BR50 and BUA strengthen Berlin as a center of knowledge and innovation
Strategic partnership agreed between Berlin Research 50 (BR50) and Berlin University Alliance (BUA)
On August 18, 2025, Berlin Research 50 (BR50), represented by its chairwoman Prof. Dr. Jutta Allmendinger and deputy chairman Prof. Dr. Thomas Sommer, and the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), represented by its spokesperson Prof. Günter M. Ziegler, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the Friedrich Althoff Hall of the Charité—a strong signal for the future of Berlin as a center of science and innovation.
The agreement marks the beginning of a new phase of cooperation and brings together the strengths of the Excellence Network and non-university research institutions in Berlin. It formalizes the already close cooperation between the partner institutions and supplements it with expanded structures that enable the systematic linking of shared resources, expertise, and infrastructure. The MoU was concluded between BR50 as a registered association and the cooperation platform as a joint body of the BUA network partners.
The aim is to secure and further expand scientific excellence in Berlin and make it even more visible internationally.
The cooperation agreement establishes a shared vision and mission for Berlin, based on five profile areas and an overarching research agenda. This forms the basis for a strategic partnership that will exploit the long-term potential of Berlin's scientific landscape – from innovative cooperation projects and joint governance structures for career paths to the deepening of international networking.
“The memorandum of understanding between BR50 and the Berlin University Alliance combines two of Berlin's exceptional strengths: the science of Germany's only network of excellence and the outstanding density of non-university research institutions. With a joint research agenda and strategic areas of cooperation, we will continue to develop Berlin as one of Europe's leading science locations in the coming years, in close cooperation with politics, business, and civil society,” says Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler, spokesperson for the Berlin University Alliance and president of Freie Universität Berlin.
“The agreement is a significant milestone for the Berlin research community. Universities and non-university institutions are moving closer together, thereby laying the foundation for a sustainable, strategic science policy. It is now crucial to involve other relevant Berlin stakeholders and build bridges across all areas of society in order to jointly shape an open and sustainable knowledge and innovation space,” says Prof. Dr. Jutta Allmendinger, President of the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) and Chair of the BR50 Executive Board.
- Berlin Research 50: consortium of Berlin’s non-university research institutions
- Berlin University Alliance: association of the three Berlin universities and Charité – Universitätsmedizin
Contact
Suhana Reddy
Head of Communication of Berlin University Alliance
suhana.reddy(at)berlin-university-alliance.de
Press release by Berlin University Alliance, 18 August 2025