Cooperation and innovation are the hallmarks of the North German university landscape. The Association of North German Universities (VNU) can look back on 30 years of successful cooperation in teaching and learning. As one of Germany’s first university associations, it set standards. The association is being strategically developed and repositioned as Hanse University Alliance (HUA) in order to respond to the many challenges and developments in other German regions, as well as the great opportunities in the Baltic and North Sea regions.

The North Sea and Baltic Sea as Connecting Link

The members of Hanse University Alliance are close. They are connected not only through their proximity to the Baltic Sea and North Sea, but also through their research topics and offered degree programs in areas such as the ocean, climate, sustainability, energy, and health research. Hanse stands for “Hanseatic league” which is a symbol for cooperation, development, and the exchange of knowledge. It acts as a unifying element.
In times of global challenges, multiple crises, and competition in science, Northern Germany can benefit from cooperation and become a powerhouse of science and innovation providing important impetus nationally and internationally.

The Potential of the North

This will enable more effective international networking, which is of great importance for academia, the job market, and innovation, especially in view of demographic change. On December 9, the ten universities and the members of the North German Conference of Science Ministers looked back and developed perspectives for the future in order to exploit the potential in and for the North.

Collaborative Development and Festive Presentation

Hanse University Alliance consists of ten partner universities: University of Bremen, University of Greifswald, University of Hamburg, Hamburg University of Technology, Kiel University, University of Lübeck, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, University of Rostock, and the University of Groningen. Currently, there are approximately 2,900 are professors and 185,000 enrolled students in HUA universities. 28,000 of these are international students. The universities have been active in developing the quality of teaching and learning for three decades. Building on this experience, the alliance is now evolving into Hanse University Alliance to meet future challenges such as ensuring the quality of the degree programs on offer, promoting common issues for the North German region, and highlighting the importance of science for social and economic development.
Hanse University Alliance, in close cooperation with the North German science ministers, is committed to the further development of the North German academic and innovation landscape and functions as a common voice for science and education policy. “Today’s event is a sign of our joint effort to move forward and to recognize the strengths of science in the North and for the North. With our cooperation, we want to strengthen this future even further,” says Sascha Spoun, spokesperson of Hanse University Alliance and President of Leuphana University.

Contact:

Katharina Einert
Email: office@hanseuniversityalliance.de
Phone: +49 4131 677-1444