework. Examples include application-related, collaborative research projects with companies and non-profit organizations (e.g. Fairtrade Deutschland), partnerships with schools and centres for practical teacher training, which is particularly important for the University of Cologne, and collaboration between students and civil society initiatives in the area of sustainability. Along with companies, banks and law firms, the University of Cologne supports spin-offs from scientific research at the Gateway Excellence Start-up Center and the Gateway Factory. Other universities in Cologne, RWTH Aachen University and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf are also involved.
The University of Cologne's transfer strategy provides a framework for both partnerships with society and for strategic transfer partnerships.
Affiliated institutes
Scientists from all six Faculties collaborate with independent institutes that have a special connection to the university. These are known as affiliated institutes. These institutes are characterized by their strong practical orientation, by offering their services to companies and institutions, and by their application-oriented research projects.
The Cologne Science Forum (KWR)
Since 2004, the University of Cologne has collaborated with state and private universities, University Hospital Cologne, non-university research institutions, the city, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and the economic development agency KölnBusiness within the Cologne Science Forum (KWR). The network aims to strengthen Cologne's profile as a scientific hub. To this end, the institutions network with each other, undertake joint public relations activities and organize events that give citizens access to science.