With the Kensington Treaty, Germany and the United Kingdom concluded a new, comprehensive bilateral agreement in July 2025. The treaty places cooperation between the two countries on a new footing and, for the first time, brings together six key policy areas – from defence and internal security to energy and climate policy.

The pillar that matters most to us is science and research. It has linked Germany and the United Kingdom for decades – in particular the universities of the German U15 and our strategic partner network, the Russell Group. Our delegation visit to London on 17 and 18 November therefore came at exactly the right moment to align expectations, set priorities and jointly plan the next steps.

Day 1: Arrival in Stratford and Kick-off at the UCL East Campus

Arrival in Stratford. We visit the new UCL East Campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: concrete, glass, openness – a place visibly built for the future. The tour takes us through laboratories and open workspaces. We discuss architectural choices, the principle of serendipity, and how scientific spaces need to function today – flexible, interdisciplinary and welcoming.

In the evening, together with our British colleagues, we meet Ambassador H.E. Susanne Baumann. Over dinner, there is a focused and open exchange on the current state of German–British scientific cooperation – and on the momentum now generated by the Kensington Treaty.

A highly successful start to two days of intensive dialogue between German U15 and the Russell Group.

Day 2: Diplomacy, Strategy and Future Perspectives

The second day begins in the Marshgate Building, the new heart of UCL East.

Following a warm welcome by Dr Michael Spence, President & Provost of UCL, a high-level exchange takes place with representatives from politics and diplomacy:

• Adam Jackson & Robin Jacob-Owens, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
• Dr Hans-Josef Linkens, German Embassy London

The key questions are clear:

• How can the Kensington Treaty be used to systematically strengthen German–British scientific cooperation?
• How can collaboration within Horizon Europe, particularly in Pillar II, be made even more effective?

During the subsequent working lunch with the Russell Group, discussions become very concrete as we talk jointly about next steps and shared activities.

German–British Excellence in Research: Already Closely Interconnected

The discussions in London made clear how diverse and deep the scientific links between the universities of German U15 and the Russell Group already are. Many collaborations have been running for years – often across faculties and frequently involving multiple joint projects.

The depth of these connections is evident in very concrete examples:

• Berlin University Alliance × University of Oxford
  Through the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership, around 1,300 researchers from Berlin and Oxford have been connected in recent years through joint interdisciplinary projects, summer schools and collaborations. Key topics include global health, innovation and AI.
• LMU Munich × University of Cambridge
  Since 2019, the two universities have been linked by a strategic partnership across all disciplines. Physicists and philosophers work together on quantum theory and relativity. In linguistics, both sides develop new approaches to machine translation. Cambridge expertise in AR, machine learning and AI meets LMU research on human vision to create improved computer-based perception systems.
• University of Tübingen × University of Nottingham
  The strategic partnership formalised in 2023 builds on collaborations dating back to 2017. Both universities support jointly supervised doctoral projects, seed funding and research in areas such as quantum physics, precision imaging, biology, as well as the social sciences and humanities. A double-degree master’s programme in Economics/International Economics links the two locations, complemented by workshops on topics such as machine learning and many-body physics.
• University of Hamburg × University of Leeds
  Strategic partners since 2023, the two universities have already implemented seven joint research projects across the humanities, natural and social sciences, medicine and computer science.

These partnerships powerfully illustrate how closely research cooperation is already embedded – and the potential that lies in deepening it further.

Russell Group Publishes New Recommendations

In parallel with the delegation visit, the Russell Group has presented a new strategy paper. It underscores the importance of strong German–British cooperation in Horizon Europe and sets out clear priorities for the next framework programme.

Together with German U15, the Russell Group highlights three key points:

• Strengthening Pillar I with its focus on excellence and its bottom-up approach.
• Clarity on the interaction between Pillar II and the planned European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), ensuring that research remains at the centre.
• A Horizon Europe programme that remains globally open and enables internationally oriented excellence in research.

Beyond this, the paper emphasises opportunities to further strengthen participation from both countries in Horizon Europe through joint initiatives – such as bilateral funding schemes, simplified administrative processes and intensified exchanges via doctoral and research stays.

Conclusion: A Visit That Sets the Course

The two-day delegation visit clearly demonstrated that German–British scientific cooperation has grown strong and is currently experiencing a window of opportunity to become even stronger. With shared strategic direction, a wide range of existing projects and new initiatives, a momentum is emerging that will sustainably strengthen research and innovation on both sides.

German U15 and the Russell Group are thus taking the next decisive step – towards an even more closely connected, European research landscape.