Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin (HU) and the French University of Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) agreed on a comprehensive strategic partnership on 16 June 2025. The cooperation will begin in the academic year 2025/2026 and is initially scheduled to run for five years.
With the new agreement, the HU is transferring its previously project-related contacts with one of the strongest research institutions in France into an institutional framework. Both universities are thus responding to global challenges in science and society and are focussing on excellent international networking.
Cooperation in four core areas
The newly concluded agreement covers the following areas of cooperation:
- Promotion of scientific cooperation, including through mutual access to seed funding programmes and joint projects in cooperation with the Franco-German University, particularly in the area of graduate education
- Intensification of mutual mobility: reciprocal guest visits by teaching staff and researchers as well as student exchanges and research internships within the framework of Erasmus+
- Organising joint events for the exchange of science and society
- Establishment of a regular dialogue on joint topics such as research integrity, science diplomacy, at-risk scholars and academic freedom
The agreement was signed in the presence of representatives of the French Embassy in Berlin - for the HU by the Vice President for Budget, Niels Helle-Meyer, and for the PSL by President El-Mouhoub Mouhoud. HU Executive Board Representative for International Affairs and Europe, Yoan Vilain, said: "Our two universities are now opening a new chapter together, with which we also want to link the research-strong science ecosystems of the two capitals more closely together."
Contract partner Paris Sciences et Lettres
Paris Sciences et Lettres is one of the leading universities in France. It was founded in 2010 through the merger of eleven outstanding institutions, including several Grandes ?coles, specialised elite universities and other research institutions. The PSL's range of subjects includes natural sciences, humanities, arts and engineering. The degree programmes in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, law and humanities are particularly renowned. The PSL is strong in research and innovation: around 50 start-ups are founded here every year and 70 patents are registered.